My wife's new business requires installing a mid-sized compressor, which in itself is no big deal and has been beaten to death in prior threads.

The catch is, this installation needs to be inside an office in a rather high-end medical building. We need to figure out a way to shield the compressor both visually and audibly from other clients inside the suite as well as other tenants and neighbors.

The visual part is no sweat as we can build a cabinet/closet. But, I assume it will need some airflow for intake as well as cooling purposes, so it can't be completely sealed up.

Will a small ventilated closet (similar to what some people's water heaters are installed in) lined with Dynamat or a similar material be adequate to damp most of the compressor noise? Or would the sound just escape thru the vents?

Also, are there certain "quiet" compressors that are designed for this type of application?

Lastly, I am thinking that if we get a large tank, we could somewhat lessen having to run the compressor frequently during business hours. With a large enough tank we could potentially run it on a timer at 8am before opening and refill at lunchtime if needed. Does this make sense?

Thanks a bunch for any tips. This is kind of a last-minute crisis.

I've remodeled Dr. offices and done a few different things.

You could mount it above the ceiling in a remove area of the attic space. But not over the Dr's office.

I've also installed them in closets and hung several extra layers of drywall on the inside. Pretty easy and cheap. And use a solid core door. You can also line the walls with cheap ceiling tiles.

As far as air circulation, install a small exhaust (fart) fan drawing air out of the room into the above ceiling area.

There are medical air compressors avaible. I can get you some info on Monday when I get to the office. There I can get my hands on some catalogs.

What is it going to be used for?

I like the idea of the noise reduction in my garage !!!!

my damn compressor scares the hell out of me when it kicks on

what does mid-sized mean, cfm/psi wise ?

i did a quick Google search looking for silent compressors and found a few that were aimed at dental applications.

they're also used in the graphic arts field for powering airbrushes - do a Google search on "+silent +sirbrush +compressor" and you'll get several hits, including units sized for servicing many airbrush stations. i doubt they'll have pressures much over 60 psi, tho, although at decent airflow ratings.

personally, i just bought a PowerTank setup, which is a cylinder containing CO2 (15 lbs, in my case, i got the 'Large' one). i'll use this to power the airbrush during the winter, and air tools at the track during the summer. CO2 is pretty cheap so that may be an alternative...

silent compressors exist - they're pricey tho. if you need quiet, avoid anything claiming to be "oilless" as most of the new units are. i really, really didn't want an "oilless" compressor when i got one for the garage, replacing the 2HP Sears unit i left behind in NV, but it's literally all there was in the under 5HP 110V-powered units. makes a vibratory racket you can hear and feel clear through the house; i've thought of mounting it on a big inner tube ...

What about draining the water out of the system?

it's a good idea.

I was gonna suggest the type used in Dentist's offices, but Rich beat me to it.

Also remember that the compressor can be installed mostly anywhere and the air can be piped in to the office in as many locations as you need.

The other thing to consider is that the bigger the tank is the less it will cycle on/off or run constantly.

Can you draw intake air in from an outside opening ? The air intake is also a source of compressor noise. I once took the original filter off of my Sears 5 hp comp, made an adapter and put a K & N cone filter in its place. It must have quieted down 50 Db. It did need cleaning more often though .

Man..you opened up a can of air with all these questions....
I have installed "Quite compressors" for years... Send me a mail with your phone number...

I will line you out on what you need as best as I can. You have inumerable options to choose...If any of the compressed air is used for ANY medically related use. You have to plan out the equipment and the install legally and to code.

Conversely. if you are simply in need of air that categorically won't be used for a medical purposes... Thats easy...

By the way... Dr.Evil is wondefully generous soul.. I drove over to his house on Sat. and picked up a dash... Very kewl fellow. And a wealth of info... the man get's high marks from me..

Regards,
Twystd1

Thanks for the tips guys. It sounds like the best plan is to investigate the dental compressors. I think there are dentists in the building we can pimp for info. We need around 8.4CFM @ 40psi and a minimum 25gal tank is recommended. I have no idea what the total air demand will be initially or after full ramp up. The air does not need to be medical-grade. If I told you exactly what it's for, I'd have to kill ya...or more likely, my wife would kill me...

just as a sanity-check, look at the airbrush compressors.

especially as you do not require medical-grade stuff. products are priced to the market... dental == deep pockets, lots of stainless steel... airbrush == ad agency / commercial art (not -quite- so deep pockets), practical but not excessive packaging...

i think you're looking at something capable of service ~8 airbrush stations, which based on my quick look meant a ~$1500 product. i didn't see any online pricing for dental equipment, which right away tells me there is a big-margin marketing infrastructure ...

I have used one of these for a trade show display.
bring money

http://www.jun-air.com/