# Just Bought a "Silent" Air Compressor - Very Impressed



## macardoso (Mar 18, 2019)

Just wanted to share with everyone.

Last week I purchased a Harbor Freight Fortress 2 Gallon, 1.2HP silent air compressor in hopes that I could use it instead of my other HF 8 Gallon 2HP machine gun. I got it on sale for $160. My shop is in the basement of an old 1900's era house that has absolutely zero sound proofing between the floors. I can have a conversation with my fiancee through the basement ceiling as if she were standing next to me. Needless to say she does not appreciate me running the old compressor when I am working in the shop, so I was buying gas duster cans for my little odds and ends cleaning jobs in the shop.

I just finished building a CNC with a pneumatic drawbar, so compressed air was needed and I figured I'd try these silent ones. I can't believe how well it works. It certainly isn't silent, but it is no louder than the furnace blower turning on and quieter than the lathe running (which I have running really quiet). My phone app had it in the low 60 dBA at about 1'. My major concern was how much air it would put out, and honestly I think it does as well or better than my other compressor. I have the tanks daisy chained together so I have effectively a 10 gallon tank. My fiancee didn't even notice the first few times it turned on. 

The HF one has a steel tank that needs to be drained, but that is fine. It runs up to 135 psi and has two quick disconnects (that are a little hard to connect when under pressure). Without the other tank connected, it cycles up to full pressure in 10-15 seconds. Maybe a minute to do the tank from empty. A nice surprise for me was the compressor turns ON at 105 psi which was higher than the 90 for the other compressor and makes the CNC run better. All in all I would definitely recommend for anyone who works in a small shop and has limited compressed air needs.


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## markba633csi (Mar 18, 2019)

I've been looking at those too, to replace the Campbell-Hausfeld oilless "machine gun" I have
M


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## Meta Key (Mar 18, 2019)

Thanks for that review!  

I've also been looking at the "ultra quiet" compressors for possible fog free coolant and other purposes.  The big one I have is just too loud, even though it's on the other side of a wall.  

The HF unit looks like the California Air Tools unit I have been contemplating.  Think I'll drop by HF and take a look.

Lots of these on Amazon these days. Similar pricing.

Ultra Quiet compressors at Amazon


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## ThinWoodsman (Mar 18, 2019)

I picked up a "quiet tech" 26-gallon air compressor at the blue box store about six months ago. Never measured the sound output but it's marketed as under seventy decibels.

Very pleasant after the old one, noticeably more quiet than the American Rotary phase converter.


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## macardoso (Mar 18, 2019)

California Air tools has a aluminum tank which would be a plus. The HF was cheaper, had two ports, and was up the road so I saved on shipping. Either one would be great I think. Also they are oil-free which is nice.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 18, 2019)

Glad to hear that your compressor is working so well for you.

Several years back, I bought a Sanborn diaphragm compressor on the basis of it not needing oil and it being advertised as silent.  It is about as quiet as a loaded semi climbing a steep hill.  I have it in my basement shop and when it kicks in, I have adopted the practice of charging it up and turning it off so we aren't jumping out of our seats (or bed) when it kicks in.

The compressor has a 2 hp motor and a 30 gallon tank.  Supposedly, it put out 6 cfm at 90 psi but it takes over 4 minutes to charge from zero to 135 psi.  The tank is 4 cubic feet in volume and even considering that 6 scfm is equivalent to 1.5 cfm @ 90 psi, this seems like an inordinate amount of run time.

I also have a small diaphragm compressor.  It is also very loud and takes forever to charge the 2 gallon tank.  I had originally bought it thinking I could use it for my pneumatic stapler and pneumatic  brad nailer but it can't keep up with even those low consumption tools.  I use it mostly for topping up tires.

The next compressor that I buy will definitely be the old fashioned piston type.

edit:  Just measured sound level of the Sanborn.  100 db


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## Submachine (Mar 18, 2019)

My old HF shakes the whole house.  I was on a budget so I bought hearing protectors for me and my wife.   Bonus is I can use them during target practice.


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## royesses (Mar 18, 2019)

I was looking at one of these:








						Eastwood Elite QST-30/60 Scroll Portable Air Compressor
					

Use the quietest air compressor on the market in your shop by getting the QST-30/60 from Eastwood that has a 100 percent customer satisfaction guarantee.




					www.eastwood.com
				




But the price is a bit high for me. Very low noise and high output though for a home shop.

Roy


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## macardoso (Mar 18, 2019)

Nice looking compressor but ouch on the price! I guess if you do a lot of air work (grinding, blasting, painting, etc.) this is a tool. For me it is an accessory to my other tools and I don't need anywhere near the output it offers. If I needed something big, I don't think anything else comes close to the noise level


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## randyjaco (Mar 18, 2019)

Yeah, I went the cheap route and moved my noisey compressor way outside my shop.


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## RJSakowski (Mar 18, 2019)

We had a scroll compressor with refrigerated dry where I last worked.  We replaced a year old piston compressor because of the noise factor. The compressor was located in our very small machine shop and when it kicked in, it never failed to startle us.  Not a good thing when you were in the middle of machining something.  The scroll compressor was much quieter.

The site was decommissioned a year later and the scroll compressor was sold back to the installer for $600.


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## jdedmon91 (Mar 19, 2019)

randyjaco said:


> Yeah, I went the cheap route and moved my noisey compressor way outside my shop.



I did the same. Especially in a small shop


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