The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest AIr compressor isolation tips needed

So I had a single 60 gallon upright Sanborn Air Compressor, then I learned about sandblasting, and rather than pitching the single stage 6-1/2 horse Sanborn, I added a second single stage 7 horse Campbell-Hausfeld. Putting them in tandem, sharing the same pipes gave me twice the air capacity and two single stages that really pumped up the CFM and made sandblasting a really nice experience. Been that way for years without problems. So now I am wanting to quiet the system down and am enclosing them in a closet with insulation. My concern is, I have them both on two 4x4 beams which gives me nice clearance for draining the water, but also hammers the cement and makes excess noise when running. Any solutions for isolating the compressors from the wooden beams in the way of some sort of rubber shock mounts that seem to work for you? Thanks again!

Deve,

I am also interested in reading responses.

What about gluing thick hard rubber to the bottom of the 4x4s?

Not sure of the weights you are dealing with butwe purchase isolation mounts for our custom CNC machines at work.

Typically we use McMaster-Carr:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#isolation-mounts/=m0wlxb

I am not sure how they apply to compressors, but they work well for our application.

I have a 60 gal one from Northern Tool. I nailed a 6" square of big truck tire re-tread to a 6" square of 2X4, screwed the compressor feet to the wood side so the rubber side sits on the concrete floor. The compressor floats on these feet. I then loosely chained the compressor to the wall. It has never moved & I can't feel any vibrations in the floor. I used a 2 ft section of hydraulic hose to connect the compressor to the piping system. You'll probably get a lot of different opinions on rigid vs non-rigid mounting. Another source of a lot of opinions is garagejournal.com.

I will probably go with the shock mounts at McMaster. I use them alot for other things but didnt think about them for this one. Thanks Red! Meanwhile, Harold, excellent idea and if you have an interstate highway anywhere near you, remember it for a good source for LOTS of retread that can be used for many things. I will also put rubber under the beams as added isolation, Thanks Ted! This is a wonderful resource to help a person get their thoughts to coalesce. It all makes sense to me now!!

Deve, which shock mounts from McMaster will you use?

Redlegs48, which isolation mounts did you use with your CNC machines?

On the smaller machines we look for style similar to the 6167K or 60855K series. A lot of it depends on the overall weight and how the machine is initially designed.

The type 2 or 7 ones seem to be the right thing, but I am rethinking this since the ones I was really interested in were $14 each and I need 6 of them. I am wondering why I cant just take your advice and put rubber under the 4x4's I have them bolted to. So, since i have plenty of rubber for that purpose, why not just try that first. If I decide later it is inadequate, I will re-visit McMaster.

I went to my FLAPS and asked them for cheap generic V8 motor mounts. These were basically rubber with a through bolt from a bottom plate. Those I welded via the bottom plate to some angle iron, bolted to the feet on my compressor (5 hp 60 gal Ingersoll-Rand) and bolted the angle via concrete anchors to the floor. I can't recall the price, but I would be surprised if they were cheaper than the $14 each ones from McMasters.

The other thing is my compressor is in my insulated, double sheet-rocked tool/security room. Noise is not bad, especially with the door closed.

I also understand if that you plumb the air intake so that it is remote that takes care of a lot of sound as well. I have not tried that.

Those isolator mounts previous posters referred to at McMaster-Carr look like they are made for this type of application--had I been armed with that information, I would have saved myself the time it took to fab up my contraption.

Heat that many guys use hocky_ey pucks

I have mine sitting on a mud flap off a semi. It seems to help noise and it does not move around. Just another idea.

Ed

Watch out how much you insulate the enclosure and how large it is. Smart guys at work cooked a $7500 compressor when the sound proffed enclosure did not circulate any air to cool it.

When I installed my 2 stage I went to the local compressor/tool repair shop and they have regular mounting pads for compressors in different sizes .and there cheap.
Also don't forget drain lines and water traps will freeze.

Deve
Old chevy said it best.
A Semi mud flap is perfect and also catches that stray drip from the drain valve,if it,s not remotely plumbed.
Also another tip while You,re at it,from a semi,
Get the spit valve that works when you pull on a remote cable lanyard.
Beats reachin all the way under the tank.
steve sr.

> "Spit valve"
> YouTube video

Works well on my lil HF 23-gal compressor.

- Lonnie

Thats the 1 Lonnie.
And the great part of it is you can get them in about 5 different npt pipe sizes to suit your needs.
Oh and by the way, did I mention Cheap TOO!
steve sr.

Live large!! Get the automatic spitter!