[lbrachfe]

Looking for a super quiet replacement for my Thomas front bay compressor. Any models and websites would be greatly appreciated. Only want a whisper quiet unit. Thanks

[encantotom]

Larry, i have spent so much time on this topic. i looked at different ones and in the end the only whisper quiet ones are the oil lubricated ones. newell used them for a few years, then stopped and went with the non lubricated ones.

my compressor is in the bay in front of the passenger tire. others have theirs in the genny compartment where it doesnt matter as much. newell used Jun-air and Thomas. the June-air model 6 is what they used. it is mostly used in dental offices. and is 45db at 1 meter. that is as quiet as they get.

they are about a 1000 bucks or more new.

there are a couple of compressors that are similar style but not for a lot less money.

i shopped on ebay for a long time.

i had originally a jun-air model 600 and it is rated at 60db at 1m. i ended up replacing it with a jun-air model OF302

it is about 60-65db. these are over a grand new and i found a barely used one with a bunch of fittings, valves and a small tank for 175 bucks.

if you are mounting in the genny compartment, not sure which one matters.

if you are in the side bay like mine, the quiet one would be nice. you do have to monitor the oil levels.

newell then went to a thomas compressor that is oil-less and twin cylinder. like a model 2688.

hope that helps.

tom

[encantotom]

what i didnt say but is important is to get one that has the capability to go up to 120psi. many cannot.

also, the volume of air flow needs to be in the 1.5cut ft per minute range.

the other thing is current draw. you have to make sure you stay in the range that the compressor wont kick the circuit breaker off at start up. (start up is drawing 2-3x operating current called LRA, locked rotor amps)

lastly, the other difference between the oil and oil-less is that the oil-less are usually rated for continuous duty wheras the model 6 is i think a 50% duty cycle. but not sure that matters very much.

tom

[Chester Stone]

Larry, if yours is not mounted in the generator compartment, I would seriously consider mounting it there because the sound proofing is so good that it is really hard to hear the compressor and that will free up space in the adjacent blower compartment.

[encantotom]

chester has the same compressor as i do and it is mounted in the genny compartment. when i was visiting les his was in the bay but had a mount and hose and 110v inside the genny compartment. they either changed their mind or moved it.

tom

[lbrachfe]

Thanks Tom for such good info. I want to keep it in the front compartment and will improve the mounting stand with more rubber around the bolt stands.will let you know which I end up buying,,,

[encantotom]

these compressors are meant to last for really high operating hours. i am not sure why my original one went bad. it would not build up to full pressure.

so, for me i chose to find a low use used one for a ton less money. new ones are incredibly expensive.

the thomas pump can be had or here is a thomas chinese clone that i looked at that seems interesting in that it is inexpensive.

http://smtmax.com/detail.php?id=190 the sl550

tom

[Chester Stone]

In the what-ever-its-worth column, I could not resist a bargain i found on eBay. A new Jun-Air OF332 compressor for just $150. It looks a little larger than the OF301 i have, but should fit in the space.

[encantotom]

chester, that is a smoking price. i looked them too and i thought it was too big. and a bit louder.

but yours is in the genny so it may work fine.

that 332 is probably 1500-2000 bucks retail.

tom