Bringing a topic back to the top: what is the best 'silent' compressor for the regular user?

[Ragtop Man]

Would like it to fit within a booth I am designing - seen that SilentAire makes several, guessing there are probably others as well. 

What is working best for you, would like something of a more compact scroll-type. 

It there's a good link to prior discussion, LMK and accept my thanks for your patience in advance!  

Need to give the electrician some direction on power to the designated booth area. Thanks! 

[peteski]

Yes, there is a rather lengthy thread about this subject, and if you start a new one, you'll get multiple "best" answers - just like what you see in that lengthy topic.

But your last question can be answered.  Since you are looking for a hobby size compressor, you will never need more than a standard 120V 20A circuit. Even that is likely an overkill. A 15A circuit should be sufficient.  if you needed a repair garage size large capacity compressor, that's when you need some higher amperage 240V circuit.

I gave my recommendation for best quiet compressor with a 2 gal. tank in the other threads - no need to repeat it here.

[mcs1056]

I'll just answer your question.

I have a Fortress 2-gallon compressor, from Harbor Freight. Its quiet enough to use in my upstairs room, and the tank keeps the cycling way down. It plugs into any wall outlet. Its been two years with zero issues. I did add the usual water separator and an additional filter. I also put it on a play-pen pad to dampen any vibrations through the wood floor, though this was unnecessary.

I got mine for $129.00, but the price has risen recently. They also have a 1-gallon version, which should work just fine.

  https://www.harborfreight.com/2-gallon-135-psi-ultra-quiet-oil-free-hand-carry-jobsite-air-compressor-64596.html

[Dave G.]

Those small or "compact" SilentAir compressors basically use a refrigerator compressor on a tank. This is indeed pretty quiet. Some folks have scratch built similar units, from scrap yard parts. 

Everything most have mentioned in the thread here are piston compressors. But some of those are pretty quiet too, at a much lower price point than SilentAir.. 

[Misha]

My airbrushing endeavours began in the mid 70s with a Paasche VL brush powered by an inexpensive piston driven compressor with no tank. This proved to be a poor compromise as the pulsing air created all sorts of problems when attempting to lay down a consistent stream of paint. Next I moved on to a Sears compressor with a built in regulator and small holding tank. Its drawback was the noise that was akin to a diesel engine!

The solution was to get a compressor that would solve the issues presented by the previous ones. I settled on the Iwata studio model which purrs quietly along in its operation, has two lines with separate regulators and water traps and a large enough holding tank. It’s been nearly twenty years of trouble free operation and it plugs into a normal household 110 circuit. While it was an investment, it has saved a lot of headaches and has proven its worth over the years. 

Cheers Misha

Edited Saturday at 03:13 PM by Misha
Grammar!

[DanL]

Good to hear some up to date conversation on this subject... thx