As of this comment, my resonator is still in good shape, being used in a full time mechanic shop for 3 years. That being said, many folks have raised the concern that foam will (eventually) degrade over time and turn to dust, which the compressor can inhale. If you make one of these, I recommend you simply add 'checking the foam' to your compressor's maintenance schedule. In my opinion, the potential damage that could be caused by foam dust is minimal anyways. And adding a filter afterwards is a bad idea because foam dust would block the filter and the compressor would just inhale the filter AND the foam. Encapsulating the foam in a thin sheet of fabric, such as a T-shirt or a pillow case might be a solution, but that might lessen the sound absorption. Build one yourself, and experiment, that's what we do :)
@@madmanmapper I think you may have had it right with a t-shirt filter. Or even the stock filter after your suppressor with t-shirt filter. That sounds almost fool proof for many years over many compressor designs. Man I got to try this. Nice vid you crazy Mad Man!
if you check it, the air filter would just be a little dirty. when foam degrades it puts of particles here and there. i doubt it matters either way, so long as you check it.
Just finished building mine tonight, and the results were STUNNING. 60 Gallon, 3.5HP Campbell Hausfeld compressor was running about 100db 2 feet from the pump with the stock muffler. After installing this modification, it dropped to about 77db! I use a ton of air with my vapor blast cabinet, so a loud compressor was really annoying. Now, my little handheld vacuum is louder than the compressor. THANK YOU!
I saw this trick done, 20-years ago. The fellow that showed me this, explained it like such: an air compressor is nothing but a combustion engine running backwards (you are capturing the 'compressed exhaust' and wanting to free-flow the 'atmospheric intake'...so, as he put it, the 'air intake' on a compressor is the 'exhaust pipe' on a car...OF COURSE you want a muffler! He had his compressor inside his shop (due to theft), but had black-piped his intake through the wall, to the outside of the building...and between 'routed outside' and this HUGE bucket muffler at the end, the 8-hp 100-gallon compressor sounded about like a 1/10-hp 'airless' micro-compressor!
Thanks for the video. I made mufflers per your instructions. Because my compressor is a twin 2" intake, 30 HP I used 5 gallon buckets. The results were great. They took out the thumping intake sound.
I used to work as a mechanic for a large concrete supplier. My shop was fairly large and had a big air compressor. The compressor was an occasional batch plant back-up so it was huge. The intake had a big 4" pipe air intake. It was loud enough that you couldn't hear people talking when it was running. I had the idea of coupling a truck muffler to it. I convinced my boss that nothing was permanent and could be used for a truck if need be. So it was okayed by him. I welded up an adapter for the air cleaner an used some 4" exhaust elbows to hook it all up. With that muffler on the intake between the air cleaner and air inlet it was amazing how quiet it got in that shop.
@@coryboes7118 Same direction as the air flow. There was a significant amount of reverberation coming from the aircleaner. I would estimate 70% of the noise came from there. It was like night and day after the installation. It was a very old compressor from the thirties I think.
I'm a retired compressor mechanic, I started back in the days before rotary screw compressors took over the market. This is as good an idea for a home made silencer as I've seen. It might need some additional support from vibration and I'm unsure if the plastic will deal with the heat, just saying.
For sure. The bucket never gets too hot as it's far enough up. It's still floppy, and I'd say the bottom of the bucket definitely needs something in it to stabilize it.
@@madmax222 Probably, but I doubt the capacity is overly affected, that is a pretty big area. Depends on how much you stuff in the bucket. Some older/larger compressors simply had to have silencers, these new small, high speed units are pretty noisy, but for the price, they're worth it. Some of the noise is from hammering in the tank, you would need a discharge silencer for that.
@@madmax222 the wire cage is the same diameter as original outlet. This is a silencer, not a filter. It absorbs the sound waves produced by the intake. No effect on air flow.
@@joemendyk9994Well almost no effect on flow. Nothing that would be noticable anyways. Any tube has its restrictions to airflow and the walls of this tube are rough which would add some turbulence. But I'm staying again, probably nothing noticable.
I have an air compressor in the attic of my garage, and when I wanted to add a filter and silencer, I went to an automotive junk yard and purchased a air box from a MK4 VW jetta .... Cars have built in silencers in the air box and if I want to replace the filter, now I just order an air filter for a MK4 Jetta 👍
I worked at a wastewater facility years ago. They designed the compressor and blower mufflers to be positioned outside of the building. Similar results if it works as well as you're claiming. I have a 50 gal at home that I put in an insulated dog box behind my garage and just hard plumbed a connection port to inside so I can hook/unhook a rubber hose. That's been my most successful so far. Great video!
Even if its not calibrated it gives indication when you measure the silent shop vs on and off muffler, so yes, even with free phone app it makes sense to measure results and tell all that info/data.
If it's in your realm of activity a muffler such as this is quick and cheap to test. Expanding your doubt with comments here indicates you are only searching for gossip. Which is okay, but sometimes the chatter has to assess matters in contrast to asking for extra effort that may confirm the theoretical viewpoint?
Well done. As a professional inventor, I give you high marks here. I always tell people, do simple things simply. Simply trying something first, see what happens really works well in these cases.
Great idea! I'll do that this weekend. About the sound recording thing, I seem to remember way back when that tape recorders and early video recorders had an "ALC" button that could turn the Automatic Level Control on and off. Maybe high end video equipment still has that, but most people are just using their phones today. You can really notice it in car reviews where the reviewer comments on how quiet the car is but you can still hear every little whoosh of the air and tires as if it were loud. I recorded a little video of a babbling brook and you can hear me breathing, being intentionally quiet, five feet behind the tripod.
I just adapted a larger silencer/filter, from an Ingersoll Rand air compressor. It's a 1 1/4" filter thread, adapted to my 1" Quincy QT-5 intake. They really help. Add a sub base with a sturdy but flexible rubber mat to the tank legs.
I have an ancient Worthington compressor and the intake has a muffler set up with a series of cans like a nesting doll. It is quiet and works well for a 90 year old compressor.
My Dad put something similar (different construction) on his compressor 30 years ago and it's still on to this day. I replaced the foam with some closed cell stuff that doesn;t break u[p as easily but yes indeed it makes a MASSIVE difference. Great video make, Subscribed.
This is so simple and brilliant! Well done and thanks for sharing! I have been deciding between a more expensive ultra quiet air compressor and a louder and cheaper one that I could quiet on my own. The sound from those things is so annoying!
I have a 5 hp compressor on a large tank (older Ingersol-Rand compressor). A few years prior I purchased a closeout car muffler with a 2-1/4: inlet and outlet thinking I would be ready for future exhaust repairs but never used it. After I purchased the compressor and built a special shed for it, running it was a very noisy affair. I had the idea to get a couple sections of 2" PVC pipe with necessary elbows and fittings and a Fernco rubber coupler. Luck came my way when a guy I knew that did work on cars "improving" them of upgrading replacement parts had a modern car panel filter and housing sitting next to his trash cans so I grabbed it. This is where the Fernco coupler came into play adapting the PVC to the automotive filter. The filter inside was close to brand new, nothing came out when I cleaned it with compressed air and there was no dirt discoloration and I mounted it on the PVC pipe which protruded from a hole in my compressor shed. It is as quiet as your and also did not cost me much. I had paid ten dollars for the muffler, the pipe came from Home Depot and I had silicone. The amount of air that the compressor moves vs a car at 60 mph, my compressor is not taxing the mufflers air flow and there is nothing that can be injested into the system. I hung the muffler on the wall above the compressor with pipe straps (the metal band roll with holes spaced evenly) and a couple screws. No complaints from me or my neighbors even when I run it with the shed doors open.
What we do (an industrial compressor mech./millwright) is use high temp suction hose as a vibration isolator, to ABS or aluminum (internally coated) pipe through the exterior wall and mount the air filter outside. Some guys use black iron, but I prefer something that's not going to corrode and potentially jam up the valves. Where neighbors are concerned, we will mount a three-sided box that's open on the back and bottom lined with a sound absorbing foam and mount this over the air filter to dampen the noise. The first set-up alone will completely silence the compressor as the suction noise is moved outdoors. You may have to drain your tank of moisture more often, but our commercial customers will generally use a timer drain (or some other form of auto drain) to take care of the excess condensate.
A blanket of safe and sound rock wool insulation. Will greatly decrease the sound and used as the muffler in design. You will be amazed by how quiet it is. Just keep the motor free and cooled.
Seeing this in 11/2024.. Years ago I got tired of hearing the compressor in my shop, it sat right nest to my tire machine and doing tire work was deafening. What I did was to make up a rubber hose extension from the head to the wall, going through the wall into a back store room where I adapted the air intake to a car muffler that was mounted on the wall on rubber mounts. the combination of the rubber hose and muffler made the compressor nearly silent other than mechanical noise from the pump.
I'd never seen this before, yet I just knew someone had done something like this. I came up with this nearly exact idea independently since I run this thing in the basement, where I live and it is god aweful loud- I've built an enclosure for it and put it behind a tiny wall which has already made a huge difference (it is well ventilated with an air intake with a mini box fan and an exhaust for the enclosure so it stays nice and cool inside). Next is to run the intake out the side of the House so the intake pulls air from outside which should eliminate a lot of sound- then I was going to do this exact thing with the exhaust. I'm glad to see someone has done it and that it works so well! Thanks for doing the testing for me, I feel a lot more confident now!
thats very cool I haver been considering buying a new compressor because mine is so ridiculously loud (its not as old as yours either) but I'm going to try this first. thanks for sharing
Thanks for the video. I'm building my unit with a 1 gallon paint can right now using your technique. I only have a 20 gallon compressor but its just as loud as the big compressors so Im gonna try to quiet it. I'll let you know how it works.
Old video i know, i work in a busy auto repair shop and the compressor runs constantly for 12 hours a day there, the cylinders and heads stay insanely hot all the time(i would guess 300+ degrees at times) Its hard to imagine that a plastic bucket would hold up to this intense heat and not melt. Perhaps in a limited use hobby shop enviroment such a device would hold up just fine, but, in a commercial shop i dont think that plastic would survive for very long. I rigged up a large diesel engine fuel filter to use on the inlet of my 30 gallon home compressor that works very well and greatly reduces the noise level. Good vid!
This compressor IS in a busy auto repair shop. It's held up for years. A compressor really shouldn't be getting that hot. Even so, you can just extend the intake pipe to take it away from the heat, and use a metal can or bucket.
I mounted mine on big rubber donuts with big fender washers in both sides of the donuts and attached it to th floor with redheads that made mine quite a bit quieter I think this will really help even more
I've played w/ some silencers and your design worked out well. Only thing I would say is you'll really want to keep a close eye on the foam. As that breaks down it's gonna end up inside your compressor. Maybe a different filter hat - and putting the silencer in front of the filter instead of behind the filter.
@@WB1200 Sure, but definitely contain it in some kind of cloth like an old T-shirt. Fiberglass has a lot of particulate that you don't want the compressor to inhale. Not to mention, you'd be blowing fiberglass all over the place when you use your air tools.
how about having a rubber sheet as the first wrap near the wire net? english isn't my first language but i'm thinking one of those "sheets" you can buy to cut gaskets from
Looks like it would do the job. You gave me an idea. I have an old intake box from an old 80cc dirt bike and I'll make it fit and see if it makes a difference. If it doesn't I'll make something similar to this. Mine outputs less then 2kw but makes a really deep thumping sound which is almost unbearable in my small shed. Great video!
Not to complain, but it is very important to NOT put thinks that decay or otherwise lack structure AFTER the filter. I am pretty sure this would work just as well if your foam silencer was outside the filter, and then it wouldn't add a failure mode to your compressor. Open cell foam decays into dust. An old mattress pad is already full of dust. Foams decay faster when exposed to hydrocarbons, including the oil in a compressor.
While I'm not entirely disagreeing with you, it's lasted 3 years so far, and that was already old mattress foam. Yes, eventually it will turn to dust. But for something I spent less than $20 on, 3+ years is great. Especially if you consider that there really isn't an already-made equivalent. And while a filter after the silencer might make sense on paper, I'd be much, much more worried that decayed foam dust would clog the filter, and the compressor would inhale the filter and the dust. Whereas this way, it can only inhale the dust. Besides, you can simply add 'inspecting the silencer foam' to your compressor's maintenance routine.
Was looking for this comment. From experience I can tell you foam degrade till it gets sucked thru the machine. I built a baffled foam lined box silencer for an intake on a 30hp machine that would run between 8 and 20 hours a day every day. After a few years the foam was pretty much gone. For a little 5hp it might take considerably longer.
I have that exact same air compressor but in an 80-gallon model and it has a horizontal tank, I Bought it 40 years ago, Yep, ain't lying, and it still works. Great mod though :)
Don't ask me why, I bought a case of spin on gas filters (they just look like metal oil filters) when they became incompatible with alcohol blends. I use these on the intake of my compressor. Quiets it down and filters out particles.
I'm kind of interested in the idea of sucking the air though the foam. Firstly try making the inside cage a little larger for greater surface area. Then center and attach to the bucket lid a smaller cage with soft materials to baffle and absorbed pressure waves. While air makes a turn and goes through the foam walls to holes along the bucket's sidewalls. The theory is sound travels through the air faster than the speed air speed getting sucked in. And the noise travels more strait into the absorbing mass in the center while air flow entering from the many different ports along the sidewalls might cause phase delays between the different peaks where sound exits through ports while the air gets filtered by an outer foam layer inside the bucket.
It would work, lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners have open cell foam air filters. You would probably want to have it not more than an inch or two thick, otherwise the compressor might have to fight too hard to suck air through. I don't really think your theory is right, I think the foam just absorbs the shockwaves all over the place. Because it works in my case and the air is only passing by it, not through it. But I think it would still work. You would basically be doing what I did, but also making it an air filter. However then you'll really need to be concerned with the foam being sucked in, deteriorated or not.
If you are concerned about the foam degrading, wrap the wire cage with Scotch Brite pads to catch the little bits before it gets ingested into the compressor. It is porous enough to let air to pass through, yet catch debris
why would the air need to go through the cage though? The air is not taken in via the sides of the cage, the cage is just a tunnel. All that needs to go through the cage and into the foam in the sound waves. So even wrapping the cage in clingwrap will serve the purpose exactly the same without having to bother with weaving scotch brite pads around a mesh.
Until I saw you at the end, I imagined a white bearded wizard like old person talking with relaxing voice, then totally surprised to see a young man is the source of that wisdom.
I like this except this type of foam deteriorates and will clog the air compressor pump after about 5 years. So keep a close eye on the foam, and possibly put a fiberglass filter between the tube and the foam. I think I'm going to make one out of a metal can I have in the shop. Thanks for the nice video. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya
I work in the compressed air industry, and there are products available for purchase that work precisely like this, but are made with non-flammable materials. This is important because compression is an exo-thermic process... every kW of compressor power input = .95 kW of heat output. While reciprocating compressors are designed for low duty cycles (where the machine will have time to cool off during extended shutdown periods), IF a major leak to were occur that forced a continuous load on the machine, it would heat up to the point that it could ignite your plastic bucket. I have seen this happen at a client's facility in Carman, MB - where they installed a 5hp Champion compressor in a closet and left it powered on over the weekend. The pump itself (aluminum) got hot enough to melt and the result was a fire that engulfed three floors of the plant. This is a good hack, but please don't use it in a setting where the potential for overrunning the compressor (or even leaving to run unsupervised) might exist.
That's good to know. I should use metal buckets for future silencer projects. If the foam were to burn in a metal bucket, it would be contained(ish). But a melting flaming plastic bucket could be a problem!
I think the issue here is that it was in a closet with probably no heat transfer or ventilation. If your compressor is getting hot enough to melt itself by whatever combination of factors, even having a silencer, let alone determining if it was made from flammable or non flammable material, will be a footnote in the fire investigation report, and most likely won't contribute to an increased risk of fire beyond the original much more important factors, like stuffing a compressor in a non mechanically ventilated closet or enclosed space where heat could build up over time. Unless you're saying that having a silencer will make a continuously running compressor less noticeable to nearby workers. But even then, will the plastic melt and drip down to where it can ignite and run a flame to other areas? if your compressor metal is already molten I'm not sure the bucket constitutes an increased fire risk. Probably hot flaming oil from a breached compressor crankcase is going to spread the fire far further than a bucket of foam as it's already a flammable liquid in close proximity to a source of heat hot enough to ignite and spread it.
And the expansion and contraction of the bucket it’s self will be amplifying the put put noise so if you used a bucket made with thick plastic or even steel that would help as well
I might worry that steel would carry vibration more than plastic, but either way, the mass of foam inside should dampen any vibration, at least to some degree. I definitely recommend using a sturdier bucket or at least reinforcing the bottom, because it does flop around.
The best is to put an intake pipe outside. Not only super quiet but reduces water in the air. Keep the pipe large to reduce resistriction in the intake and cause oil to be pulled passed the rings.
To help with a few of the comments concerning the decibel meter. I believe you could down load a free (better than nothing) meter for your phone. I'll take your word for it, that this is a great idea. I actually seen a guy, use a $50 Thursh muffler. But yours is a bit more affordable lol. Thank you for the post. I'm going to try this.
such a brilliant simple idea....will have a look at mine and see what i can do. just wondering if you lined the interior of the bucket with a rubber mat whether that would help to dampen the vibration and noise further?
I silenced my compressor by putting it in my storage room that’s detached from my house and then ran the hose under the ground and 75ft away to my shop. I can’t hear it at all. I can port heads in peace.
As that mattress topper material starts to deteriorate, (and it will), you will be pulling that crap into the compressor. The idea isn't the problem. It's The choice of materials.
I'm well aware. Probably should've mentioned it in the video. I think this stuff is more long lived than some open-celled foam. In my case, I have the leftover piece of foam nailed to the brick wall behind the compressor to dampen noise a little further. I'm imagining I'll notice when that deteriorates, as it is in plain sight. I suppose you could put some kind of filter or screen at the bottom of the bucket, but I'm not sure what you could put there that wouldn't just get sucked in, if it was full of foam dust. Honestly, I'd feel much better about my compressor inhaling foam dust than bits of a metal screen. What material would you use, then?
No I don't oil it. I feel like there might be more risk of the oil causing the foam to deteriorate. It's likely natural latex foam, and natural rubber sure doesn't like oil.
np. If you want to go a step further, you could print the pipe flanges as part of the container. Not sure if you could successfully print the pipe threads, but you could either spend some money on a pipe thread tap, or do what I did once: buy a 3" iron pipe nipple, and cut slots out of the threads. It should be able to cut threads in PLA.
@@madmanmapper lol already ahead of ya there. took a brass 3/8 nipple fitting and filed it into a tap. first one worked but was too small so now im going for a bigger bucket with 3d printed adapters on top and bottom with a printed core instead of chicken wire. also the first one melted lil after a bunch of testing the fittings heated up and made it sag. so i'm going to extend the fittings to move it away from heat and add an extra fan with a time delay solenoid so it keeps running even when the compressor is off for a bit to cool it down more efficiently. oh and i can totally print threads that fine but fusion 360 is annoying about doing tapered threads so i just make a hole with the right taper and tap it. i have a real 1/4 npt tap just not 3/8 lol
The filter is before the muffler so there is nothing - not even a screen - to catch the foam as it deteriorates - maybe could have put a wrap or two of cloth or other filter medium around the screen before the foam?
You do you. I would much rather the compressor inhale a bit of perished foam rather than a metal screen. Someone else had the idea of encapsulating the foam, perhaps in cloth like a pillow case. Personally, that's what I'll be doing next time.
In a shop which I worked at, we plumbed the intake out through the concrete block wall and put the air filter on the outside....had a significant effect. Went from obnoxious to very reasonable...I presume less effective than your bucket but it was "easier".
I have a compressor with a rectangular intake, that comes out the side, not the top. 60 gallon, 230 volt, 7 hp, 12.3cfm@40psi / 10.3cfm@90psi. It is loud.
I see the wood support being good, but I would have left the lid skelotonized, and no center opening straight through. Although much air is diffused in and out of the foam, pulling all or through as such would be quiter, but risk sucking in foam
I would probably add just a couple more pieces to this, a length of hose between compressor and bucket, then mount the bucket on something not attached to compressor.
Sounds great, just food for thought, that mattress pad foam is very "partically" and breaks down pretty quickly. I wonder if synthetic pillow foam would work as well? Sadly, my Craftsman compressor's air intake is really built into the head, this mod would be about impossible for me to pull off but a bit envious it worked great for you.
Yes, I would definitely prefer synthetic foam. As long as it's a soft open cell foam, it should work just as well. As for your problem, I dunno, JB Weld a pipe onto the intake or something.
Just use rockwool safe and sound insulation it's fire and water resistant and good for sound deadening I use it to muffler a big 6 inch vortex fan in a 5 gallons bucket and it work great
Pretty irrelevant if you cover the cage with material that does not do that. For motorbike exhaust people have put on glass fiber mat around the tube and then stuff in what ever that can take the heat, so same should apply here. Long as its material that prohibits PARTIALLY airflow its good, so anything from glass fiber insulation to mattress padding should be fine, long as there is filter material preventing any of that getting into intake of compressor or you have some cleaning to do later, then again one should open the reed valves and clean them time to time to get better performance. Had so far 7 used small market compressors that had been thrown into scrap. Ether valves are full of dirt so it leaks air back into intake and exhaust valve lets compressed air back into cylinder or it has stopped into very particular spot and just gives out humming sound. Turn it off, turn the motor manually and start. This usually gets them running again. Other common failure point in many machines is the capacitor fault and i have gotten thousands of $ worth of equipment for essentially free for simple 2-25$ part replacement. Other thing is the damaged power cord but that should be obvious enough to replace. Metal and electronic scrap places i often visit for hunt for more equipment to save i always take the cords out from actually destroyed equipment like washing machines and vacuum cleaners since those are good replacements for other machines, just need to know what to do and what not to do.
Great video. I'd be worried, though, about particles of the foam going into the compressor motor. Consider wrapping air-filter fabric or 100% cheese cloth around the hardware cloth. Edit: I guess I should have read the first pinned comment - but rather than just checking it on a schedule, the filter fabric or cheese cloth, I think, is better.
As of this comment, my resonator is still in good shape, being used in a full time mechanic shop for 3 years.
That being said, many folks have raised the concern that foam will (eventually) degrade over time and turn to dust, which the compressor can inhale. If you make one of these, I recommend you simply add 'checking the foam' to your compressor's maintenance schedule. In my opinion, the potential damage that could be caused by foam dust is minimal anyways. And adding a filter afterwards is a bad idea because foam dust would block the filter and the compressor would just inhale the filter AND the foam. Encapsulating the foam in a thin sheet of fabric, such as a T-shirt or a pillow case might be a solution, but that might lessen the sound absorption.
Build one yourself, and experiment, that's what we do :)
Just fill it with a roll of plastic window screen... same effect, no degradation
@@ludditeneaderthal now there's an idea.
@@madmanmapper I think you may have had it right with a t-shirt filter. Or even the stock filter after your suppressor with t-shirt filter. That sounds almost fool proof for many years over many compressor designs.
Man I got to try this. Nice vid you crazy Mad Man!
if you check it, the air filter would just be a little dirty. when foam degrades it puts of particles here and there. i doubt it matters either way, so long as you check it.
Just wrap the chicken wire with speaker grille cloth, it's acoustically transparent so sound would still pass freely.
Just finished building mine tonight, and the results were STUNNING. 60 Gallon, 3.5HP Campbell Hausfeld compressor was running about 100db 2 feet from the pump with the stock muffler. After installing this modification, it dropped to about 77db! I use a ton of air with my vapor blast cabinet, so a loud compressor was really annoying. Now, my little handheld vacuum is louder than the compressor. THANK YOU!
Amazing isn't it, not having your ears bleed? You are quite welcome!
I saw this trick done, 20-years ago. The fellow that showed me this, explained it like such: an air compressor is nothing but a combustion engine running backwards (you are capturing the 'compressed exhaust' and wanting to free-flow the 'atmospheric intake'...so, as he put it, the 'air intake' on a compressor is the 'exhaust pipe' on a car...OF COURSE you want a muffler! He had his compressor inside his shop (due to theft), but had black-piped his intake through the wall, to the outside of the building...and between 'routed outside' and this HUGE bucket muffler at the end, the 8-hp 100-gallon compressor sounded about like a 1/10-hp 'airless' micro-compressor!
Thanks for the video. I made mufflers per your instructions. Because my compressor is a twin 2" intake, 30 HP I used 5 gallon buckets. The results were great. They took out the thumping intake sound.
Thanks for letting me know how well it worked! It's an amazing difference - not having your ears bleed!
I used to work as a mechanic for a large concrete supplier. My shop was fairly large and had a big air compressor. The compressor was an occasional batch plant back-up so it was huge. The intake had a big 4" pipe air intake. It was loud enough that you couldn't hear people talking when it was running. I had the idea of coupling a truck muffler to it. I convinced my boss that nothing was permanent and could be used for a truck if need be. So it was okayed by him. I welded up an adapter for the air cleaner an used some 4" exhaust elbows to hook it all up. With that muffler on the intake between the air cleaner and air inlet it was amazing how quiet it got in that shop.
Same direction as airflow??? Or backwards???
@@coryboes7118 Same direction as the air flow. There was a significant amount of reverberation coming from the aircleaner. I would estimate 70% of the noise came from there. It was like night and day after the installation. It was a very old compressor from the thirties I think.
I'm a retired compressor mechanic, I started back in the days before rotary screw compressors took over the market. This is as good an idea for a home made silencer as I've seen. It might need some additional support from vibration and I'm unsure if the plastic will deal with the heat, just saying.
For sure. The bucket never gets too hot as it's far enough up. It's still floppy, and I'd say the bottom of the bucket definitely needs something in it to stabilize it.
As a current compressor tech don't you think it will cut capacity? I can't imagine air is moving as easily through the stock air filter
@@madmax222 Probably, but I doubt the capacity is overly affected, that is a pretty big area. Depends on how much you stuff in the bucket. Some older/larger compressors simply had to have silencers, these new small, high speed units are pretty noisy, but for the price, they're worth it. Some of the noise is from hammering in the tank, you would need a discharge silencer for that.
@@madmax222 the wire cage is the same diameter as original outlet. This is a silencer, not a filter. It absorbs the sound waves produced by the intake. No effect on air flow.
@@joemendyk9994Well almost no effect on flow. Nothing that would be noticable anyways. Any tube has its restrictions to airflow and the walls of this tube are rough which would add some turbulence. But I'm staying again, probably nothing noticable.
Thank you for pointing out the automatic volume adjustment on your camera, it would not have been immediately obvious. And great job!
I have an air compressor in the attic of my garage, and when I wanted to add a filter and silencer, I went to an automotive junk yard and purchased a air box from a MK4 VW jetta .... Cars have built in silencers in the air box and if I want to replace the filter, now I just order an air filter for a MK4 Jetta 👍
Of course. Clever application 😉
You are basically following the principals of a glass pack muffler.
I will be trying this out for sure.
Great video.
I worked at a wastewater facility years ago. They designed the compressor and blower mufflers to be positioned outside of the building. Similar results if it works as well as you're claiming. I have a 50 gal at home that I put in an insulated dog box behind my garage and just hard plumbed a connection port to inside so I can hook/unhook a rubber hose. That's been my most successful so far. Great video!
there needs to be a decibel reader when it comes to videos like this.
Even if its not calibrated it gives indication when you measure the silent shop vs on and off muffler, so yes, even with free phone app it makes sense to measure results and tell all that info/data.
If it's in your realm of activity a muffler such as this is quick and cheap to test. Expanding your doubt with comments here indicates you are only searching for gossip. Which is okay, but sometimes the chatter has to assess matters in contrast to asking for extra effort that may confirm the theoretical viewpoint?
Well done.
As a professional inventor, I give you high marks here.
I always tell people, do simple things simply. Simply trying something first, see what happens really works well in these cases.
Crazy cool. Only change I would make aside from the plywood base is a different colored bucket to match the compressor :)
Good video
Thanks!
Great idea! I'll do that this weekend.
About the sound recording thing, I seem to remember way back when that tape recorders and early video recorders had an "ALC" button that could turn the Automatic Level Control on and off. Maybe high end video equipment still has that, but most people are just using their phones today. You can really notice it in car reviews where the reviewer comments on how quiet the car is but you can still hear every little whoosh of the air and tires as if it were loud. I recorded a little video of a babbling brook and you can hear me breathing, being intentionally quiet, five feet behind the tripod.
I just adapted a larger silencer/filter, from an Ingersoll Rand air compressor.
It's a 1 1/4" filter thread, adapted to my 1" Quincy QT-5 intake.
They really help.
Add a sub base with a sturdy but flexible rubber mat to the tank legs.
I have an ancient Worthington compressor and the intake has a muffler set up with a series of cans like a nesting doll. It is quiet and works well for a 90 year old compressor.
Yes, that was my original design idea for a resonator.
My Dad put something similar (different construction) on his compressor 30 years ago and it's still on to this day. I replaced the foam with some closed cell stuff that doesn;t break u[p as easily but yes indeed it makes a MASSIVE difference. Great video make, Subscribed.
This is so simple and brilliant! Well done and thanks for sharing!
I have been deciding between a more expensive ultra quiet air compressor and a louder and cheaper one that I could quiet on my own. The sound from those things is so annoying!
Especially oil less ones.
I have a 5 hp compressor on a large tank (older Ingersol-Rand compressor). A few years prior I purchased a closeout car muffler with a 2-1/4: inlet and outlet thinking I would be ready for future exhaust repairs but never used it. After I purchased the compressor and built a special shed for it, running it was a very noisy affair. I had the idea to get a couple sections of 2" PVC pipe with necessary elbows and fittings and a Fernco rubber coupler. Luck came my way when a guy I knew that did work on cars "improving" them of upgrading replacement parts had a modern car panel filter and housing sitting next to his trash cans so I grabbed it. This is where the Fernco coupler came into play adapting the PVC to the automotive filter. The filter inside was close to brand new, nothing came out when I cleaned it with compressed air and there was no dirt discoloration and I mounted it on the PVC pipe which protruded from a hole in my compressor shed. It is as quiet as your and also did not cost me much. I had paid ten dollars for the muffler, the pipe came from Home Depot and I had silicone. The amount of air that the compressor moves vs a car at 60 mph, my compressor is not taxing the mufflers air flow and there is nothing that can be injested into the system. I hung the muffler on the wall above the compressor with pipe straps (the metal band roll with holes spaced evenly) and a couple screws. No complaints from me or my neighbors even when I run it with the shed doors open.
It's always great when you can complete a project with crap you have laying around... or when the parts you need just come to you.
I have a new 5hp compressor. Been looking for a solution and yours looks quite effective, simple and cheap. Will be trying this! Thanks
Let me know how it works out!
great idea, simple and effective. Same concept as a glass pack muffler that doesn't restrict air flow
I ran mine through the wall too the outside,,,best way to do it if you can,,,,very quiet and no more shop dust
What we do (an industrial compressor mech./millwright) is use high temp suction hose as a vibration isolator, to ABS or aluminum (internally coated) pipe through the exterior wall and mount the air filter outside. Some guys use black iron, but I prefer something that's not going to corrode and potentially jam up the valves.
Where neighbors are concerned, we will mount a three-sided box that's open on the back and bottom lined with a sound absorbing foam and mount this over the air filter to dampen the noise.
The first set-up alone will completely silence the compressor as the suction noise is moved outdoors. You may have to drain your tank of moisture more often, but our commercial customers will generally use a timer drain (or some other form of auto drain) to take care of the excess condensate.
Hahahaha, a glass-pack for your compressor. Good job
Great Demo
A blanket of safe and sound rock wool insulation. Will greatly decrease the sound and used as the muffler in design. You will be amazed by how quiet it is.
Just keep the motor free and cooled.
Seeing this in 11/2024.. Years ago I got tired of hearing the compressor in my shop, it sat right nest to my tire machine and doing tire work was deafening.
What I did was to make up a rubber hose extension from the head to the wall, going through the wall into a back store room where I adapted the air intake to a car muffler that was mounted on the wall on rubber mounts. the combination of the rubber hose and muffler made the compressor nearly silent other than mechanical noise from the pump.
I'd never seen this before, yet I just knew someone had done something like this. I came up with this nearly exact idea independently since I run this thing in the basement, where I live and it is god aweful loud- I've built an enclosure for it and put it behind a tiny wall which has already made a huge difference (it is well ventilated with an air intake with a mini box fan and an exhaust for the enclosure so it stays nice and cool inside). Next is to run the intake out the side of the House so the intake pulls air from outside which should eliminate a lot of sound- then I was going to do this exact thing with the exhaust. I'm glad to see someone has done it and that it works so well! Thanks for doing the testing for me, I feel a lot more confident now!
Video is 5 years old and still saving lifes 😂❤
thats very cool I haver been considering buying a new compressor because mine is so ridiculously loud (its not as old as yours either) but I'm going to try this first. thanks for sharing
personally i would use those buckets that lock shut even though its unlikely to drop off just that added bit of safety
Thanks for the video. I'm building my unit with a 1 gallon paint can right now using your technique. I only have a 20 gallon compressor but its just as loud as the big compressors so Im gonna try to quiet it. I'll let you know how it works.
How'd it go Dale?
@@brucemoyers1006 It seemed to help quite a bit. I wouldint say its quiet but much less noise then without it.
Old video i know, i work in a busy auto repair shop and the compressor runs constantly for 12 hours a day there, the cylinders and heads stay insanely hot all the time(i would guess 300+ degrees at times) Its hard to imagine that a plastic bucket would hold up to this intense heat and not melt. Perhaps in a limited use hobby shop enviroment such a device would hold up just fine, but, in a commercial shop i dont think that plastic would survive for very long. I rigged up a large diesel engine fuel filter to use on the inlet of my 30 gallon home compressor that works very well and greatly reduces the noise level. Good vid!
This compressor IS in a busy auto repair shop. It's held up for years. A compressor really shouldn't be getting that hot. Even so, you can just extend the intake pipe to take it away from the heat, and use a metal can or bucket.
that's great. thank you! If I ever need a big boy air compressor, I know what project that I'll accomplish right after I install it.
I mounted mine on big rubber donuts with big fender washers in both sides of the donuts and attached it to th floor with redheads that made mine quite a bit quieter I think this will really help even more
I've played w/ some silencers and your design worked out well. Only thing I would say is you'll really want to keep a close eye on the foam. As that breaks down it's gonna end up inside your compressor. Maybe a different filter hat - and putting the silencer in front of the filter instead of behind the filter.
I would much rather have the compressor inhale some foam particles, than have it inhale the filter that gets clogged with foam particles. Just sayin'
they would be my only concern.. and maybe the way the air flows.... it's gotta be a tad restricted this way.. it's a good start though
How bout using fiberglass insulation instead, like a glass pack muffler?
@@WB1200 Sure, but definitely contain it in some kind of cloth like an old T-shirt. Fiberglass has a lot of particulate that you don't want the compressor to inhale. Not to mention, you'd be blowing fiberglass all over the place when you use your air tools.
how about having a rubber sheet as the first wrap near the wire net? english isn't my first language but i'm thinking one of those "sheets" you can buy to cut gaskets from
Looks like it would do the job. You gave me an idea. I have an old intake box from an old 80cc dirt bike and I'll make it fit and see if it makes a difference. If it doesn't I'll make something similar to this.
Mine outputs less then 2kw but makes a really deep thumping sound which is almost unbearable in my small shed.
Great video!
Not to complain, but it is very important to NOT put thinks that decay or otherwise lack structure AFTER the filter. I am pretty sure this would work just as well if your foam silencer was outside the filter, and then it wouldn't add a failure mode to your compressor.
Open cell foam decays into dust. An old mattress pad is already full of dust. Foams decay faster when exposed to hydrocarbons, including the oil in a compressor.
While I'm not entirely disagreeing with you, it's lasted 3 years so far, and that was already old mattress foam. Yes, eventually it will turn to dust. But for something I spent less than $20 on, 3+ years is great. Especially if you consider that there really isn't an already-made equivalent. And while a filter after the silencer might make sense on paper, I'd be much, much more worried that decayed foam dust would clog the filter, and the compressor would inhale the filter and the dust. Whereas this way, it can only inhale the dust. Besides, you can simply add 'inspecting the silencer foam' to your compressor's maintenance routine.
Was looking for this comment. From experience I can tell you foam degrade till it gets sucked thru the machine. I built a baffled foam lined box silencer for an intake on a 30hp machine that would run between 8 and 20 hours a day every day. After a few years the foam was pretty much gone. For a little 5hp it might take considerably longer.
I wouldn't use the plywood though but I would use drywall are particle board where they're more dense
I have that exact same air compressor but in an 80-gallon model and it has a horizontal tank, I Bought it 40 years ago, Yep, ain't lying, and it still works. Great mod though :)
Don't ask me why, I bought a case of spin on gas filters (they just look like metal oil filters) when they became incompatible with alcohol blends. I use these on the intake of my compressor. Quiets it down and filters out particles.
I'm kind of interested in the idea of sucking the air though the foam.
Firstly try making the inside cage a little larger for greater surface area. Then center and attach to the bucket lid a smaller cage with soft materials to baffle and absorbed pressure waves. While air makes a turn and goes through the foam walls to holes along the bucket's sidewalls.
The theory is sound travels through the air faster than the speed air speed getting sucked in. And the noise travels more strait into the absorbing mass in the center while air flow entering from the many different ports along the sidewalls might cause phase delays between the different peaks where sound exits through ports while the air gets filtered by an outer foam layer inside the bucket.
It would work, lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners have open cell foam air filters. You would probably want to have it not more than an inch or two thick, otherwise the compressor might have to fight too hard to suck air through. I don't really think your theory is right, I think the foam just absorbs the shockwaves all over the place. Because it works in my case and the air is only passing by it, not through it.
But I think it would still work. You would basically be doing what I did, but also making it an air filter. However then you'll really need to be concerned with the foam being sucked in, deteriorated or not.
If you are concerned about the foam degrading, wrap the wire cage with Scotch Brite pads to catch the little bits before it gets ingested into the compressor. It is porous enough to let air to pass through, yet catch debris
why would the air need to go through the cage though? The air is not taken in via the sides of the cage, the cage is just a tunnel. All that needs to go through the cage and into the foam in the sound waves. So even wrapping the cage in clingwrap will serve the purpose exactly the same without having to bother with weaving scotch brite pads around a mesh.
Until I saw you at the end, I imagined a white bearded wizard like old person talking with relaxing voice, then totally surprised to see a young man is the source of that wisdom.
lol thanks, I think?
This is a great idea. Thank you.
I like this a lot, . . . im thinking of using a cooler i have laying around and run a hose from the intake to the cooler on the
floor
I like this except this type of foam deteriorates and will clog the air compressor pump after about 5 years. So keep a close eye on the foam, and possibly put a fiberglass filter between the tube and the foam. I think I'm going to make one out of a metal can I have in the shop. Thanks for the nice video. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya
Very cool.
I'm going to try it on mine. Think I will go with the 1 gallon paint can idea.
This thing looks like it requires an NFA tax stamp to own!
Shush! Don't tell them!
You can go into the camera's audio settings and change from automatic to manual. No more creep.
I've also heard using rubber hose on the inlet helps. My testing was inconclusive as I didn't have a proper adapter for the hose.
I'd imagine it would help some.
I work in the compressed air industry, and there are products available for purchase that work precisely like this, but are made with non-flammable materials. This is important because compression is an exo-thermic process... every kW of compressor power input = .95 kW of heat output. While reciprocating compressors are designed for low duty cycles (where the machine will have time to cool off during extended shutdown periods), IF a major leak to were occur that forced a continuous load on the machine, it would heat up to the point that it could ignite your plastic bucket. I have seen this happen at a client's facility in Carman, MB - where they installed a 5hp Champion compressor in a closet and left it powered on over the weekend. The pump itself (aluminum) got hot enough to melt and the result was a fire that engulfed three floors of the plant.
This is a good hack, but please don't use it in a setting where the potential for overrunning the compressor (or even leaving to run unsupervised) might exist.
That's good to know. I should use metal buckets for future silencer projects. If the foam were to burn in a metal bucket, it would be contained(ish). But a melting flaming plastic bucket could be a problem!
I think the issue here is that it was in a closet with probably no heat transfer or ventilation. If your compressor is getting hot enough to melt itself by whatever combination of factors, even having a silencer, let alone determining if it was made from flammable or non flammable material, will be a footnote in the fire investigation report, and most likely won't contribute to an increased risk of fire beyond the original much more important factors, like stuffing a compressor in a non mechanically ventilated closet or enclosed space where heat could build up over time. Unless you're saying that having a silencer will make a continuously running compressor less noticeable to nearby workers. But even then, will the plastic melt and drip down to where it can ignite and run a flame to other areas? if your compressor metal is already molten I'm not sure the bucket constitutes an increased fire risk. Probably hot flaming oil from a breached compressor crankcase is going to spread the fire far further than a bucket of foam as it's already a flammable liquid in close proximity to a source of heat hot enough to ignite and spread it.
the best kind of video:
get in--DO IT--get out.
thank you thank you...
And the expansion and contraction of the bucket it’s self will be amplifying the put put noise so if you used a bucket made with thick plastic or even steel that would help as well
I might worry that steel would carry vibration more than plastic, but either way, the mass of foam inside should dampen any vibration, at least to some degree. I definitely recommend using a sturdier bucket or at least reinforcing the bottom, because it does flop around.
Good job.
Nice! Thanks for putting this up!
I love the sound of my Speedaire 25CFH 80 gal. Compressor , It's outside and doesn't bother me at all .
The best is to put an intake pipe outside. Not only super quiet but reduces water in the air. Keep the pipe large to reduce resistriction in the intake and cause oil to be pulled passed the rings.
Yeah fuck my neighbors, I guess.
Unfortunately random pidgeons don't live here in europe, so we don't have the buckets.
That's a shame. Maybe they have dove buckets, or magpie or something. idk I'm not an ornithologist.
I have an attic space in mu shop I just ran a pipe through the ceiling and put the air filter up there
It is like night and day. The difference was remarkable.
Thanks for letting me know!
In place of foam, fill the bucket with rice. That way it dries the air as well.
Recommdation: pre-filter material around the cage in the middle to prevent the foam from degrading and going into the compressor head.
Wow, that works really well!
I bet you could even get a couple DB lower by simply adding a 90° fitting in there also. Some frequency don't like to go around corners
Cool idea, gonna get the stuff to do it on mine.
To help with a few of the comments concerning the decibel meter. I believe you could down load a free (better than nothing) meter for your phone. I'll take your word for it, that this is a great idea. I actually seen a guy, use a $50 Thursh muffler. But yours is a bit more affordable lol. Thank you for the post. I'm going to try this.
such a brilliant simple idea....will have a look at mine and see what i can do. just wondering if you lined the interior of the bucket with a rubber mat whether that would help to dampen the vibration and noise further?
I suppose it might. Might be more important if using a metal bucket or paint can. You'd probably want to stick the rubber to the walls with adhesive.
It does seem to make quite a bit of difference.
impressive!
Love your work 👍
I silenced my compressor by putting it in my storage room that’s detached from my house and then ran the hose under the ground and 75ft away to my shop. I can’t hear it at all. I can port heads in peace.
what a great idea. Thank you for sharing it
Thanks! That'll be much nicer for my neighbors.
Someone notify the ATF, this man has just manufactured a suppressor without a tax stamp.
cheap and effective👍, if one can get the compressor out of the building, had mine in a little dog house piped in, you could bearly hear it.
As that mattress topper material starts to deteriorate, (and it will), you will be pulling that crap into the compressor. The idea isn't the problem. It's The choice of materials.
I'm well aware. Probably should've mentioned it in the video. I think this stuff is more long lived than some open-celled foam. In my case, I have the leftover piece of foam nailed to the brick wall behind the compressor to dampen noise a little further. I'm imagining I'll notice when that deteriorates, as it is in plain sight. I suppose you could put some kind of filter or screen at the bottom of the bucket, but I'm not sure what you could put there that wouldn't just get sucked in, if it was full of foam dust. Honestly, I'd feel much better about my compressor inhaling foam dust than bits of a metal screen.
What material would you use, then?
@@madmanmapper just place the filter after the muffler it should work the same
Do you oil the foamy? I would be worried it will dry out and start sucking in foam dust. Great idea tho and yes so simple 😁
Cheers
No I don't oil it. I feel like there might be more risk of the oil causing the foam to deteriorate. It's likely natural latex foam, and natural rubber sure doesn't like oil.
great tip, i'm gonna try it with my 26 gal husky. except i may use a more custom 3d printed solution in place of a bucket or paint can. thanks!
np. If you want to go a step further, you could print the pipe flanges as part of the container. Not sure if you could successfully print the pipe threads, but you could either spend some money on a pipe thread tap, or do what I did once: buy a 3" iron pipe nipple, and cut slots out of the threads. It should be able to cut threads in PLA.
@@madmanmapper lol already ahead of ya there. took a brass 3/8 nipple fitting and filed it into a tap. first one worked but was too small so now im going for a bigger bucket with 3d printed adapters on top and bottom with a printed core instead of chicken wire. also the first one melted lil after a bunch of testing the fittings heated up and made it sag. so i'm going to extend the fittings to move it away from heat and add an extra fan with a time delay solenoid so it keeps running even when the compressor is off for a bit to cool it down more efficiently.
oh and i can totally print threads that fine but fusion 360 is annoying about doing tapered threads so i just make a hole with the right taper and tap it. i have a real 1/4 npt tap just not 3/8 lol
The filter is before the muffler so there is nothing - not even a screen - to catch the foam as it deteriorates - maybe could have put a wrap or two of cloth or other filter medium around the screen before the foam?
You do you. I would much rather the compressor inhale a bit of perished foam rather than a metal screen. Someone else had the idea of encapsulating the foam, perhaps in cloth like a pillow case. Personally, that's what I'll be doing next time.
We used car mufflers on 15 HP sailor Beal compressors, shut them up completely!
Simple and clever, I love it!
In a shop which I worked at, we plumbed the intake out through the concrete block wall and put the air filter on the outside....had a significant effect. Went from obnoxious to very reasonable...I presume less effective than your bucket but it was "easier".
Moisture bad on rainy days. Drain more often. May still be bad with spray painting.
@@echodelta9 good points. We were a machine shop and the intake was out through a wall into a covered loading dock.
tuning a resonance chambre is fun
I have a compressor with a rectangular intake, that comes out the side, not the top. 60 gallon, 230 volt, 7 hp, 12.3cfm@40psi / 10.3cfm@90psi. It is loud.
I built an empty cardboard box with off set baffles. Much better. Also a hemholtz resonater would smooth it out even more.
Works great on gonna accord too 😂
You can use a similar design to quiet a vacuum cleaner except it goes on the outlet.
good idea!!
Making use of random things is the best! 😊🌎✨
All that's missing is a Thrush roadrunner sticker on the side of the bucket.
i just use a 30 gal compressor, but i'm thinkin hell yeah
I see the wood support being good, but I would have left the lid skelotonized, and no center opening straight through. Although much air is diffused in and out of the foam, pulling all or through as such would be quiter, but risk sucking in foam
I would probably add just a couple more pieces to this, a length of hose between compressor and bucket, then mount the bucket on something not attached to compressor.
Cool?
Very creative! Got to try this :-)
nice one man, thanks for sharing : ) ...
Sounds great, just food for thought, that mattress pad foam is very "partically" and breaks down pretty quickly. I wonder if synthetic pillow foam would work as well? Sadly, my Craftsman compressor's air intake is really built into the head, this mod would be about impossible for me to pull off but a bit envious it worked great for you.
Yes, I would definitely prefer synthetic foam. As long as it's a soft open cell foam, it should work just as well. As for your problem, I dunno, JB Weld a pipe onto the intake or something.
Just use rockwool safe and sound insulation it's fire and water resistant and good for sound deadening
I use it to muffler a big 6 inch vortex fan in a 5 gallons bucket and it work great
Proper oil tolerant filter foam would probably be ideal if you can get a big piece at a reasonable price.
Pretty irrelevant if you cover the cage with material that does not do that. For motorbike exhaust people have put on glass fiber mat around the tube and then stuff in what ever that can take the heat, so same should apply here. Long as its material that prohibits PARTIALLY airflow its good, so anything from glass fiber insulation to mattress padding should be fine, long as there is filter material preventing any of that getting into intake of compressor or you have some cleaning to do later, then again one should open the reed valves and clean them time to time to get better performance. Had so far 7 used small market compressors that had been thrown into scrap. Ether valves are full of dirt so it leaks air back into intake and exhaust valve lets compressed air back into cylinder or it has stopped into very particular spot and just gives out humming sound. Turn it off, turn the motor manually and start. This usually gets them running again. Other common failure point in many machines is the capacitor fault and i have gotten thousands of $ worth of equipment for essentially free for simple 2-25$ part replacement. Other thing is the damaged power cord but that should be obvious enough to replace. Metal and electronic scrap places i often visit for hunt for more equipment to save i always take the cords out from actually destroyed equipment like washing machines and vacuum cleaners since those are good replacements for other machines, just need to know what to do and what not to do.
Yeah it sounds like the Pistons going to go through the head.
One wonders if instead of foam. Fiberglass batting was used you could use something like this to quiet a genset exhaust....
I would want to contain the fiberglass. Perhaps in a loose weave fabric... a pillow case or old t-shirt maybe.
I am facing similar kind of issue but this is borewell air compressor
I don't see that being an issue.
Great video. I'd be worried, though, about particles of the foam going into the compressor motor. Consider wrapping air-filter fabric or 100% cheese cloth around the hardware cloth. Edit: I guess I should have read the first pinned comment - but rather than just checking it on a schedule, the filter fabric or cheese cloth, I think, is better.
Not bad... thank you for a great idea!