Compressor enclosure ?

[W.olly]

Hi all, daft sod i sold my compressors a bit ago to get a better one latet his year and was going to save up for a decent belt drive but i need one asap and got one of these

Pardon our interruption...

Now i hear they are fairly noisy so i have near finished making an insulated enclosure for it but i remember reading on my old compressors that they need to be shut off on the compressor not a switched plug socket ?

Is that correct or will it damage the motor the compressor motor/starter?

 

[Morrisman]

Mine has a push/pull button atop the pressure switch, looks like yours does too, so maybe a stiff wire could be fashioned to push/pull it from outside the enclosure?

 

[W.olly]

Mine has a push/pull button atop the pressure switch, looks like yours does too, so maybe a stiff wire could be fashioned to push/pull it from outside the enclosure?

i have some blue 16amp Artic here that mite do that ?

like this

Pardon our interruption...

 

[Morrisman]

i have some blue 16amp Artic here that mite do that ?

like this

Pardon our interruption...

The switch button is part of the mechanical unloader device on mine, so a remote electrical switch won't be any better than using the socket switch to turn it off.

 

[W.olly]

The switch button is part of the mechanical unloader device on mine, so a remote electrical switch won't be any better than using the socket switch to turn it off.

i pulled one apart ages ago but cant remember how they work. reason then i though maybe bypass the push switch with a cable and outside switch.

I have seen people switch them off at the plug but then folk dont always do it the right way do they. cheapo compressor but dont want to kncker sooner than need be.

I could of need be use some 6mm bar i have and fit it through the top to the push switch like you suggest.

 

[Morrisman]

Yes, once you push the button in you have shut off power, it won't start up on its own until you lift it. No need for an extra electric switch.

 

[gaz1]

you can use a stepper motor to turn them on or off

or even a window wiper motor to do the same if you wanted

thats if you dont want to enter the enclosure

 

[RIP]

You need a powerful extractor to cool the compressor.

I spent a lot of time building an enclosure with thick insulation. It didn't help much as the noise just vibrates it's way out. I took the enclosure apart and found that just putting a board with the egg carton shaped insulation on each side of the compressor makes as much difference as a full enclosure.

But the biggest thing that made a difference was switching to a cast iron pump. It's gives a low rumble rather than the obnoxious noise of an aluminium pump.

 

[W.olly]

Ah well looks like ill go go out and open the enclosure when needs be. glad i checked, thanks chaps.

You need a powerful extractor to cool the compressor.

I spent a lot of time building an enclosure with thick insulation. It didn't help much as the noise just vibrates it's way out. I took the enclosure apart and found that just putting a board with the egg carton shaped insulation on each side of the compressor makes as much difference as a full enclosure.

But the biggest thing that made a difference was switching to a cast iron pump. It's gives a low rumble rather than the obnoxious noise of an aluminium pump.

It wont be running for long periods really, I just dont want to upset the neighbours so the quieter the better. I have a small fan here that i can fit if i find it gets to warm in there. As said in the OP i was going to get a decent compressor but needed one sooner than i thought. Its just for spraying PVA release and odd other small jobs.

 

[brightspark]

a direct drive comp runs very hot even in the open and has limited duty cycle. be ok if u have a decent size fan blowing over the cylinders and motor

 

[W.olly]

Make that ‘motor and cylinders’.

whats the difference or have i missed something ?

 

[mike 109444]

Sure someone on the forum mentioned that replacing the inlet filter with a better flowing one (car oil filter ?) helped reduce noise.
Also if you do leave it switched on you will find middle of night you might just hear the compressor fire up as the "stored air" has leaked away ! don't ask me how I know!

 

[W.olly]

Sure someone on the forum mentioned that replacing the inlet filter with a better flowing one (car oil filter ?) helped reduce noise.
Also if you do leave it switched on you will find middle of night you might just hear the compressor fire up as the "stored air" has leaked away ! don't ask me how I know!

done that myself years ago and it was an old 150l rattling tank of a compressor, like a bloody tank setting off ha ha. i laid there thinking for a bit wondering what it was ha ha.

 

[Maker]

Also if you do leave it switched on you will find middle of night you might just hear the compressor fire up as the "stored air" has leaked away ! don't ask me how I know!

Been there done that, get up at 2 am and turn off the mcb for the workshop because the compressor's fired up.

 

[Morrisman]

Been there done that, get up at 2 am and turn off the mcb for the workshop because the compressor's fired up.

Came home after 6 weeks away offshore, not been home an hour and I hear my compressor kick on in the garage..... "It's been doing that ever since you left, every few hours"...... said the wife......

Never occurred to her to email me, so I could explain where the switch was.

 

[brightspark]

Been there done that, get up at 2 am and turn off the mcb for the workshop because the compressor's fired up.

our lights dimmed when it started up late at nite aww balls go turn it off . last time i didnt the hose blew up and the comp motor burnt out as it ran all night

 

[timgunn1962]

When the pressure switch switches off, the little valve on the bottom opens to allow the high-pressure air between the compressor and the Non-Return Valve on the inlet to the receiver to bleed off. That way, the next time the compressor starts, it can get the first revolution or so without having to work against pressure. It makes starting a lot easier. When I've had to put a compressor in an enclosure, with a switch on the outside, I've tee'd into the line between the NRV and the pressure switch and fitted a silencer with a flow restrictor, adjusting the flow restrictor to bleed off the pressure over ten seconds or so after switching the power off. It bleeds off while the compressor is running too, but the flowrate is so low as to be negligible.

 

[caprinut]

Looking into this problem most people make the the mistake building a square upright structure around the compressor, the sides should angled downwards, up to 45 degrees, towards the floor so that it does not act like a reverberation chamber assuming the floor is solid concrete, it also allows more space around the compressor.

Bert

 

[RIP]

Ah well looks like ill go go out and open the enclosure when needs be. glad i checked, thanks chaps.


It wont be running for long periods really, I just dont want to upset the neighbours so the quieter the better. I have a small fan here that i can fit if i find it gets to warm in there. As said in the OP i was going to get a decent compressor but needed one sooner than i thought. Its just for spraying PVA release and odd other small jobs.

When you put the compressor into a box, the pulley wheel, which acts as a fan, no longer has anywhere to draw air from and no where to blow it. The whole cooling system breaks down. You need a huge amount of circulation to stop it over heating. Trust me, I've done this twice. I now have powerful 150mm inline extractors drawing air from outside my small insulated shed and over the compressor.

The other issue I found was with the silencers. If you want to stop noise escaping though the enclosure intake / output, you need to have corners. These corners need to be very big otherwise they create too much resistance to air flow.

Honestly, my experience of enclosures is not to bother.

 

[Gareth J]

I say this a lot, when someone has the idea of enclosing a compressor, keep hot and cold air separate, ie, air drawn into the cooling fan can only come from outside the box and, after its passed over the machine, the only place for it to go is outside the box. Draw air into the air intake from outside the box too. Do that, and don't make the cooling system too restrictive and all will be well. It may not end up being that much quieter though.