Thread: Quiet Air compressor - Chicago or Rolair?

A little off tack but if it is mainly dusting off would a battery blower do the job for you in most cases?
I use a single battery 18v Makita one which is good on the bench and I have the twin 36v version as well, it is great for cleaning up and as good as a petrol leaf blower

Just a thought

Just a thought, you have a tank and the controls so you could buy a bare pump which is the noisy bit and the present motor might be man enough to do the job.

https://www.pilotair.com.au/wp-conte...ET-UPdated.pdf

Mount the motor and pump on a board, put the tank outside and you just gained room.

Originally Posted by Beardy

A little off tack but if it is mainly dusting off would a battery blower do the job for you in most cases?

It needs to be a fine jet of air. I have that Makita 18v too, and it is all I need for yard work.

Originally Posted by BobL

I think he was talking specifically about the Rolair oilless compressors.

Yep.

We used to use an old esky chucked over the compressor on sites were the noise could annoy the neighbours. Was surprising how much difference it made.

The Chicago are really very good, I have a small one which I've used for spraying and everything else, VERY quiet, and never given me any trouble in 6 years or so, I use it professionally.

In terms of noise, I can share what I have done.

It's basically just a box made of one layer of particleboard and one layer of plywood. That's it. No exhaust systems, no vent holes, just a big heavy box with two hinges. One hole for the cable to go in, one hole for the air hose to come out. Later I added a hole for a wire connected to the valve so I can drain the tank without opening the box. It controls the noise really really well. Strangely the thing that made the most difference noise wise is those rubber gym tiles in the bottom that absorb the vibrations.



Everybody said the thing would die because of lack of ventilation and high temperature, so I thought ok, I'll let it die. Just as an experiment, I was not particularly fond of that compressor anyway. I don't do any heavy use but I do fire it up nearly every day mostly for nails and air blower and occasionally the die grinder. A year and a half later it still works as new. If it blows up I'm hoping the box is strong enough to keep it in

If you have a mobile phone that can run a Sound Pressure level App it would be interesting to know the reduction in sound level.

Originally Posted by Spyro

A year and a half later it still works as new. If it blows up I'm hoping the box is strong enough to keep it in

It is very unlikely to blow up but higher temps should increase long term wear on things like the valves. Instead of say 10 years it may last maybe 8. It might even be worth the hassle of providing a baffled vent. Looks like it could use an auto vent valve?

Originally Posted by BobL

If you have a mobile phone that can run a Sound Pressure level App it would be interesting to know the reduction in sound level.



It is very unlikely to blow up but higher temps should increase long term wear on things like the valves. Instead of say 10 years it may last maybe 8. It might even be worth the hassle of providing a baffled vent. Looks like it could use an auto vent valve?

Later I also added a kitchen thermometer. Under my normal use the temperature is not really going up that much, max I've seen it was 32-33 degrees. But yeah 8 years is 7 years more than I was planning to keep this compressor anyway

When it kicks the bucket I might do something better.

Originally Posted by Spyro

In terms of noise, I can share what I have done.

It's basically just a box made of one layer of particleboard and one layer of plywood. That's it. No exhaust systems, no vent holes

If the box was fully sealed after the first operation there would no air to compress leaving a vacuum so there must be some leakage around the box which must be affecting the efficiency having a restricted air flow.

It looks like its not that well sealed. More than enough gaps there for a few CFM.

Comp-enc-gap.jpg

This is for this compressor: https://www.audel.com.au/rolair-jc50...ir-compressor/

I'm super impressed with the specs for the price. The FAD seems good, but Im a little concerned with the "duty pressure", if that's the right term, at [email protected]/40psi and [email protected]/90psi. Its not "bad", but not the advertised Free Air Delivery (FAD): 290l/min @ 90 PSI

A minor issue, as ~200LPM/90psi is perfect for spraying.

Audels customer service is excellent.... here are the responses..... FYI and Group Wisdom....


In reply to your questions below: Rolair JC50WH



-- In the pictures for the compressor, the tank says 2HP. The description says 3. Can you confirm? it is 3hp with a 10Amp plug. This can run off a dedicated 10amp circuit or power point with no other tools which could overload the circuit. A 15Amp plug can be fitted if required.

-- We run Nitto on everything. Do you have any pictures of the hookups? There is 1 x nitto fitting with a filter regulator. You can fit whatever fitting(s) required
One or two connections? (The site has only a side view).

-- Does the machine have a duty cycle? Yes there is a duty cycle, I am waiting to hear back from Rolair for confirmation.

We use the existing compressor a fair bit, for we spray and run air tools. Exactly what tools and quantities are you using at one time? and for how long? This is important to know so I can advise the correct volume of air required and whether this machine is viable.
Are we going to burn out the airless heads if we run it fairly commercially? The motors have automatic thermal overload protection so if the temperature reaches too high it will shut off for 30 seconds and reboot. This means the machine is being overloaded and running too hard.

-- Will it remain as quiet as claimed throughout its life, or does it need some form of maintenance? Yes it will. All it requires is daily drainage from tank and to be operated in a well ventilated area.

Fone King in Tuggerah Westfield has two 'silent' compressors at the front of their store. I always assumed they were just decorative props, but one day I looked closely and found that they were actually running!
When I next shop for a compressor I'll be asking what make & model they are.

Their website shows a pic:
https://foneking.com.au/location/tuggerah/

Originally Posted by arose62

Fone King in Tuggerah Westfield has two 'silent' compressors at the front of their store. I always assumed they were just decorative props, but one day I looked closely and found that they were actually running!
When I next shop for a compressor I'll be asking what make & model they are.

Their website shows a pic:
https://foneking.com.au/location/tuggerah/

Last I heard - and this goes back a few years - there are a couple models of near silent air compressors around for retail use. My understanding at the time was that the RFID tags shops use to prevent theft (perhaps an older version of the tag, as I believe they're now neturalised magnetically) were removed by placing one side of the tag on what amounted to a vac-sys (think Festool) and twisted off. These might be thoe older, big, round ones that used to be attached to clothing and the like.

At that time, one of those compressors cost over $3000, and I have no idea of the specs on it.

Would be interesting to hear updated info about them!