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Location: Massachusetts
08-24-2024, 06:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-24-2024, 06:46 PM by barnowl.)
(08-22-2024, 08:28 PM)blanning Wrote: .... How can I put the DC in a closet to keep it quiet while not hindering air movement? Maybe a muffler of some type on a vent?
brian
Put a louvered vent on the outside wall for the dust collector.
https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/shutt...xhaust-fan
The air compressor depends on which type you get. Some are much quieter than others,
and just enclosing it with some accoustic ceiling tiles on the inside of your enclosure makes a big difference.
That's how I did mine.
I just happened upon California Air Tools, who claim to be the quietest.
They say they are made in San Diego.
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-qu...mpressors/
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08-25-2024, 11:53 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-25-2024, 12:02 PM by Hank Knight.)
I built a small insulated enclosure around my ClearVue 1800 cyclone to kill the roar. It was inexpensive and, while it doesn't totally silence the cyclone, it cuts the noise volume down to a pleasant level.
I framed the enclosure with 2X4s and sheeted the walls with Homasote. Homasote is inexpensive and a sound deadener. I insulated the walls and ceiling with plain old pink fiberglass insulation. There are lots of sound insulation products on the market which are, I'm sure, more effective than Homasote and spun fiberglass, but at a much greater cost. I did some online research into sound baffle technology and came up with my own design. I left about 18" to 20" of the walls round the top of my enclosure uninsulated to create a hollow chamber and a 4" gap at the ceiling. I divided the chamber in half with a piece of Homasote the extends from the top of the chamber and ends 4" from the bottom of the chamber. This creates "U" shaped channel for the exhaust air from the D/C filters to escape back into the shop. Sound waves travel in straight lines. The baffles are placed so that no sound wave can travel from inside the enclosure to the outside shop without being deflected at least twice by the Homasote sheeting and the baffle. The effect is to dampen the energy of the sound wave and reduce the decibels of those that actually make in to the shop. It works. The total area of the openings around the top of my enclosure is almost three times the area of the cyclone's intake duct so the exhaust air escapes from the cyclone back into the shop without significant choking. I wish I had room for larger exhaust ports, but I don't. Your idea of using 6" framing studs should increase the area of your exhaust ports and further reduce choking. Even so, I haven't experienced any problem with my cyclone's performance from choking the exhaust volume.
My doors are a sandwich of Homasote sheeting over a 1" thick wood frame. The hollow between the Homasote sheets is filled with 1" thick "Memory Foam" I salvaged from my neighbor's discard pile.. The interface between the door and the door jamb is sealed with foam sealing tape. I put an additional layer of peg board on the outside of the enclosure to hang router bits and accessories. It doesn't contribute to the sound dampening effect of the enclosure, but it comes in handy for storage in my small shop. The overall effect of my Cyclone enclosure is perfectly satisfactory. The sound level in my shop and our upstairs family room immediately above my shop is pleasant. My wife can watch TV upstairs and I can carry on a normal conversation in my shop downstairs with the cyclone running full tilt. One of the best aspects of this project is that it was cheap. I have probably less than $80 invested in it.
You have probably already thought about this, but I'll mention it anyway. With your D/C conveniently sound proofed in its own room, you need a way to monitor the dust bin. If the bin fills up and you don't empty it, you're looking at a large, irritating, time consuming job cleaning out all of the duct work after it fills up with chips and jams. There are a number of commercial ways on the market to accomplish this. I'm fortunate enough to have an electrical engineer friend who designed and built a switching mechanism for me that uses a photo electric circuit to monitor the bin. When the bin fills up, the chips interrupt a light beam across the dust chute from the cyclone. This breaks the circuit that triggers a relay that turns off the cyclone. When I notice that the cyclone isn't sucking, I stop what I'm doing, empty the bin and go back to work. I never haver to worry about the bin overfilling and clogging up my ductwork.
This is a little long winded, but I hope it gives you some ideas.
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(08-23-2024, 01:16 PM)Admiral Wrote: I have my shop in the basement, and the ceiling (well, floor of the first floor of the house) was not insulated. I looked into it a bit and found out that insullation made from ground up denim (I had never heard of it before, special order from HD) was rated highly for both low and high frequency sound dampening. I put in a whole bunch of it, and my bride is happy as the sounds from all the machines was cut considerably.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/R-19-Denim-I.../204622703
Good to know. It kinda makes sense since ground up denim is probably heavier than batts. When I finally get around to building my enclosure, maybe I'll give it a shot. Thanks.