Workshop Air compressor

[DOC in Kentucky 178]

Fellow Wheelhorser's,

I am thinking about putting my 30 Gal air compressor in the attic of my garage/workshop. The garage is insulated but the attic is not. My concern is the extreme temperature variations? Am I asking for problems?

The reason I am considering this is two-fold, !) I want the space, and 2) its noisy and I jump out of my skin just about everytime the thing kicks on.

Any thoughts or suggestion?

[kj4kicks 151]

Hi Doc...

Attics tend to get VERY hot in the summer (at least around here).

Maybe you could set it on a rubber mat (like a piece of old conveyor belt) to reduce the noise.

Space.... is priceless ! Can't help you there.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,120]

I use mine a lot in the Summer and it builds up a little bit of water in the tank occassionally. I try to drain it every month or so. Do you have some way to drain the compressor tank? Oh and Welcome to RedSquare. Met you in the chat the other day!

[Kelly 1,028]

I personaly would not put it in the attic, a couple of reason's

As Eldon said heat, it will kill your compressor and if you are where it gets cold it will freeze in the winter.

if you put it up there it will get neglected, not drained, oil checked,air filter cleaned.

Most small compressors like that don't have a muffler on them, just a baffle, see if you can make a muffler for it. make a mount to hang it from the ceiling where you can still get to it and do service, that will get it off the floor. and a tip for anyone with a comperessor to drain it, install a drain valve that they have on semi's, It screws in place of the valve thats in the bottom and has a cable hooked to it you can pull the cable and it opens the drain release and it closes. they use them to drain the air tanks for the brakes on semi's, my neigbor drives truck and showed me that.

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Good tip on the draining Kelly... I think the tank inside out rust probably makes more compressors throw aways than bad air units. I know I don't drain mine as often as I should but I try to make sure and get it open at least three or four times a year... probably once in the fall and the rest as winter is turning into spring and then to summer.

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Oh and Doc, I forgot to post my thoughts on your question... I would not put it up there, too extreme temp changes and makes maintenance annoying. Building a loft or hanging from ceiling is a good idea. My added tip to that would be to build a plywood or OSB box around it (with some vents of course) and carpet the inside of the box. The carpet will absorb a lot of the sound. Scraps can be really cheap... it's the inside of a closed box... nobody cares what color it is!

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Oh, and if you loft or hang it, and don't build a box... make sure to strap or chain it to the studs or ceiling joists for backup.... I'd hate to see the mess that could make in a shop, or worse... the damage it would do to a car in the garage if it fell and exploded!