Looking for a Quiet Air Compressor

[Kaido]

I'm looking to add an air compressor to my shop, minimum 2 CFM @ 90 PSI. I would prefer something a little higher in the 6+ CFM range. My two key requirements are (1) fairly quiet and (2) fairly portable. My fairly portable, I mean that if it's not liftable then it has wheels. I will be using it for your basic air tools (sander, air sprayer, nail gun, etc.), spraying (paint etc.), and other lightweight duties. I've been poking around Amazon and other shops online and the reviewers say most of them are pretty loud. What do you recommend?

 

[thedarkwolf]

DO NOT GET AN OIL LESS one. The high speed long running tools like sanders and cutters need a whole lot of air and 6 scfm at 90psi doesn't cut it. Mine is only 6 and it runs the whole time I running one of those and still losses pressure. Think you really need atleast 9 SCFMs if you want to run those for any amount of time. Dual stage compressors maybe quieter then single but I really don't know.

 

[alpineranger]

what's the problem with oil-less ones? I've used both kinds, the oil-less kind very briefly years ago and it seemed fine. However, I wasn't doing anything too taxing.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Oil-less = LOUD AS HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The oiled ones are much quieter.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Oil-less = LOUD AS HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The oiled ones are much quieter.

QFT. Oil-less are extremely loud and don't last as long to boot.

 

[natto fire]

Good luck with your search. It is not really easy to compress air without making quite a bit of noise. I wonder if there are intake baffles or a lighter oil that can make reciprocating piston air compressors more quiet.

 

[arcas]

You'll pay more for an oil-filled compressor but it will be a lot quieter. It was hard to stand within 10 feet of my old oil-less compressor but the oil-filled Craftsman I replaced it with is pretty quiet. You can hold a conversation while standing next to it. Rated at 8.6cfm @ 40psi, 6.4@90psi. It's belt-driven and the manual even provides instructions for rewiring the motor for 220V. I think it cost around $350 so it wasn't cheap.

edit: You won't find many portable compressors that do more than 8.x/6.x. If you're looking for more air output than that, you're probably going to have to go with a 220V stationary compressor or a gas-powered model.