Your Advice is needed

[Don Williams Michigan]

I am looking for a "quieter" compressor to supply air assist to my Epilog laser. Right now, I am using a pancake compressor which is really noisy when it fires. Any ideas of a unit that is quieter or another solution?

Thank you in advance.

Don Williams

[Viktor Voroncov]

Try something like this:
http://www.werthercompressors.com/categoria.asp?id=6
use google: medical noise-free compressors

Another option - compressor with reciever - few minutes noise - 15-30 minutes silent air assisting.

[Larry Bratton]

Gosh, I use one of those little compressors that you use to run a air brush with. That's what I was supplied with by the rep when I bought the machine. Seems to work fine, it's noisy too, but nothing like a pancake would be.

[Mike Null]

Try this site. http://www.airbrushcity.com/comp45/index.htm

[Larry Bratton]

Try this site. http://www.airbrushcity.com/comp45/index.htm

Yea Mike, mine is like that 1601 shown on that page.

[Gary Hair]

Don,
For a quiet compressor you want an oil bath compressor, not "oil free". I bought one at harbor freight for just under $100 and it's as quiet as any I have ever seen. If you run an airbrush compressor for any length of time it will get very hot and you run a good chance of burning it out. I have a couple of templates that I cut that run for several hours and I pretty much cooked the airbrush compressor I was using, now I have it hooked up to my main compressor with a 60 gal tank. If you don't do lengthy vector cutting then the airbrush compressor would work fine and be the quietest solution you'll find.

Gary

[Michael Hunter]

My Epilog dealer supplied a Gast air pump, model DOA, with the laser machine.

I wouldn't call it silent, but, compared to my 1.5HP paint spray compressor, it's pretty good. Maintenance-free as well.

The down-side of this type of pump is that there in no reservoir or pressure control, which might be useful when dealing with thick acrylic.

[Doug Lynch]

I build a box and lined it with carpet and installed a muffin fan to feed it air to keep it cool. I placed the muffin fan exaust on the other end of the box with carpet duct work to make the air pass over the compressor. It really helps keep the sound down.

doug lynch

[Dave Adams]

I have used this one for about 4 months now and it is in my office in a 24" wide base cabinet and is easy to live with. It's $229 from costco.com


All Power America QuietZone Series 1.5 HP 4.6 Gallon
Twin Tank Air Compressor

Light Weight Aluminum Tank.
Maximum Pressure 125 PSI

COSTCO.COM Item # 482682

[John Noell]

I have the Gast from Epilog. Costly but supposedly very well made. Definitely quiet compared to everything else I have tried. I did have trouble with moisture coming through so I put a filter-regulator in line (and run some of the hose through a quart of water). No water in the line and I can regulate pressure down if I need to.

[Bill Cunningham]

I have a 2 cyl, single stage 14 cfm machine on a 60 gal tank.. Like it's been said, 2-3 minutes of noise for 30 min + of silence works for me.. As a matter of fact, After the compressor is at pressure (120 psig, line regulated to the laser at 25-30 psig) I often just turn off the switch, and run it down to 30-40 psig which takes quite a while, usually far longer than most jobs. Then switch it back on when I'm outside, or in the house so I don't have to listen to it build up again.. If I ran the two intake ports through piping to the outside, the machine would be pretty quiet inside, but it might bug the neighbors.