Homemade, portable air and power, strong like bear! (1 Viewer)

[Nader]

I use a portable compressor/jump starter frequently. Mainly for my motorcycle racing exploits, where I need to air up the tires and charge up my batteries (for a constant loss electrical system). For years, I wondered how great it would be to have one that was really powerful.

A few weeks ago, I attended the big 4 x 4 swap meet in Puyallup Washington. I entered a rally for an ARB twin air compressor, which I one, which never happens to me. The compressor is so nice, I didn't want to permanently mount it to one vehicle. So I thought I would finally make that bad-ass air and power box I was thinking about.

So I bought the ARB 1 gallon tank, and a good AGM deep-cycle tractor-size battery. Put it all in a pelican box. And it fit perfectly. Also added an LED fog light in case I needed to do stuff in the dark. Wired it all up with marine grade wiring.

 

[Nader]

Oh, here it is with the light on. Also drilled in air intake holes under both hinges. With the lid shut, the compressor is pretty quiet.

 

[e9999]

very elegant. Nicely packed.
The compressor's not getting too hot in that cramped space, though?

 

[Nader]

very elegant. Nicely packed.
The compressor's not getting too hot in that cramped space, though?

Thanks. Heat might become an issue if I keep the lid closed and run it long enough. This is a really nice compressor that switches on when the pressure drops, like a big standard compressor. Also has a built in cooling fan. So far, I've used it to add about 5 psi to 4 regular car tires and it got barely lukewarm to the touch. It only flipped on for about 5-10 seconds between each tire to refill the tank. I think it makes so much air and so fast, it doesn't have much of a chance to heat up. If it does, I'll use it with the lid open.

I still need to clean up some wiring, and add external battery lugs for jump starting or drawing power off other car batteries. Maybe some USB ports and a 12V power port, too.

 

[Nader]

Added a fuel gauge.

 

[73fj40lc]

That thing is cool and starting to look like a mission impossible or James Bond gadget.

 

[cruiserpilot]

Do NOT take through airport security! HaHa! I would be worried about over heating.
I like the idea of not bolting it to a single vehicle use.

 

[cruisermatt]

That is cool to the max! I love it.

 

[Nader]

Thanks, people.

I added USB ports, and a 12V accessory port. Used to be called a cigarette lighter. The housings for these two extended far enough inside the box to bump into the compressor, so I had to space them out. I did that with some aluminum I machined.

I think this project is about done. I'd like to find a less chunky LED light and mount it flush to the box, but I'll figure that out later. I'm also still unsure of how much heat will be generated, and I won't know until I have to air up some off-road tires. Like I mentioned before, I can always just leave the lid open for that.

My wife thinks I should start making and selling these, but it would be over $1K each, in parts alone. I didn't tell her that part. She just thinks that I got the compressor for free (which I did), and got great deals on the rest through eBay (which I didn't).

 

[Nader]

In its natural habitat. Airing up a KTM 525 SMR.

 

[woytovich]

If cooling becomes an issue add a 12v computer style fan. Maybe add some more vent holes for it to pull through and exhaust. Turn on and off with the compressor or add a temp sensor switch.

 

[Nader]

Thanks for the advice. The compressor has a built-in cooling fan that I have wired so it comes on with power to the compressor. I've used this box to run a compact 3/8" impact wrench to remove the tranny skid plate, which it without breaking a sweat and not even getting warm to the touch. Even snapped off seized bolt. Also added a few pounds of air to all of the truck's tires. Again, no problemo. This is a really nice compressor!

 

[woytovich]

Eventually you might want to pull outside air into the box, thus the small (cheap) box fan.

 

[ferg]

What about battery life? How long will it run before a recharge is required?

 

[Nader]

What about battery life? How long will it run before a recharge is required?

I don't know. I keep it on a charger when I don't use it. Like the solar one. Using this because I'm camping out at a race track. I can run it intermittently in short bursts for 15 or 20 minutes, doesn't seem to run down. That is an AGM deep cycle battery.

 

[Nader]

It did get pretty hot after an hour of intermittent use. Compressor kept flipping on, because my impact wrench had an air leak. So I used it with the lid open.

 

[RFB]

Thanks. Heat might become an issue if I keep the lid closed and run it long enough. This is a really nice compressor that switches on when the pressure drops, like a big standard compressor. Also has a built in cooling fan. So far, I've used it to add about 5 psi to 4 regular car tires and it got barely lukewarm to the touch. It only flipped on for about 5-10 seconds between each tire to refill the tank. I think it makes so much air and so fast, it doesn't have much of a chance to heat up. If it does, I'll use it with the lid open.

I still need to clean up some wiring, and add external battery lugs for jump starting or drawing power off other car batteries. Maybe some USB ports and a 12V power port, too.

cut out a portion of the pelican and replace it with some mesh or expanded metal, nice set up

 

[Dissent]

Very nicely executed. I'm all about smart builds like this!

 

[Nader]

Refined the box a bit. That LED fog light light was bulky and cumbersome, kept getting hung up on things and getting banged around when I chucked the box in the truck bed. Not even using the light enough to make it worth the hassle. So I found these LED strip lights that are amazingly bright, and low profile. Less weight, too. The future is now!

 

[lumpy70]

Do you have a link for those LED strips?