Mobile base for a compressor?

[Doug Rogers]

I just got a Husky 80 gal. 2 stage compressor. I would like to make a mobile base for for this monster as I am just setting up my sandcarving shop and will probably be changing locations a couple of times before coming up with the best location.

My plan is to constuct the base using lap jointed 2 x 4's. I will also use 2 or 3 2x4's as braces. The top of the base will be made with 2 pieces of 3/4" plywood with the grains rotated 90 degrees. I plan to use the red Woodcraft 3" double locking casters. They are rated a 300lbs. per caster. The compressor will be bolted to the base with rubber and steel isolation pads which came with the compressor. The compressor weighs 458 lbs.

Will this base work for this compressor? It will be used on a concrete slab floor. Thanks for your help!

Doug

[Larry Marley]

Hi Doug,
Since you don't need the compressor near you. I would choose a place that is out of the way and has power, then run the air line overhead.

[Lorne Steed]

Doug: I have those same casters and they both hold a lot of weight and lock very well, however, I think you should design the base so that when the compressor is stationary you have the wood base sitting directly on the concrete. When you need to move it , you would then raise it ( by whatever means you design the base ) onto the castors and do your move. The compressor when operating will vibrate a heck of a lot, probably more than the wheels will hold securely. By having the compressor on the wood base and sitting directly on the floor, it will reduce the vibration being transfered to the concrete. Also the load will be taken off the castors and that way they are only under load during the actual moving cycle.

Lorne Steed

[Jim Becker]

Your number one priority needs to be stability....make sure your mobile base is much wider than the compressorand that the tool is securely bolted down. With an 80 gallon unit, I'd do a double layer of ply and be sure that there was a good support frame under it. Of course, I do feel that a compressor of this nature should be stationary and air lines piped into locations where service is needed.

[Denny Rice]

A mobile base for a 80 gallon compressor? Sounds like an accident waiting to happen. I don't mean to sound harsh but compressors that large have a tendency to be "top heavy" and if the compressor is not properly secured to the concrete floor, that large of a compressor will vibrate quite a bit and will cause you problems (not to mention excessive vibration is not good on the compressor either.) I own a IR 80 gallon 2-stage compressor and I have 4- 1/2"x4" lags in the concrete. The compressor is secure and does not move. Just MHO.

Denny

[Charles Lent]

I have an 18 cfm IR compressor with an upright 80 gal tank. I left it bolted to the pallet that it came on so that I can easily pick it up with a pallet jack or forklift and move it if this should ever become necessary. I figured that the pallet was strong enough to survive the shipment to me, so it should be strong enough to hold it and allow moving it again. It has been sitting this way on a concrete floor and in use for 5 years now with no problems at all. Vibration is almost non-existant with the mass of the 80 gal tank under the compressor, so it has been doing just fine. I think you guys are over designing this problem. If I had to move my compressor daily or weekly I would seriously consider doing something else, but it is only likely to move a few times in its whole lifetime.

Charley

[Denny Rice]

I have an 18 cfm IR compressor with an upright 80 gal tank. I left it bolted to the pallet that it came on so that I can easily pick it up with a pallet jack or forklift and move it if this should ever become necessary. I figured that the pallet was strong enough to survive the shipment to me, so it should be strong enough to hold it and allow moving it again. It has been sitting this way on a concrete floor and in use for 5 years now with no problems at all. Vibration is almost non-existant with the mass of the 80 gal tank under the compressor, so it has been doing just fine. I think you guys are over designing this problem. If I had to move my compressor daily or weekly I would seriously consider doing something else, but it is only likely to move a few times in its whole lifetime.

Charley


Sorry Charley, I just don't think an 80 gallon 2 stage compressor is what IR would call part of their "mobile" line thats all. I think a better idea is to run air lines through-out the shop, and if you need a mobile compressor, I also have a PC oiled compressor that can roll around on the factory rubber tires. Its a neat little compresor that is small enough that does not need to be secured down but large enough to run every nail gun I own. I put a roof on my house with it last summer, its great for small jobs that do not require a lot of CFM.

[Bob Slater]

I have my 80 gallon Shulz mounted on a mobile base I made out of two layers of 3/4 ply and 6X6's. I needed to raise it high enough to run the exhaust from my Incinolet toilet under it. (Looks like the toilet is powered by a giant compressor). I also need it mobile in case I have to service it , as it is stuck at the back of the bathroom. Seems pretty stable so far, but it will hopefully almost never move from this position. I have yet to fire it up, so no comment on the vibration. keeping my fingers crossed.

[Bob Feeser]

One of the essential ingredients to having good air in a shop is allowing enough leg room of the piping to allow for cooling of the compressed air after coming out of a hot compressor, and then some sort of separation device to eliminate the moisture and oil from the line. Two excellent ways to do this is to create copper line that has sufficient length to it. A drop at a 45 degree angle in part of that line, with a vertical length directly coming out of it, with a drain valve at the bottom of it is standard fare for industrial set ups.
All of this of course pre-supposes that the compressor will be installed in one place, and left there. 80 gallon compressors, at least heavy duty 2 stage models are extremely top heavy, and tend to create a lot of vibration, so they will move on you.
Everyones situation is different, but I can not figure out a practical way of positioning an 80 gallon upright on a mobile base. Even pushing it across the floor would seem dangerous to me. You would be advised to have one person push it close to the floor, as in pushing on the mobile base itself, and another person, or two, or three standing up getting ready to protect it from toppling over in the event you hit an 1/8" piece of scrap on the floor.
What I did was hook my compressor up in the garage, and ran 3/4" copper tubing into the basement for the shop. Time was taken to make sure there were no leaks, so I leave it plugged in and on all of the time. It only runs when I use it, but air is always at my fingertips when I need it. It's great to have air at both places. Just my thoughts.