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Ultra Quiet Compressor
philjoe5:
I know many of us make steam engines operating on compressed air and are plagued with those noisy small shop compressors. I was recently asked to show some model engines at a Mini Maker's Faire held at a local library. I thought I might use my airbrush compressor because it's fairly quiet but it won't run more than one of my engines at a time.
Always looking for an excuse to buy a new tool I checked out a California Air Tools compressor, model 1610A which is rated at 60 db compared to typical pancake compressors rated at 70 db or more. It delivers 3.5 CFM of air at 40 psi, about 7x that of my airbrush compressor and produces about the same level of noise.
It performed very well and ran 3 of my engines in the 1.2" bore range for 2 hours without a hitch. You can have a normal conversation with it running. If you're looking for a quiet compressor I can recommend it. There are youtube videos of it demonstrating it. Just search for California Air Tools Compressor.
Cheers,
Phil
smfr:
Nice, I've been thinking about looking for a quiet compressor :ThumbsUp:
[Edit: Hmm, just read the Amazon reviews and many people have concerns about the build quality and quality of some of the components. Such a shame!]
Simon
philjoe5:
Simon,
That's interesting about the Amazon comments, but 24 five star, 2 four star and 1 three star ratings seems pretty good to me.
The quality of the components like drain valve, regulators and air fittings is certainly comparable to my Campbell Hausfield costing quite a bit more. The stated service life of the pumps (there are 2) on the CA Air Tools is 5000 hours. Two pumps allow a motor speed of 1600 rpm or 1/2 of a typical compressor. Warranty is 1 year. I guess time will tell, but I know of no other portable (30 lbs) compressor that's as quiet as this one.
Cheers,
Phil
BaronJ:
Hi All,
I'm using an old fridge compressor ! It runs from the 240v mains and is no noisier than the fridge it came from. An old fire extinguisher serves as an air tank. It can easily push 75 psi though I have the safety valve set for 56. Since it mostly gets used to blow up my vehicle tyres.
tvoght:
This is an old topic, but I wanted to report on a new -at least to me- finding on the subject of ultra-quiet air compressors.
This year at the Mid-East Ohio show, one of the exhibitors had a super quiet compressor. He kept it under his table, and had it not been pointed out to me, I wouldn't have known it was there. Ultra quiet indeed. USA residents can find it at Menard's home improvement stores for a reasonable price. Here's a link:
https://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/power-tools-accessories/air-compressors-pneumatic-tools-accessories/air-compressors/masterforce-reg-ultra-quiet-1-8-gallon-portable-electric-trim-air-compressor/p-1444423543348-c-12910.htm?tid=2118824897270349877&ipos=1
--Tim
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