A general question for whomever

[turbocamino]

I need a air compressor for my small garage.  An upright...20 gal. or less...The thing is...it must be quiet....reliable would be nice too.                     Anyone have first hand knowledge of something quiet ?  I am close to Home Depot,Lowes,Sears, Harbor Freight, Thanks

[FJ_Hooligan]

You do NOT want an oil-less compressor.  They sound like a jet taking off!

[Capn Ron]

I've got a bit of first hand knowledge on this topic.  I bought my house a dozen years ago mostly for the garage...I immediately set it up as a shop with compressed air plumbed to three locations.  My first concern was the noise level.  I would be locating the compressor outside in a three-sided stucco enclosure.  This would baffle most of the noise in three directions and send the remaining noise towards the mountain.  I've heard my share of compressors that were ear-splitting and I didn't want to be "THAT" neighbor!!  I bought the quietest compressor I could find that fit my needs:



It's a Craftsman Professional 25-gallon upright, 2-stage oil-less.  In it's size and price class (around $400), it was the quietest at around 75db.  It's performed flawlessly for a dozen years and not a single complaint from the neighbors.

I don't see mine offered at Sears any longer.  I see they now have a "Super quiet" 27-gallon model on sale for around $450 that is rated at 73db:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professional-27-gallon-vertical-portable-air-compressor/p-00916474000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1



Their standard, "non-professional" "quiet" compressors rate around 78db.

I have also purchased small "pancake" compressors for use in small electronics labs and the best out there for noise are the Thomas air-pac models.


The ones we've used were rated at 72db but would be too small for garage use, but give you an idea of what sound levels are possible.

Your goal of 20-gallon capacity will mean it will kick on less frequently than smaller units.  0db is much better than even 73db! 

Cap'n Ron. . .