Cushions for Compressor

[John Hulett]

I bought a 60-gal IR compressor a couple of months ago, and want to get it mounted and powered this weekend. I know I need to anchor (bolt) it to the floor, and I understand I should use some sort of cushion to dampen the vibration.

I've found a cuple of things on the internet that might work, but I'm not sure - I thought I'd go to the voices of experience here at SMC.

What have you used to cushion your compressor?

- John

[Mike Hill]

John: I purchased mine from the manufacturer of my compressor, but basically if you can find an old tire it would work fine. Just cut the pieces square with a hacksaw and a little larger than the legs of you compressor, drill a hole in the center and bolt the compressor to the floor with concrete mollies.
Mike

[Cary Swoveland]

Hockey pucks!

Cary

[Ken Garlock]

John, it sounds like we have very similar compressors. I tto have a 60 gal 5 hp IR. I bought some shock mounts from McMaster & Carr.

Each one is good for 300#. I mounted two on each of two 2X4s. Since my compressor is along a wall, I want to the compressor to be away from the wall for air circulation. I positioned the 2x4s perpendicular to the wall and worked the compressor legs on the the shock mounts. The mounts are screwed to the 2x4s and the compressor legs are bolted to the shock mounts. The unit has not moved in 4 years (it is not bolted to the floor.) The compressor does sway about 1 inch at start up and shutdown, but that is no big deal, the mounts are just doing their job. The unit is located in a garage about 10 ft. from the shop. Both are part of the same structure.

These compressors are made for industrial use, and as such, do make a lot of noise when running. I advise against putting it in directly in your shop. If you must, then build a closet to help muffle the sound.

[John Hulett]

Hockey pucks!

Cary

I heard that somewhere before....

[John Hulett]

John, it sounds like we have very similar compressors. I tto have a 60 gal 5 hp IR. I bought some shock mounts from McMaster & Carr.

Each one is good for 300#. I mounted two on each of two 2X4s. Since my compressor is along a wall, I want to the compressor to be away from the wall for air circulation. I positioned the 2x4s perpendicular to the wall and worked the compressor legs on the the shock mounts. The mounts are screwed to the 2x4s and the compressor legs are bolted to the shock mounts. The unit has not moved in 4 years (it is not bolted to the floor.) The compressor does sway about 1 inch at start up and shutdown, but that is no big deal, the mounts are just doing their job. The unit is located in a garage about 10 ft. from the shop. Both are part of the same structure.

These compressors are made for industrial use, and as such, do make a lot of noise when running. I advise against putting it in directly in your shop. If you must, then build a closet to help muffle the sound.

Ken - have you got a picture? I think you're right about our compressors being the same...

[Jim Becker]

I just used two pieces of 2x4 to mount mine, isolating it from the floor and also raising it a little so the pipe for my auto-drain was easier to deal with. But hockey pucks are also an excellent and relatively inexpensive idea!

[Andrew Williams]

I have no experience in this since my compressor has wheels and rubber feet (it's a smaller one). I did work in the acoustics field for a while when I built my first recording studio, and had to learn about vibration decoupling. Has anyone ever tried making a sandwich out of plywood and urethane (sorbothane or the generic equivalent). You would have to make it a triple-decker. That way the concrete fasteners can fasten the bottom wood "bread" to the floor, the urethane "meat" is held on there by some kind of adhesive, and the outer wooden "bread" could be bolted to the machine.

Just a theory

[Jeff Miller]

Thick truck or trailer rubber mud flap double thickness =quiet air compressor

[John Ricci]

Ditto on the hockey pucks. I buy them by the dozen and use them for feet on any stand that does not roll and I used them to fit a 2'x8' benchtop over two rolling tool cabinets for an instant bench. Pucks rule!

J.R.

[Cary Swoveland]

...and also raising it a little so the pipe for my auto-drain was easier to deal with...

Jim, I've been considering getting an auto-drain. I believe there are inexpensive ones that work on pressure alone, and more expensive ones that have electric timers. Advice?

Cary

[Carroll Courtney]

If you have an A/C supply house near by or Grainger they have isolation pads made out of cork w/ rubber.Comes in 3/4" When we install compressor at work or chillers we set them on these type of pads.

[Ken Garlock]

Hey John, here are a couple pictures of my compressor setup.

The big picture
Full-view.jpg

Shock mount of feet
Feet.jpg

Plumbing out of the accumulator
Plumbing.jpg

The air line between the accumulator and the wall mounted filter/regulator is Teflon with a stainless steel jacket. You will need some type of flexible link between the accumulator and your distribution system.

Wiring is a length of 10 Ga. air conditioner extension cord I got at the Borg. The electrican had already put in a 240V 30Amp plug.

[Bill Roland]

Jim, I've been considering getting an auto-drain. I believe there are inexpensive ones that work on pressure alone, and more expensive ones that have electric timers. Advice?

Cary

Grainger has the ones that go off when the pressure drops 10lb. They cost around $80 I think. I recently used two at work.

[Tyler Howell]

I left mine right on the pallet it came on.
Plenty of clearence for the drain system, great stability and good vibration damping.