About
In this post, I will show my DIY quiet air compressor. I took the compressor from an old fridge and used an old whipped cream dispenser as an air tank. The compressor is very quiet and can thus be kept indoors(under my table in fact). The air capacity isn’t the greatest but it’s good enough for my needs(doing some pneumatics experiments, solder dispenser, …). The air pressure, however, can easily get up to 8 bar(around 120 psi). In addition to compressed air, you also get a vacuum line. You could, for example, use that for making a vacuum chamber or a vacuum pick up tool.
Hardware used:
- #adAmazon LinkPneumatic Tube + Fittings + Splitters
- #adAmazon LinkAir Pressure Guage
- #adAmazon LinkAdapter Fitting
- #adAmazon LinkThreaded Fitting
- #adAmazon LinkStraight Through Fitting
- #adAmazon LinkT Splitter Fitting
- #adAmazon LinkPressure Valve
- #adAmazon LinkAir Valve
- #adAmazon LinkPlastic Project Box
- #adAmazon LinkAir Pressure Switch
- #adAmazon LinkFilter
- #adAmazon LinkAir Pressure Regulator
Making It
As far a the electrical wiring goes I connected a plug to the compressor put a regular switch and a pressure switch in series with the live wire. This way the compressor can be turned on/off manually and automatically if the air pressure reaches 8 bar.
For the air/vacuum I connected just some regular rubber hoses and attached them to the compressor with a combination of zip ties, hose clamps, and wire. Not the best or prettiest solution but it has been working so far. On the other end, I connected the hoses to a 4mm pneumatic polyurethane tube that can be used with push in pneumatic fittings. This way making good airtight connections is quick and easy.
I hid away the compressor and air tank under the table.
Later on, I added a water/oil filter and coiled some of the tubing. This gives the air time to cool down after it gets compressed and for any moisture to condense so it can get caught by the filter.
To make the interface I used a plastic project box where I put all the connections and controls.
Testing
Here I tested the compressor by filling a coke bottle with compressed air. I was actually thinking I could use it as an air tank as soda bottles are made to withstand very high pressures. But as you can see in the picture the bottle started to get deformed after a lot of pressurization/depressurization cycles. So I decide to go the safer route and use a metal air tank(whip cream maker) that was designed for repeated pressurizations.
