I have a 60 gallon Ingersoll Rand plumbed in for shop use and air for the lasers. It works well enough for our needs, but the noise has gotten brutal to deal with now that we're running the machines every day. Unfortunately, there isn't really a way for me to fully enclose the compressor or move it outside the shop. But I would like to try to minimize the noise in some way.
The ideas I had were to partially enclose it; either with removable plywood panels on 3 sides covered in sound dampening foam, or by hanging mass loaded vinyl from the ceiling around it like a curtain. Will either of those options work well enough to be worth the effort? I don't need complete silence, and that obviously isn't achievable, but it'd be really nice if we didn't have to wear ear protection while working 10+ feet away.
I also worry about heat buildup enclosing the compressor too much. We've already had a 3/4" air hose that runs from the compressor to the pipe fail after about 18 months in use. I guess that's not an obscenely short life, but it scared the crap out of us when it blew and did enough minor damage that it's always on my mind now.
Any ways, any input or advice would be appreciated.