Onboard Air - Fast filling options (1 Viewer)

[Feistl]

Hey guys,

Just finished mounting a York 210 onto my 1HDT HDJ80 (while retaining factory A/C) and have installed a 6L tank into the rear quarter panel. I'm now looking at options for inflating the tyres...

Question is, If i have a regulator connected to the tank and set with an output pressure of say 45psi how much slower would it fill the tyre compared to no inline regulator and using a manual tyre inflator? Like does having a regulator mean that the air flow drops as it approaches the regulators set pressure?

I was thinking about running a line/port to each corner of the vehicle then having 4 short air lines with the locking auto fill latches things. If i have 4 regulators connected to the tank (on different ports so no bottleneck) to each of those 4 lines i should be able to simultaneously fill 4 tyres. My theory is by the time i finish attaching the 4th tyre the first should be full?

I like the idea of having the regular mounted in the cab meaning the air hose is just a basic hose with a simple fitting. Cheap to replace as they wear, wont be worried about dirt/mud and a fill time of less than 5 minutes. No more standing around in the rain after a long day...

Cheers,

 

[DancesWithMutts]

Lets see pics of the york setup!

 

[jonheld]

Question is, If i have a regulator connected to the tank and set with an output pressure of say 45psi how much slower would it fill the tyre compared to no inline regulator and using a manual tyre inflator? Like does having a regulator mean that the air flow drops as it approaches the regulators set pressure?

The lower the output pressure, the slower the tires will fill.
My tank pressure is 120, filtered and regulated down to 90 to run air tools and fill tires. I built a 4 way manifold with a ball valve and pressure gauge to inflate/deflate all 4 at the same time.

 

[Tools R Us]

Home | UpDownAir

updownair.com

 

[BILT4ME]

If you're going to that level, why not take it to the NEXT level and do like the Reykjavic trucks do, and have a high-speed swivel fitting in the center, then the high pressure semi-rigid line that arcs out over the tires to the center fitting so you can fill on-the-go and never have to get out of the truck?

 

[george.arnold]

There is a Toyota guy making one of those kits for airing up 4 corners.

The "Wifey" Air System

On Board Air with the "Wifey" Air System. Deflate and Inflate your tires within 4-7 minutes so you can continue to conquer the trails. Fast Free Shipping. Made In The USA.

www.ragofabrication.com

 

[scottryana]

That is a lot of money for 1/4" push to fit plastic tubing......

There is a Toyota guy making one of those kits for airing up 4 corners.

The "Wifey" Air System

On Board Air with the "Wifey" Air System. Deflate and Inflate your tires within 4-7 minutes so you can continue to conquer the trails. Fast Free Shipping. Made In The USA.

www.ragofabrication.com

 

[NLXTACY]

That is a lot of money for 1/4" push to fit plastic tubing......

Hell yeah it is. Maybe I need to charge more

 

[alia176]

I'm not sure if I'd regulate the air going to the storage tank. I'd fill the tank to max pressure, in my case that happens to 105 psi. This allows me to fill each tire (or tyre ) quickly one at a time.

Just for S&G, i fashioned up a small regulator with a pressure gauge and used it to fill up the tires. This regulator has a male/female quick disconnects in the inlet/outlet ports. My air hose simply connects to this regulator and then I plug the regulator into the vehicle quick disconnect fitting.

I found two issues:
- This does slow the flow of air down to each tire but it really didn't matter too much if I was busy with other tasks. Each tire fills up to 35psi and stops filling.
- Trouble is, I never know when the tire is actually done filling because there isn't any audible indications.
- I can see the regulator not filling the tire to the correct pressure depending on how hot the tires are. Say, you aired down the tires to 20psi in the morning and hit the trails. You returned to the asphalt six hours later and need to air back up. The new pressure might now be 25psi but your regulator will fill up to 35psi. In reality, your tires should now be filled up to 40 psi due to the heat expansion.

I enjoyed the unattended filling of each tire but didn't enjoy the time it took if I was in a hurry. An unregulated air supply from the York fills a tire very quickly. Still, I'll keep the experiment regulator in the vehicle.

 

[Feistl]

Thanks for the reply guys, very interesting. Just quickly here is what im thinking...

I'm wondering if i have a 40psi pressure switch after the regulator whether i could use that to illuminate a light when the tyre hits 40psi. Also contemplating leaving the 4 hoses connected and just have them sitting in the front/rear bullbar, so its literally a 5 second job to connect them to each tyre. Should mean i can air up in less than 5 minutes for all 4 tyres.

Couple of pics of the mounting so far (not done yet)

The pump on top is for the W2A intercooler.

If you're going to that level, why not take it to the NEXT level and do like the Reykjavic trucks do, and have a high-speed swivel fitting in the center, then the high pressure semi-rigid line that arcs out over the tires to the center fitting so you can fill on-the-go and never have to get out of the truck?

Got a link? Google cant find Reykjavic trucks...

 

[mudgudgeon]

Way to complicate the **** out of a simple task that takes a few minutes.

How much of a rush are you in to get home at the end of a day on the trails?
You'd spend more time setting this up and working out the bugs then you'll ever save inflating tires.

 

[Feistl]

hahaha i like a challenge.

I just remember getting caught out after a long day and standing around for 20 minutes in the rain/cold waiting for a crappy compressor to fill the tyres enough to drive safely on the road. Its winter here so I have time to build some good solutions before hitting the tracks in summer.

 

[mudgudgeon]

hahaha i like a challenge.

I just remember getting caught out after a long day and standing around for 20 minutes in the rain/cold waiting for a crappy compressor to fill the tyres enough to drive safely on the road. Its winter here so I have time to build some good solutions before hitting the tracks in summer.

Haha!

That's when you drive the 30 miles to the nearest gas station at 30m/hr!

 

[Feistl]

hahaha 30m per hour to travel 30 miles would take 67 days

Thats effectively what ive done in the past, inflate to minimum pressure and take it easy but i do like the idea of a fast fill. I might get a couple of cheap regulators and experiment this weekend.

 

[jonheld]

There is a Toyota guy making one of those kits for airing up 4 corners.

The "Wifey" Air System

On Board Air with the "Wifey" Air System. Deflate and Inflate your tires within 4-7 minutes so you can continue to conquer the trails. Fast Free Shipping. Made In The USA.

www.ragofabrication.com

LOL. I built mine for about 1/4 that price with a tapped, anodized aluminum manifold, liquid filled gauge, ball valve, and all fittings.
That's just a silly price. Maybe it should say "overland" somewhere. That would make it worth more.

 

[jonheld]

Thanks for the reply guys, very interesting. Just quickly here is what im thinking...

I'm on my second OBA system on my second truck, and I decided to keep it as simple as possible. While your design looks cool on paper, to me I see too many failure points. However an OBA system is not "mission critical", so go for it.
I had all sorts of indicator lights and dual regulators, bla, bla, bla. After a few years I was chasing leaks.

Now I have a York 210, a tank, coalescing filter and a regulator, terminating at 1 quick disconnect under the hood. A single pressure switch (120/100) and a fused main switch run the show.
The hand throttle is good for using air tools as the tank is small and low profile. No issues airing up 4 36" tires. She'll hold pressure all night.

I will add that if you're running ARB lockers, you'll want to regulate the pressure hitting them or you'll blow out the o-rings inside the units. I found that they will lock reliably around 70 psi and that kept them in good order for years.

 

[alia176]

Thanks for the reply guys, very interesting. Just quickly here is what im thinking...

I'm wondering if i have a 40psi pressure switch after the regulator whether i could use that to illuminate a light when the tyre hits 40psi. Also contemplating leaving the 4 hoses connected and just have them sitting in the front/rear bullbar, so its literally a 5 second job to connect them to each tyre. Should mean i can air up in less than 5 minutes for all 4 tyres.

Couple of pics of the mounting so far (not done yet)



Got a link? Google cant find Reykjavic trucks...

Wow, I see you must be an engineer, as am I and I find your system design fraught with potential failure points and somewhat cumbersome.

- I'd not have a 12v solenoid to release pressure, instead I'd use a mechanical "unloading" valve. This is the same thing that sits in your home air compressor. This unloading valve would eliminate the 1/2" check valve as well, so you eliminated two devices with one simple device.

-I'd also have only one regulator set to 45psi instead of four because there's a high probability that all four will be few psi apart from each other.

-I like the 40psi switch to activate a light stating that you're done filling but I don't think it's necessary. Learn your system and figure out how much time it takes to fill all four tyres at xxxxx engine rpm.

- your volume of 6L isn't enough IMHO. Can you add more volume? In my case, I'm using the sliders as air tanks on top of a 2.5gal air tank.

- carrying around four 3/8" air hose for tyre inflation duties is a bit much and a huge space hog, IMHO. At least that'd be too much s*** to carry in my 80 which is packed to the gills with passengers, dogs and camping gear. Do you really need to inflate all four tyres at once? Are you really that much of a hurry to get home after wheeling?

- Remember the flow rate of a 3/8" hose far surpasses the air flow through a tiny tyre valve stem. Basically, it amounts to hooking up a garden hose to a fire hydrant. The valve stem hole is too small to take advantage of a 3/8" air hose air flow. Just my opinion, I didn't do a flow rate calc on it.

- As an aside, my system has no pressure regulator so I run full air pressure to the ARB air lockers, air tools and of course, the margarita blender. The pressure switch I have is 80 on, 105 off and this keeps the ARB locker o rings happy.

These are just some constructive criticisms from me and I mean no offense

 

[60wag]

The front brake cooling lines are a new one for me. Is this your idea or something you found somewhere? I question how effective and necessary this is.

 

[TankTheLC]

Another option is a CO2 tank (My is an IAS unit). I like my AC .

I go about 2 years of wheeling before I need to refill it for like $25. Its just like a scuba tank for certs though, $5 visual and $30 hydro every 5 years. With it being a portable unit, I don’t need to move the vehicle to bring air near someone. Currently I have it mounted to a quick release on a custom rack oriented against one of the sliding windows for easy access.

 

[BILT4ME]

Thanks for the reply guys, very interesting. Just quickly here is what im thinking...

I'm wondering if i have a 40psi pressure switch after the regulator whether i could use that to illuminate a light when the tyre hits 40psi. Also contemplating leaving the 4 hoses connected and just have them sitting in the front/rear bullbar, so its literally a 5 second job to connect them to each tyre. Should mean i can air up in less than 5 minutes for all 4 tyres.

Couple of pics of the mounting so far (not done yet)

The pump on top is for the W2A intercooler.

Got a link? Google cant find Reykjavic trucks...

Do a search on this forum for the following things (separately) to see what you get. I know I had a conversation with someone up there about this exact thing.
Arctic
Iceland
Greenland

See the following link and go to the Imgur link to see pics of what I'm talking about.

My weekend in pictures Iceland

http://imgur.com/a/c2nDs#0

forum.ih8mud.com