Shop Air Compressor set up questions?

[BLSXJ]

I'm planning out how i want to install a 60 gallon air compressor in my shop. My shop is detached from the house, 24ft wide 36 ft deep. The electrical panel is in the front corner. I'm in Canada.. so its humid and the outside temp ranges from -40 to 104 F

I think I want to install the compressor in the back corner of the shop, and build a closet around the compressor. The closet will serve two purposes, the main purpose will reduce the noise of the compressor and the second purpose will be freeze proof storage for water based paints and chemicals (cleaners and stuff). Is sticking those chemicals in with the compressor a really bad idea?

My plan for the closet would be 2x4 walls with 7/16 OSB on the outside (match's rest of shop) with batt insulation to help with noise. On the inside should I bother lining the walls? sheet them in drywall for fire resistance? or use some scrap peg board to help the "noise" get to the batt insulation?

I will place vents high and low, venting into the shop, to control heat build up in the summer.

I'd like to plumb the air intake and the water drain outside. and possibly build a water separator that would go between the compressor and the tank.

When I run the air lines out in the shop I'm going to need 3/4" lines. I'm thinking about using PEX? but black and galvanized iron pipe are other options.

thoughts, experience opinions?

 

[dodge man]

To be honest, mine isn't that loud. I don't use mine a lot either. If you use it a lot it might be nice to enclose it but if it were me I'd just look for one that is on the quiet side.

Why the air intake outside? Why the water drain outside? When I drain mine not much comes out, usaully just a few tablespoons at most.

They make kits for plumbing air compressors. It looks like Pex but I'm not sure if that is what it is. Either way I'd probably use the plastic stuff be it Pex or what ever they sell for air compressor lines.

 

[BLSXJ]

the logic on the air intake routed out side is purely a noise reduction thing.

the water drain out side is simple... I'm done messing around with those thumb screw drains, this one is getting a 1/4 turn ball valve.. and with the oil and water that comes out I rather just run a small line out the wall and not have the mess inside.

I've seen those "kits" but most affordable ones are 3/8" or 1/2" lines that just aren't up to running 70ish feet and delivering the air required.

 

[Deere Dude]

I like the 1/4 turn ball valve idea for water accumulation. I would plumb in copper, It is durable, easy to work with and hang, and looks nice.

 

[mcfarmall]

PEX works great for air lines. Use plenty of hold downs to keep it nice and straight and it will look fine. I like the neatness factor of copper and I used it in my shop that I built in 2004 but if I had to do it over at today's prices, I'd use PEX. This past spring I mounted my 22 gallon garage compressor up at the ceiling to conserve floor space and plumbed my whole garage in PEX and have been very happy with it. Just don't use PVC.

 

[bigtiller]

To remove tank condensation, plumb in an electric condensate valve. Set it to blow for 2 seconds every half hour.

For the airline, coil up a 25' line on the floor and run it from the tank to the water separator. The coiled up line on the floor will allow the moisture molecules to cool and form into larger molecules that the separator can easily remove.

For insulation and sound deadening, mineral wool bats look to be a better option.

 

[/pine]

Bat type insulation is not know for its anti sound penetration qualities...also if the shop is not heated I don't see how 3.5" of insulation (R11) and 7/16" osb + pegboard or whatever is going to prevent freezing in -40* temps...?

 

[bigtiller]

Bat type insulation is not know for its anti sound penetration qualities...also if the shop is not heated I don't see how 3.5" of insulation (R11) and 7/16" osb + pegboard or whatever is going to prevent freezing in -40* temps...?

I seen it on tv so it must be true. The show was, This old house, on public television.

"Made for interior walls to reduce noise traveling throughout the home".. That is the first line in the product description.

Shop Johns Manville 49.7-sq ft Unfaced Mineral Wool Batt Insulation with Sound Barrier (15.25-in W x 47-in L) at Lowes.com

 

[BLSXJ]

sound blocking and sound absorbing are two different animals.

the shop is not heated.. I would add a electric heat source to keep the closet above freezing.

 

[ovrszd]

I just assumed the closet would be heated since he's storing perishables in there?? Maybe I thought too deep into it....

Brain storming here. So he has a heated closet, thus a heated compressor, full of heated air. So then the air line leaves the heated shop and runs the 70ft thru whatever system he creates throughout the cold shop. Won't the air condense more moisture as it cools in the delivery system?

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Compressor is in a heated (just above freezing) second story storage room of my barn and feeds three other buildings as much as a couple hundred feet away. I had issues with condensate freezing coming down from the compressor through an unheated area, but never underground.

I love having air, without the noise. I have a dryer, but never use it. The compressor cycles but how and when do you turn the dryer on and off? I might turn it on, if I wanted to do a bunch of painting.

 

[ovrszd]

My Compressor is in a heated (just above freezing) second story storage room of my barn and feeds three other buildings as much as a couple hundred feet away. I had issues with condensate freezing coming down from the compressor through an unheated area, but never underground.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking he'll get.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I put a heated cord on the troublesome spot, where I have a ball valve and gauge, but mice quickly chewed off the cord! Looked more like it had been cut off with sidecutters!

 

[bigtiller]

I just assumed the closet would be heated since he's storing perishables in there?? Maybe I thought too deep into it....

Brain storming here. So he has a heated closet, thus a heated compressor, full of heated air. So then the air line leaves the heated shop and runs the 70ft thru whatever system he creates throughout the cold shop. Won't the air condense more moisture as it cools in the delivery system?

Amusing that he has 25' of hose coiled on the floor before the water separator, a 5 micron filter should collect most of the remaining moisture. That's how mine works. If he needs dryer air, a point of use, decant dryer would be about the most economical. Or an evaporator.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/t...MIuOa574b01wIVF1cNCh3HBQFWEAQYBCABEgLRzvD_BwE

 

[Deere Dude]

After reading part of this thread I opened my cheapo bleed drain valve and nothing came out. I unscrewed it after the pressure was almost out of the tank and got a half gallon of water.

I put an elbow on, run 6 feet of 1/4" copper line to a valve then ran it directly through a drilled hole in the exterior wall. Now I just can reach up now and then and blow the water out. Works great and I don't have to run the comp that much, but a woof every month should do it.

 

[Redlands Okie]

To help with the noise build two walls that do not touch. Insulate both. If you want to save a bit of money then use 2 x 6 top and bottom plates and use 2 x4 studs. One row of studs on the inside of the plate and one row of studs on the outside of the plate. The studs alternate on spacing. This prevents sound traveling through the studs since they do not go thru the entire wall thickness. A kerf cut (running length wise) most of the way thru the 2x6 bottom and top plate will help also. Once again your providing a gap thats harder for the sound to travel thru. Use sound board or if you need use celotex ceiling tiles (since they are made to absorb sound and are easy to find and buy) over the studs and then apply the sheetrock or wafer board over that. This provides a break between the studs and the cover sheets and provides another layer of sound barrier or absorption. Even a layer of foam insulation instead between the studs and wall covering will help quite a bit. A 2nd layer of celotex on the inside of the storage would help even more. Be sure to cover the exterior walls as well if you can on the inside of the closet. Caulk the wall at the floor to help prevent sound traveling under ( not kidding ) They even make caulk for this but its probably not worth messing with. Install your door just like you would a exterior door on your home. Expanding foam or insulation between the jambs and studs. Foam weather strip around the door stops. And a snug fitting threshold with caulk underneath it. Apply a layer of celotex to the the inside of the door also. It adds up to a really nice sound booth at a very moderate price. Especially if you find some used /stained celotex tiles.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I'm more traditional, and would go with 3/4" black iron, with a drip leg near the compressor and angled slightly upwards, with a T every 10 feet pointed up. I would bypass the regulator and put full tank pressure into the pipe, then regulate and filter it at the source if you are doing something like painting. A 60 gallon compressor is high capacity, and you need a way to get a lot of air out fast. A 3/8" line to a die grinder would work fine, but be totally inadequate for a sand blasting cabinet. Even my 6" air orbital sander really needs a 1/2" line, and not a very long one, to get enough air.

 

[kenmac]

JMO, but I would not store flammables in the same closed up room with an electric start motor.
Something starts leaking , the motor starts, sparks, etc, and things may not turn out well.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I store all my paint spray cans and regular cans in there, with the compressor. Never had one leak, but a spark likely wouldn't set that off. It's not like I store gasoline in there. I have an outside locker for that.

I can't be too careful as we have zero insurance, but the paint in the compressor room doesn't concern me.

 

[tonyq60]

We plumbed our shop or rather are plumbing it with 3/4 steel pipe a bit at a time.

The local firehouse re plumbed their shop with what looks like PEX but not sure.

The fittings looked different so it may be different than home depot parts.

For sound your noise comes from a few places so addressing things like remote mounting the intake and possible sound barrier arround the pump.

Our champion is inside in the corner and with a 1700 rpm motor it has huge motor pulley so it is a loud one and a steel building does not help.

It does have an automatic tank drain that kicks every time the compressor stops as it uses the unloader to operate.

You should look at something similar for yours.