Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey guys,

I'm in the early stages of moving in with my girlfriend. We are looking to move into an apartment complex, which means I want to reduce the noise my airbrush compressor makes:



You can see, that it's on the large side. Is there any way I can reduce or dampen the sound and vibration it makes, as I don't want to p/o the neighbours the first week we moved in ;-)

Any suggestions?

Cheers,


IK-Painter

That thing was never made to be quite.....

My only real suggestions would be to take off the caster wheels are replace them with rubber standoffs. You could also try enclosing the compressor.

Really cant, you could get some sound proofing material and put it in a box with it.

You also want to make sure it does not overheat when soundproofing.

I agree with Caty... I imagine the casters that it's sitting on don't help with the noise if it's on any kind of hard surface. They look to be bolted on, so should be easy to remove and replace with rubber feet.

Soundproofing would definitely be difficult to do since the compressor pump needs to be well ventilated and any holes or gaps to encourage airflow are going to allow sound to escape as well.

Ruff's idea of building a box for it to sit in is probably your best bet. Acoustic foam should be easy to buy, if a bit pricey. A plywood box big enough, insulated with the foam, possibly a few computer processor fans with an on/off switch to keep the air circulating... just might work. It would probably be big enough to be an end table or the like, so if you give it a nice finish your girlfriend just might let you keep it in the living area.

Thanks guys!

I will replace the caster wheels with rubber feet and see, with just how much noise that leaves me with. I am more concerned, that the guys living below us won't take a shine to my hobby if they are hounded by the vibrations of my trusty compressor. The wrath of my girlfriend can be softened with attentiveness and sweets - an option I just might not have with total strangers ;-).

The sound-proof box also sounds like a great idea, but might be hard to pull off. Keep your fingers crossed, that the rubber feet will improve the overall situation :-).

I had an old Paasche D500 1/8th HP diaphram compressor that used to make a god awful rawkus (obviously diaphram compressors aren't known for their silence). It also had 4 rubber feet on it... when I put it on the floor or counter it vibrated like the dickens and made a ton of noise. I ended up making a new base for it out of 2x1' 1/4" ply wood and a nice thick carpet sample. I went to M&M carpets, told them I just needed a thick carpet sample and they handed one over - free of charge, to boot! Carpet side goes down, mounting the compressor to the wood side to avoid any heating issues. This greatly reduced the vibration / and dampened the noise made... It was night and day for that lil blue devil but YMMV.

I've since given up on the compressor altogether (like you, I live with the GF in an apartment) and moved on to CO2 - I'll never go back. Can't beat the only noise being a hiss of air...

Good luck!

many compressors already have one but if it dosen't a compressor muffler will help a bit
http://www.smtmax.com/detail.php?id=195
you could probable also make a bigger diy muffler better, if you want to "Tim Taylor" it

Put a big cardboard box over it, with a few holes for air.
If that works, then put some eggcrate foam in the box, to catch sound.

Best of luck!