Quiet air compressor?

[Victor Robinson]

I cringe filling up the compressor, confident that my neighbors (attached homes) can literally feel the vibration from it. It's a small 2gal Craftsman, but it's probably about 90+db. I'd like a new, relatively quiet (lightweight?) compressor I don't mind pulling out for brads and pins. I have a bunch of trim work to do in the house and honestly, I'm pretty sure the current compressor is causing cracks in the plaster walls! :eek:

[Larry Browning]

Those small "portable" type compressors come in 2 flavors. Oiled and oil-less. The oiled variety is much quieter, but more expensive. Which do you have?

[Chris Rosenberger]

I have a Rolair JC10 compressor. It is very quit, lite weight & cycles quickly.

http://www.amazon.com/Rolair-JC10-Super-Gallon-Compressor/dp/B0058NRVMO/ref=as_li_wdgt_js_ex?&linkCode=wsw&tag=wwwnorthwinda-20

[Victor Robinson]

Those small "portable" type compressors come in 2 flavors. Oiled and oil-less. The oiled variety is much quieter, but more expensive. Which do you have?

Larry - My Craftsman is an oiled.

So I happened to see the Porter-Cable C1010 on Amazon. It's oil-less, but specs at 71db. Very small, but enough for my needs. I think I'll give it a go...

Chris - that Rolair looks nice, and REALLY quiet. Hmm.

[Chris Tsutsui]

Maybe I'm ghetto, but I bought a used hitachi oiled 4 gallon compressor that's loud so I keep a large movers blanket that I drape over my air compressor before I fire it up. It reduces the noise a lot and doesn't cause it to overheat.

Now if I was using a CFM demanding application I wouldn't cover the heatsinks with a blanket, though most of the time the air is for a nailer.

[Matt Meiser]

I've got one of the Makita MAC700's for portable use that I keep in the attached garage. LOML commented recently when I was using it "that was well worth the money." I'm in negotiations to let Makita use that in their ads :D

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-MAC700-Big-Bore-Compressor/dp/B0001Q2VK0

[David Kumm]

Look for a used dental compressor. Jun Air or Silent Aire. They are $1500 new but go for about $300-500 used and are virtually noiseless. Dave

[Rich Engelhardt]

Those small "portable" type compressors come in 2 flavors. Oiled and oil-less. The oiled variety is much quieter, but more expensive. Which do you have?
While that was true a couple - three years ago, there's been a trend towards making a quieter compressor - mostly oiless.
There a whole bunch of new entires in the Ultra Quiet catagory - 70db and under that are oiless.

[Dave Lehnert]

I run all my guns on this SENCO unit. It is very quiet.

http://www.amazon.com/Senco-PC1010-1-Horsepower-1-Gallon-Compressor/dp/B0000AQK78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323297231&sr=8-1

[Steve Griffin]

My local hardware store has an Aluminum Maxus X-lite they started up for me. I couldn't believe how quiet it was--just a nice hum.

Then I made the mistake of picking it up--22 pounds.

Now, I am having sinister thoughts about my 60 pound pancake compressor which I haul around to jobsites just to nail a couple brads or pins. I confess I really want it to die. Perhaps falling off the back of my truck in front of the boat anchor store....

http://www.amazon.com/Maxus-EX2001-Oil-Free-Twinstack-Compressor/dp/B001DSEGQM/ref=sr_1_14?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1321098697&sr=1-14

[glenn bradley]

I was in the market for an alternative to my C&H screamer as well. I tried this variation on a noise box back in 2009 and have been fine ever since. The feet I added after these pics create a 2" gap at the floor and I stand it a good 2" from the foam piece stuck to the wall to avoid heat problems. Every now and then I leave it off after draining the spit-valve and it will kick on . . . WOW, did I really used to listen to that!?! Once this little guy dies I will look to a quieter machine.

[cecil rolfe]

I also just purchased the Rolair JC10. It is extremely quiet. 60 DB, don't even hear it cycle. You can carry on a conversation right beside it.

[Victor Robinson]

I kept going back and forth between the PC 1010 ($99) or the Rolair ($199). Finally ordered the little PorterCable as the price was definitely sweeter, but then decided the larger capacity and 11db noise savings on the Rolair were worth it. We'll see if Amazon lets me cancel my order...lol...

[Rick Fisher]

I have played with the Rol-Air and the Mac 700 side by side.. The Mac 700 is louder.. The new Rol-air is truly a sweet little machine.. Its funny, they are probably the 2 quietest of the reasonably priced compressors without going to a medical supply unit.. The Makita is a rugged little unit.. proven design and really quiet.. but I would take the Rol-Air if I was buying now ..

I have a Mac 2400 and a Champion 5hp .. I run my Wide Belt off the Makita just for the sound benefit..

[Dan Schocke]

Here's another option:

http://www.allpoweramerica.com/productdetails.php?id_prd=118

It's listed as 55 db in the specs, and is extremely quiet. I purchased this because I found myself not using my pneumatic nailers in the shop because I was always afraid of waking up my kids by running the compressor. Now the 18 gauge brad nailer is MUCH louder than the compressor, but I don't hesitate to fire it up when needed. As mentioned, you can easily carry on a conversation next to this compressor as it is running. The price on Amazon is fairly steep ($270), but I was able to pick one up at the local Farm & Fleet store for much less than that during one of their sales. After using it, though, I think I would have paid full price.

[Dave Wagner]

I just fill up my 6 gallon portable air tank around 100-120PSI and take a coil of hose and my brad nailer and take it into the house, then go back and refill it when it gets down to about 40-50#'s.

[Tony Zaffuto]

I must have been spoiled by my old (25 years+) Craftsmen pancake compressor. Still have it, but I bought a new Mac 700 last year and it is not only much noisier, but the old Sears would run tools longer. The Makita will probably go bye-bye and be replaced with a higher volume aluminum compressor.

[Craig Michael]

Good video of the Rol Air. That thing looks really nice. They have made very good compressor's for a long time, unlike Porter cable which is now the home owner line for Stanley tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTZ5dPsJCYg&list=UUTpIgwqnsxRcAPKzCvPcjbQ&feature=plcp

[David Kumm]

The Rol Air looks like they use a little Thomas type compressor pump like you use if you make your own vacuum system ala Joe Woodworker. Dave

[Howard Miller]

That Thomas compressor looks like the one in the oxygen concentrator that I sell. They are some of the best. I have a larger, 20 gal, Rol Air, and I love it.

[matt swiderski]

I just bought the Rol Air and love it. If you are looking for a compressor to just use with a trim nailer or something similiar, than take a good look at this one. I think I paid aroud $160 or so (they were having a sale), well worth the money. And it's small enought that storage is not really an issue, I just put it up on a shelf. Hope this helps.
Matt

[Victor Robinson]

Unfortunately Amazon wasn't able to cancel my order in time and the little Porter-Cable arrived today. I turned it on for its break-in period and thought hey, this is great, the noise is pretty close to the advertised 71db (I measured 75db at 3 ft). Then I actually closed the drain valve after the break-in and in actually filling the tank, noise levels rose to 85db, not THAT much better than the Craftsman I'm trying to replace. Ugh. Now I either have to sell this off or return and eat the shipping. Stupid impulse buy!!

[Craig Michael]

Unfortunately Amazon wasn't able to cancel my order in time and the little Porter-Cable arrived today. I turned it on for its break-in period and thought hey, this is great, the noise is pretty close to the advertised 71db (I measured 75db at 3 ft). Then I actually closed the drain valve after the break-in and in actually filling the tank, noise levels rose to 85db, not THAT much better than the Craftsman I'm trying to replace. Ugh. Now I either have to sell this off or return and eat the shipping. Stupid impulse buy!!

You need to cancel an order VERY quickly with amazon or it gets in their system and it's going to ship whether you like it or not. I tried to cancel something a few hours after I clicked and it was too late. So they tell you to just refuse delivery and it gets sent back to them and all the money is refunded. If you bought it from Amazon and not one of the other options there, then just pack it up and call the carrier and tell them you were not home and you want to refuse delivery.

[David Kumm]

You need to cancel an order VERY quickly with amazon or it gets in their system and it's going to ship whether you like it or not. I tried to cancel something a few hours after I clicked and it was too late. So they tell you to just refuse delivery and it gets sent back to them and all the money is refunded. If you bought it from Amazon and not one of the other options there, then just pack it up and call the carrier and tell them you were not home and you want to refuse delivery.

Personal Responsibility? How about sucking it up and living with our own decisions. Dave

[Harlan Barnhart]

From my experience the greatest contributing factor to a quiet compressor is slow speed. I have an oil-less 3 gallon compressor that it very quiet because it runs at 1750 rpm rather than 3400 as do most inexpensive portable compressors. The company I once worked for had two makita compressors, mechanically they were identical but one ran at 3400 rpm and one at 1750. The faster speed nearly doubled the volume, but it was at least twice as loud.

[george wilson]

I bought 2 used Jun Air compressors for my wife's jewelry business. They are no louder than a refrigerator. However,they don't put out a large amount of air. These were being used to run nail guns at a place they made picture frames. She uses it to blow out small bits of trash when assembling jewelry.

[Will Blick]

My guess is, a quiet compressor is often very low volume and / or low pressure... or, it will take forever to recharge the tank.... as mentioned, for nailers, prob. not a bid deal...but for higher volume applications, I wonder if low noise is really available...

I bought this Thomas, because its claim to fame is - the quietest 2hp compressor on the market, its pretty damn noisy.... watching some of the YouTube videos, I now understand what quiet really is, and how nice that would be..... but prob. hard to find one with good performance specs... or am I wrong?

http://cfpwarehouse.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/T2820ST.html

[Chris Rosenberger]

Unfortunately Amazon wasn't able to cancel my order in time and the little Porter-Cable arrived today. I turned it on for its break-in period and thought hey, this is great, the noise is pretty close to the advertised 71db (I measured 75db at 3 ft). Then I actually closed the drain valve after the break-in and in actually filling the tank, noise levels rose to 85db, not THAT much better than the Craftsman I'm trying to replace. Ugh. Now I either have to sell this off or return and eat the shipping. Stupid impulse buy!!

If the compressor is not as advertised, Amazon will pay the return shipping.

[Rich Engelhardt]

the noise is pretty close to the advertised 71db (I measured 75db at 3 ft). Then I actually closed the drain valve after the break-in and in actually filling the tank, noise levels rose to 85db
PC's claim of 71db says nothing about that noise level being only when the compressor is putting out free air.
I'd return the unit to Amazon and tell them it's defective.
If they ask in what way, tell them it puts out far more noise than the ad says it does.

[Phil Thien]

PC's claim of 71db says nothing about that noise level being only when the compressor is putting out free air.
I'd return the unit to Amazon and tell them it's defective.
If they ask in what way, tell them it puts out far more noise than the ad says it does.

I agree. Do not let manufacturers get away with this. You would also do everyone a service by leaving an Amazon review that you returned the unit because it is substantially louder than advertised.