permanently installed air compressor(s) (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Oct 8, 2011
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Location
Toronto, NSW, Australia
Whether or not you have air lockers, airbag suspension, air horn (!), or whatever....

Do you have a permanently installed air compressor and/or air tank? How is yours set up and how is it used? Is yours an endless air aka truck style on the motor, or a seperate DC motor powered compressor?

If a DC motor powered one Is yours fully within the body? If yours is set up with a tank, is the tank with the compressor, or seperate? If seperate is it inside or outside?

What air connection style is your preference for connecting a hose? I use nitto but I'm aware of other types like Jamec, etc.

Mine is from a placed called ABR Sidewinder but it doesn't seem they sell it anymore:





Having the air tank helps with cycling so when I'm using it for pumping up tyres the motor doesn't run 100 pct of the time. It's wired through a fused connection back to the aux battery with a Hella style battery isolator under the shelf it's mounted on as a control switch (all accessible with left side barn door open). The wiring to the battery has a pair of 120 amp andersons directly behind the second seat that allows disconnection of power when needed. I have a 50 amp anderson under the shelf as well (in case anything needs DC).

If I did this again, I'd use something like a Vi-Air compressor and a seperate tank as the only limitation is the small size of the tank the compressor mounts on top of.

Curious to find out about your setup.
 
I run a puma it's very similar to what you have but i ditched the tank. I had a Vi-Air before that and I had the tank under the the car where the spare tire used to go.
It was intended for 35" tire but was slow then I went to 37s and it was painfully slow and when I went to 39s it was useless.
I find the only reason to have a tank is to run you ARB locker or to reseat a tire that has popped a bead.
In my experience once the tank is empty the compressor will run tell the tire is full or you shut it off and or the tank is full again.

The way I got it.
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Tank removed and mounted in the rear quarter panel.
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custom cover made.
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50 amp resettable breaker
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One Quick connect air fitting with air coupler pacifier.
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The system is simple, efficient, lightweight and airs tires up fast.
It can fill a 39" tire from 8 pis to 25 psi in 1 min and 45 sec. very happy with this set up !!
 
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Another Puma user. I have a 12v unit in my HDJ81 and a 24v unit in my BJ74. They've been great.
 
i have the napa one and its modded with a pressure switch and a standard hose connection. its mounted under a wing of my swing out but i dont have a tank for it yet.
 
My 80 has an ARB dual under the hood and a viair 2.5 gallon tank under the rear at the rear tire carrier. The air chuck comes out the rear bumper. Gonna replace it with the ARB chuck since it's lower profile.
 
York 210 kit, I don't have room for tank and compressor in the rig.
 
Yep, York 210 for the win.

Some of the electric compressors are ok at a pinch, but take up a lot of room and really aren't that fast. Depends on what its being used for, what size tyres and how often you air up etc.

Only problem with the York is its a bit of a pain to fabricate the brackets etc. I've put a york in place of the alternator on a 1HDFT and mounted the alternator on top of the motor which helps with alternator life span, but probably took 15-20 hours of fabrication and stuffing around to get it all working.
 
The way I have mine mounted it’s not taking up any room get used all the time and airs up my 39s as fast as my buddy’s York with the same size tires.
I also don’t need more weight or clutter in the Engine bay.
I’m not saying Yorks aren’t good or that the Puma’s are the best just that there’s more the one way to skin a cat.
 
Fair point, if that works for you then it’s great. Sort of gets to a point of diminishing returns… like if you air up in 5 minutes instead of 10 it’s not that much different, but if it’s 5 minutes vs 15-20 when it’s raining then it starts to add up.

That said, sounds like there might be something wrong with your mates York? A York with a raised idle should be doing 8+ cfm whereas the puma is rated at 1.36…

The biggest problem with electric is to get high CFM takes a lot of amps (at 12v) meaning you either need to have a super heavy duty cabling running to where the pump is mounted or move the compressor closer to the battery. Realistically you can probably add 50-60 amps of load to the vehicle before you start to discharge the main battery and lower voltage, but 60amp at 14.4v is only 864w. I had a small 240v compressor at one stage that was rated at 1500w and it struggled to hold pressure while filling tyres.

Again probably depends how patient and how often you inflate your tyres.

The shame is there isn’t quiet enough demand to cast/bulk manufacture brackets for a York, meaning the cost is high for hand made brackets. It’s a real shame Toyota never made it as a factory option…
 
I’m not sure how Morrflate calculate their CFM… but I think that rating is somewhat… optimistic?

Unless that is a typo and you meant 1.06cfm?
 
I’m not sure how Morrflate calculate their CFM… but I think that rating is somewhat… optimistic?

Unless that is a typo and you meant 1.06cfm?

I'm thinking this compressor is designed to work at tire pressures, instead of pneumatic tool pressures.

I personally ran a cheap chinese Smittybuilt compressor for 7 years before replacing it a couple of years ago with the same compressor with a different name on it. My original Smittybuilt is now the backup after the breaker started occasionally tripping due to heat, which would be an easy fix if I get motivated. They perform very comparably to the Puma. It's not hard-mounted, which I prefer so it can easily go into another vehicle, and I can simply swap it out if it breaks. They cost ~$140 if you catch a sale. I air 37's down to ~10 psi and back up to 30+ psi twice a week, so more than most people in both air quantity and use frequency.

Although my compressor is relatively fast (around 20 minutes), the real convenience is having a 4-way air line and a TPMS. Hook it up and check the dash gauge occasionally. No more swapping the air hose from tire to tire, checking pressures, adding a bit, releasing some, standing in the rain/cold/heat, etc. I put together the 4-way air line myself and spent like $150 in parts, so convenience ain't cheap, but I don't regret it for a second. If I lost mine, I might even consider buying a pre-made setup, although I'd have to look into how easy it would be to repair.

There's another compressor I kinda lust for now, but it will have to wait until I have a need- California Air Tools 10TL. A buddy has the same compressor/motor with a tank, and it's unbelievably quiet, and as fast or faster than my setup. Only problem is you need a big inverter, as it's 120v A/C.
 
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Although my compressor is relatively fast (around 20 minutes), the real convenience is having a 4-way air line and a TPMS.
Absolutely. I made my own 4 way inflator/deflator many many years ago. Added a nice fluid filled gauge on the manifold and it makes for effortless inflating/deflating and all 4 corners equalize.
 
Absolutely. I made my own 4 way inflator/deflator many many years ago. Added a nice fluid filled gauge on the manifold and it makes for effortless inflating/deflating and all 4 corners equalize.
Yep, I used to have a gauge on the manifold, but after it spewed fluid, and having a couple of dry gauges fail, I replaced it with a schrader valve and used to check it with a hand-held gauge. Now I just put one of the TPMS sensors on it and I watch the tire pressure from the comfort of my seat. On the trail the TPMS lets me know when a tire is losing air, so I can avoid unnecessarily destroying otherwise repairable tires. BTDT too many times.
 
Not directly 80 related but I mounted an ExtremeAire under the hood. Put a 2.5gal hotdog tank under the truck behind the rear axle.
AirTank (2).JPG


Current photo of the compressor. Three port manifold has 1) the pressure cutoff switch, 2)main line to the rear tank, and 3) line to the Wolo airhorn. I made a small aluminum bracket to attach the 100A breaker and solenoid to, and it's mounted to the firewall.

IMG_7988.JPG
 
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If I could find a way to get a Puma in Canada it's the way I would go. York is nice but takes up a ton of room and is really not needed unless you plan to run air tools, and with the performance from battery electric tools now I don't see the need.
 
Converted my AC compressor to an air compressor since I never used my AC. It’s faster than any of the compressors shown on this thread except maybe ties with the York.
Bonus points — no weird installation necessary. AC compressor is already installed.
I wish I had converted it decades ago .
 

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