"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/13/2016 at 12:00 • Filed to: garage, wrenching, air compressor, project, blog
3
9|
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
12/13/2016 at 12:00 • Filed to: garage, wrenching, air compressor, project, blog | 3
| 9 |
Now that the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! part was done, it was time to do something about the air compressor...
To rewire the garage, some of the mess had been pulled away from the walls. Now it could be relaxed back into place, including a large shelving unit in the corner. I decided that the top of the shelving unit would be a good place for a used 10gal air compressor that I had recently picked up. I didn’t want it taking up valuable space below the workbench, so tucking it up in a corner would work perfectly. I would only need to access it occasionally to drain it anyway.
If I ever get around to upgrading the compressor, I can cut away part of the shelving unit and put it in the same place. And if that upgrade needs 220VAC, there’s a brand new plug nearby ready for it.
Having chosen a permanent location for the compressor, I decided to see what I could do about some sound deadening. I had some leftover rubber bedliner material that would help with vibration, so I cut some pads from it and placed them underneath the wheels and foot of the tank.
This is scrap material saved from a 5th-wheel hitch install (not on my truck) that required cutting part of the bedliner to fit.
I then drilled a couple of holes through the top of the shelving unit and zip-tied the front foot down against its pad just to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere.
To further muffle it, I measured and cut some cardboard to box it in. I set the cardboard up in place and marked it for further trimming. I thought about using the cardboard as a template for plywood, but honestly, the cardboard is sturdy enough for the job.
Whoops. Shoulda flipped the cardboard around before trimming. It would have looked nicer without the lettering...
After test-fitting the cardboard, I found some old junk bath towels and cut them to fit. I then stapled them to the cardboard. Sew fawncy! LOL who cares; it doesn’t have too look pretty!
All boxed up:
It stays in place rather well but I ran a few staples through the cardboard anyway just for kicks. Not too many, though; I still need to be able to drain the tank once in a while.
I love that it’s tucked out of the way, and the noise reduction is pretty sweet too! I don’t have a decibel meter, but I can tell you that it’s very easy to talk over now. It’s a big improvement inside the garage, and out in the driveway it’s even better. From the house, I can barely even hear it at all.
Tekamul
> Urambo Tauro
12/13/2016 at 12:07 |
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This is very good, quite resourceful. I would love to do something similar, but my compressor seems to follow me around the yard for various reasons.
shop-teacher
> Urambo Tauro
12/13/2016 at 12:23 |
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This is excellent. I REALLY need to do this ... after I fix my old 11 gallon air compressor of about the same vintage. The switch went bad. How often do you drain yours? I’ve been bad, I went a few years.
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Urambo Tauro
> shop-teacher
12/13/2016 at 12:28 |
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I don’t have a schedule, but I usually end up doing it every few months, maybe 2 or 3 times a year. That’s probably a lot more often than whoever had this tank before me.
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shop-teacher
> Urambo Tauro
12/13/2016 at 12:30 |
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That sounds like a sensible timeline.
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Urambo Tauro
> Tekamul
12/13/2016 at 12:32 |
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Thanks! Yeah, permanently placing a compressor won’t work for everyone.
I’d like to use rigid tubing at some point, and install an outlet by the workbench. But for now I just have one length of hose coming from the compressor in the back corner to a hose reel mounted just inside the front doors (between the bays). The reel can extend to anywhere in the garage, and reaches out into the driveway too. I’ve got one extra length of hose nearby just in case I need to reach even further out into the yard.
Sam
> Urambo Tauro
12/13/2016 at 13:04 |
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That’s pretty MacGyver. I’d eventually do wood with latches or something, if it was me, but it looks like it works the same as-is. Well done.
Censored
> Urambo Tauro
12/13/2016 at 13:10 |
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Install an automatic tank drain. They aren’t that expensive.
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Urambo Tauro
> Censored
12/13/2016 at 13:22 |
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Neat idea!
Should I worry about freezing temperatures? (Come to think of it, I guess that’s never been a problem for me with manual valves... but still, I’d hate to ruin a nice unit like that.)
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Censored
> Urambo Tauro
12/13/2016 at 13:58 |
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Nope, it’s just a solenoid that opperates for approx 1 second every set period (day/week etc... depending on usage. If it were to freeze, the solenoid would burn up if it was kept on, but this is at most activated a few seconds out of a day. No issues whatsoever, just the drain won’t function till it thaws.