Got A Compressor

[EdK]

I found the spec for the Puma compressor I got and it says the noise level is about 75dB. Not too bad for a direct drive compressor.

Ed

[stevec]

All of my compressors have been belt drive, are direct drive compressors (usually) noisier because the compressor is driven faster?

[EdK]

(01-27-2015, 02:51 PM)stevec Wrote: All of my compressors have been belt drive, are direct drive compressors (usually) noisier because the compressor is driven faster?

From what I've read, that's my understanding. Belt drives are usually quieter.

Ed

[arvidj]

(01-27-2015, 02:51 PM)stevec Wrote: All of my compressors have been belt drive, are direct drive compressors (usually) noisier because the compressor is driven faster?

Steve,

I agree with Ed. It is my understanding that direct drive is usually noisier. I believe it is related to the speed of the compressor. When I purchased mine the sales person steered me to the slowest compressor speed he had available ... about 750 rpm with a motor speed of about 1750 rpm. He also suggested I get a muffler for the intake system. His statements suggested that a large percentage of the noise is from the pulses related to the intake, not the actual compression of the air. A muffler and "less intake pulses per second because the speed is lower" does seem to make sense.

I do know that this compressor is orders of magnitude quieter than the direct drive oil-less that I had before. Mine is in the basement and it is quiet enough that we don't notice it anymore and guests rarely ask "what is that?" when it comes on. The fan in the attic that comes on when it gets hot or humid is a much bigger pain in the ...  

[f350ca]

I've had a couple of direct drive portable ones. The first was a present from the wife, (didn't realize how much she must have hated me) it was oilless and ran at 3400 rpm with the compressor mounted on the tank, you couldn't stand to be in the room with it. When the low pressure cut in needed adjustment after close to 20 years of use I used the excuse to buy a new one. Its 1740 rpm, cast iron cylinder, oil bath with two small tanks off to the side. Way quieter. But still not as quiet as the 4 cylinder two stage in the shop. it lopes along at 600 rpm.
I gave that old one to a friend to blow up tires and such, it out lived him, his wife called last fall to see if I could patch the tank, it was leaking, told her to give it a fitting burial, that thing ran for over 30 years.

[vtsteam]

I have a loud direct drive compressor -- looking forward to the time when it dies and I can buy a quieter one.

An interesting point about the oiless direct drive ones, mechanically, and maybe besides the 3450 RPM, a contributor to more noise: they use a wobble piston. There is no separate conrod and wrist pin. The piston is one piece with the rod. The piston metal is thin in the bore direction, and uses a teflon seal, and the cylinders are also plastic coated to allow the piston to wobble and still seal. The speed is high and stroke small, necessarily to get the same air, and not wobble too much. So they are grossly over-square -- big bore, tiny stroke, high speed......and lots of noise.

[Vinny]

Many years ago I had one similar to Ed's. Besides running at 3450, it was extremely noisy. It also didn't have a finned output tube. Then the direct drive started acting up. Opened it up and found the bolt that holds the taper was loose.

I also had a Home Depot oil-less compressor. Not as noisy but not as reliable either. The bearing got hot and worked its way partially out and was grinding the flywheel/crank on the housing. Eventually I put the oil compressor pump on that tank and tossed the original one (my version of tossing usually means it's on a shelf somewhere). After I got tired of the noise I bought a new (to me) pump and motor off Craigslist and replaced it.

One of the guys in the local club gave me his old tank and 3HP motor and last summer I put the $139 Harbor Freight pump on it. Nice and quiet now!

[rleete]

I bought a California Air 1610A, which is a 1.6 gallon, 1 HP ultra quiet model. $194 plus tax on Amazon, I got it for $160 shipped from a new website (ATGstores.com, affiliate with Lowe's). They are trying to compete with Amazon, and as such are offering some fantastic deals. Be sure to search for coupon codes before ordering, as I was able to find a 15% off code with a google search.

I will review my compressor when I get it, which is supposed to be today or tomorrow.

[rleete]

Got here an hour ago.

I also bought the Harbor Freight compressor accessory kit. Has a coiled hose, a couple of quick connects, blow gun, different nozzles, etc. 14 bucks at any store. Sometimes the cheap stuff is worth it. This is one of those rare occasions.

Anyway, I've been playing. Had the compressor running for almost an hour, off and on. Blew up the tires on a bike, played with my steam engines, blew the dust off the workbench, etc. Just giving it a workout. It is not silent by any means, but after an hour I was not left with a headache nor ringing ears. While it was running downstairs, I ran up into the kitchen which is right above it. I could hear it, but barely. When the refrigerator cut in, I could no longer hear it running.

Has to cut in fairly quickly and often, as the small (1.6 gallon) tank isn't much reserve. But it is not obnoxious, so it doesn't bother me at all. If it holds up, I will be very happy with it for down in the workshop. Well worth the extra cost for the lack of noise, in my opinion.

[Vinny]

You'll rethink the "Sometimes the cheap stuff is worth it. " when that coiled hose blows apart. :)