Quote:
Originally posted by bigben2k
In the old days, the engineering philosophy was to stop it from vibrating. Today, it's more like "let it vibrate".
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Awww, now that hurts.
Actually, there's a number of methods for dealing with vibration. The two most common are isolation and a tuned absorber. Isolation is nothing more than eliminating rigid structural members that come between the source and that which you seek to keep still. Conveyence of vibratory energy relies on frequency of the forcing function and natural frequency of the relevent material. If the natural frequency is well below the forcing frequency, you won't get significant transmittal. This is why you'll see rubber mounts on a lot of rotating machinery. Your compressor should be affixed to a baseplate that also holds the motor. Between the baseplate and "box", you should have generous foam pads. The foam pads decouple the baseplate from the rest of your box.
The other biggie is the tuned absorber, which is really nothing more than a spring-mass system tuned to the frequency of the forcing function. The two vibrate out of phase with one another such that the energy of motion is continuously travelling between the two rather than getting out. You'll find this sort of thing in electric hair trimmers, for example, to prevent fatigue from holding what would otherwise be a gigantic joy buzzer.
Best bet for you is to soften up the system as Ben mentioned. You can find weatherstrip foam at most hardware stores. Look for some nice fat profile like 1" square and put it beneath the compressor assembly. It'll have a finite life and would eventually need to be replaced, but ought to last at least a year or so.
The other thing I would add on this whole topic is the concern for chemical attack. You can get sealing strips in a variety of materials that will make your system essentially air tight. Each material, however, has its own regions of susceptibility. Neoprene, for example, does not work well when chlorine is present. Places like DuPont and Parker have online chemical resistance guides that can help with material selection for sealing materials.
@ Ben,
I don't want you to think I am flat-out disagreeing with your assessment on windshield washer fluid. Bringing up the subject for discussion so folks understand fully what they're dealing with is an excellent idea. The main point I would make is that with proper knowledge and preparation, windshield washer fluid remains the logical choice for those that want extreme cooling. Not recommending it altogether seems a little harsh to me. I'd side more with the "understand the risks and proceed only with due caution" approach.