My new compressor

For a long time I wanted an air compressor but never really could make up my mind about buying one. Mainly because I was afraid that it generates too much noise. But in the end, I decided that I really want one because I got tired of using canned air, which is both very expensive and also not that powerful, so I made my move, did a small survey to find out how large it must be, and also how noisy they are in reality. In the end I made my decision of buying a fairly cheap (but not the cheapest) on. I considered that I don't need a large tank, something around 6-8 litre will be fine for my needs, and finally, my vote fell on a Swedish "brand" called BILTEMA, which is of course nothing else than a Chinese machine which BILTEMA, a Swedish company and shop, stamps it's brand name on. Anyway, I have had this for a few months now and I am very happy with it. It is small enough for my tiny "workshop", which is more like a corner in a storage room, so I don't have a lot of space. What surprised me is how quiet it actually is. When the compressor runs it is just a nice humming sound, but when it stops it stops with a fairly loud bang, but all in all, I think it is fully acceptable sound. I think that the reason why this is so quiet is that it is a dual cylinder compressor with the motor running at 1400 rpm only, as opposed to many other compressors, running at twice that rpm. Anyway, I made a short video about it also.

https://youtu.be/XBzsrculvJ8

I know you can't buy this outside the Nordic countries, but if I lived elsewhere I'd still try to find the most quiet one because it is really very nice to only hear a humming sound which is quieter than any other machine I have. So if you consider buying a compressor, consider buying a quiet one, not just the largest one you can store or the cheapest you can find.

By the way, my compressor is the same as the HBM. This one: https://www.hbm-machines.com/nl/p/hb...ressor-6-liter

These ones appear to use the same type of compressor and claim to be quiet, which seems to mean <70dBA.
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/c/ultr...r-compressors/

I've got a Bambi compressor which is even quieter (~40dBA). They use the same (fully enclosed) technology as fridges and freezers but are limited in terms of CFM. I'm only using mine to operate power drawbar, solenoids etc rather than power tools.
https://bambi-air.co.uk/products/bud...r-compressors/

The rated power is a good indication of the useful output. Obvs the CFM depends on the pressure but ultimately, power = pressure x flow rate. For example, the Bambi is only 1/2hp or 0.33kW, so you wouldn't have much joy trying to drive proper power tools with it..

I don't know the Bambi, but the other link points to much larger and nosier ones. I mean, mine is only 6 litres and is basically the same, even the looks, as this one from HBM. Mine is really quiet, much less than 70 dBA as you can hear at the 7:26 marker. My microphone is on manual gain, fixed at the same level all the time and I don't need to raise my voice. It is really very quiet, just a low humming sound. It has a 0.7hp (0.55kW) motor, so it is also not the weakest on the market. A friend of mine has a similar but not the same, his is also 6l and "silent" type, but in reality it is so noisy that when it starts we must stop speaking or must raise our voices. So not all "silent" are silent, but there is no real definition of what silent means, I guess that in the world of compressors, even his is silent.

I also don't need larger than 6 litres because I don't intend to use it on power tools, even if it would work for painting and some weaker power tool operations. I only wanted one to blow clean stuff and pumping tires plus the can I use inside my home where I don't have access to the compressor. Anyway, if I'd ever need it for a larger job I'd buy an extra tank.