Went round to see a mate the other day who's managed to pick up a bargain 50L compressor that has been converted to run a hydrovane pump.

Has anyone done this? Any idea on what it'd cost? I was amazed at how quiet it was, made me really want one for my new house cellar (and garage for that matter) workshop - there's no way you could sociably run a normal comp in a cellar, but this thing was like a hairdryer at the most!

I see proper hydrovane compressors are a fortune. Can it be done locost?

I'm no compressor expert but hydrovane are in a class of their own for quietness and smooth running, as such you pay a premium, I've just sold a quiet compressor that had the twin fridge-type motors. It sounded like a loud fridge when running but the problem is they dont have the free air delivery to run air tools for very long.

The locost solution I think would be to build a sound insulated box maybe to house a belt drive compressor? allowing a bit of air in for cooling.