Shop air compressors, which is quietest brand and how large of a tank?

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Paul G

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I'm in planning stages of a new home shop and will plumb in an air system. I have no experience with bigger air compressors and am curious which brands and models are very quiet (don't want to piss off the neighbors and personally don't want the roar of an old school compressor) and what tank capacity I should be thinking of...of course reliability and durability matters as well. My larger air hogs will be painting and pneumatic tools. No budgetary constraints at this stage, just trying to discover the best systems out there for what I'm trying to accomplish. Thanks in advance for any input.
 
Several of us have been discussing the merits of the Rolair JC 10 for the past few days.  Look into that discussion.  not only is Rolair a great line of compressors, but the 'tude from the management concerning user problems seems to be top drawer as well.  I don't know which size would be best for you; but I have used mine for a lot more than what was recommended when I bought it. (Tool Nut)

I don't use mine for spray painting, but I do use it for dismounting and mounting truck and equipment trailer wheels.  It takes me about 3 minutes to blow up a flat tire on my trailer all the way up to 60# pressure.  That is faster than I ever did with any larger units that I have used.  There is no reason to think the larger Rolairs are not more efficient.
Tinker
 
Paul, as Tinker said, check out Rolair.  We're thrilled to be a dealer.  From management down to their products it's a smooth journey.  We're happy as are the customers.  The kicker, they make high end products.  I'm not a merchant witha  smile on my face because I'm making a nice profit selling high turning, commoditized junk, but have support from the dealer.  Rather, it's high end merchandise, backed up by high end people who are a joy to work with.  They are a mirror to the Festool's and Stabila's of this world.  Nice to have someone fill that space in the compressor product category.
 
I installed an inexpensive 60 gallon compressor from Lowes about 7 years ago.  It's great for almost everything I do.  There have been times when the impact wrench or air wrench have killed it pretty quickly.  Also bought a cheap handheld pistol style sandblaster to clean up an occasional car part.  That kills it unacceptably fast.  When I discussed HVLP guns with some experts, they asked me if I had a large or small compressor before making a gun recommendation.  They considered what I have small, but it works great with the gun I have.
If I had to do it again, I'd get an IR 80gal 2-stage.  They seem to be a good bang for the buck.  Fortunately, I have a buddy with one and go to his place to do my blasting now.  But, still have to wait on the compressor when blasting rusty bolts off my old rustbucket truck.
 
I don't know anything about the Rolair stationary compressors. IR are good but the quietest compressor I've had was a Quincy. I currently own a Makita and a Speedaire, the Speedaire is loud for an oiled compressor.
 
RolAir JC10 will allow you to work in the house while the kids are sleeping.
Cheers
Luis
 
Would you use a HVLP with a hand carry compressor? As stated in my OP I'll be using this for painting at times.
 
Noise output can be tamed by putting the compressor in a sound deadening enclosure if needed.
Slow turning pumps are generally your quietest in Reciprocating Style units. When a faster motor like a 3400 RPM or so is used, it means more noise if the pump is being spun fast to give a rated air output.
Head designs or the valves can affect noise as well .  I have two totally different 2 stage Industrial compressors where I work, one is a 5Hp Quincy that is fairly loud since it runs at a faster RPM than the old Wayne Pump that it replaced.
Next to it is a 3 HP Champion, spinning slower, and with a larger than normal 2 part intake filter assembly , has a very muffled air intake too.( Second trick to keeping the unit quiet, dampen the incoming air, or pipe the intake air inlet to an outside wall!)
Now back to basics. Determine what your current and future air needs are. Buy a slow turning, well made 2 stage air compressor that will handle those needs.  Plumb or pipe your space correctly, and have a ball using your shop air system .
Personally, I own a rebuilt Saylor-Beall 3/5HP unit that lives in my basement next to my boiler . Much quieter than the single stage 5HP compressor that I used to have there.
Since I use a 3HP motor and the stock diameter pump pulley that the compressor came with, it turns slower and quieter than if I rebuilt it as a 5 HP which got a smaller pulley to speed the pump up for more output without changing motor speed or any valving inside the head.
And, since it's a more efficient 2 stage unit, it puts more air in a larger tank than my 5HP single stage Sanborn unit did.
The Sanborn had a 60 gallon tank, the S-B has the more common 80 gallon tank.
 Ingersoll-Rand has spotty build quality on their lower cost units, just google the model you're interested in to get reviews.
I like Champion, Quincy, Saylor-Beall and others for commercial duty units with a fairly good duty cycle.
Hope all this is helpful.
 
polarsea1 said:
I don't know anything about the Rolair stationary compressors. IR are good but the quietest compressor I've had was a Quincy. I currently own a Makita and a Speedaire, the Speedaire is loud for an oiled compressor.
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Yes the IR and Quincy are really good

I would stick with a stationary compressor.
That rolair jc10 is way too small for a shop compressor.
If you are going to spray paint/finishes  you need to shop for CFM rating.
Lots of compressors out there with low price/low noise/low this/low that but they also put out low CFM.
60-80 gallons/220 volts belt driven  13-20cfm  would be my choice.Most of those compressor are pretty quite but still noisy.
Unless you want to spend some money and get a ROTARY SCREW type of compressor.
 
Yes leakyroof, very helpful, thanks. Gives me some additional metrics to look for when reading specs on units, I hadn't been paying attention to the RPMs before.
 
Paul G said:
I'm in planning stages of a new home shop and will plumb in an air system. I have no experience with bigger air compressors and am curious which brands and models are very quiet (don't want to  off the neighbors and personally don't want the roar of an old school compressor) and what tank capacity I should be thinking of...of course reliability and durability matters as well. My larger air hogs will be painting and pneumatic tools. No budgetary constraints at this stage, just trying to discover the best systems out there for what I'm trying to accomplish. Thanks in advance for any input.
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Paul, if you're not on a tight budget I recommend to take a look at a Kaeser rotary screw compressor. Made in Germany, they are top quality machines that are amazingly quiet.

I was standing in the Kaeser booth at AWFS in Las Vegas, and I asked the sales rep just how quiet the machines were. He pointed to one of their bigger units a few feet from us and said "that one is running right now". Of course the exhibit hall was pretty noisy, but I couldn't hear the compressor at all.  

Kaeser USA
 
joraft said:
Paul, if you're not on a tight budget I recommend to take a look at a Kaeser rotary screw compressor. Made in Germany, they are top quality machines that are amazingly quiet.

I was standing in the Kaeser booth at AWFS in Las Vegas, and I asked the sales rep just how quiet the machines were. He pointed to one of their bigger units a few feet from us and said "that one is running right now". Of course the exhibit hall was pretty noisy, but I couldn't hear the compressor at all.  

Kaeser USA
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip and link, I just requested some more info from them. My wallet gets nervous though when they don't list prices online lol.
 
mastercabman said:
Unless you want to spend some money and get a ROTARY SCREW type of compressor.
Click to expand...

All options are on the table right now so I'm checking those out also
 
You may want to evaluate your prioritization of quiet.  With something like a 60gal compressor, the thing hardly ever runs.  You can fill tires for a car and shoot 100 brads and it won't need to run.  When you're spraying .. yes.  But it's not like a dust collector that's going to be running all the time.  Mine is pretty loud, but I wouldn't pay extra just for quieter.  If it is a problem, you can shroud it and quiet it down.
Mine is in the garage (which honestly is where I use it the most), and is piped into my basement shop.  Being out in the garage, it can run in the middle of the night and not wake anyone up.  I have it mounted on a palette which is set on the rubber squares meant for HVAC systems.  The compressor and ring from the tank are very loud in the garage itself, but there's a fire rated wall and door between it and the house.  A low rumble near the door into the kitchen is about all you hear (until you open that door).  Even when spraying, it kicks on and off, probably only 20% on.

Another thing to pay attention to is the pressure the system sits at.  If you are going to plumb it in to your shop, everything gets more expensive with the higher pressure units.  But, they are also the best performers.  With the lower pressure system, you can do a drop with a filter/regulator for about $40 each, with the higher pressure you're looking at triple to quadruple the price.  Much like a dust collection system, the price doesn't end with the system itself, the plumbing and drops are a big factor.
 
JayStPeter said:
You may want to evaluate your prioritization of quiet.  With something like a 60gal compressor, the thing hardly ever runs.  You can fill tires for a car and shoot 100 brads and it won't need to run.  When you're spraying .. yes.  But it's not like a dust collector that's going to be running all the time.  Mine is pretty loud, but I wouldn't pay extra just for quieter.  If it is a problem, you can shroud it and quiet it down.
Mine is in the garage (which honestly is where I use it the most), and is piped into my basement shop.  Being out in the garage, it can run in the middle of the night and not wake anyone up.  I have it mounted on a palette which is set on the rubber squares meant for HVAC systems.  The compressor and ring from the tank are very loud in the garage itself, but there's a fire rated wall and door between it and the house.  A low rumble near the door into the kitchen is about all you hear (until you open that door).  Even when spraying, it kicks on and off, probably only 20% on.
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I'm equally concerned about pissing off the neighbors, it's a quiet neighborhood and I'd like to do my part to keep it that way. I've currently got a 5hp Husky on a 26gal tank and with the insulated garage door down it's still pretty loud outside. Some soundproofing may need to be a consideration in my plans.
 
Paul,

I don't have neighbors but my wife is even worst when it comes to noise.
I use RolAir for my power tools and for painting I went Airless. I have a larger one but I also got the Graco ProShot finish and I love it so much that I got the Pro II for latex paint.

Is not the cheapest way but since I buy Festool equipment, the shock is melow.
 
Luis said:
Paul,

I don't have neighbors but my wife is even worst when it comes to noise.
I use RolAir  for my power tools  and for painting I went  Airless. I have a  larger one but I also got the Graco ProShot finish and I love it so much that I got the Pro II for latex paint.

Is not the cheapest way but  since I buy Festool equipment, the shock is melow.
Click to expand...

I've got a Graco Air Assisted Airless, but for some applications I'd prefer an HVLP. A 5-stage Apollo is a viable option, but if I had good air supply I'd rather go that route for HVLP. Every approach has it's advantages and disadvantages.
 
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