air tanks

[lx450landcruiser]

i was thinking about putting an on board air system on next but i want some air tanks that will hold enough air to do things. how come you never see square air tanks? is it not srong enough? any one running tanks and where are the mounted?

mike

 

[Beowulf]

LX-Mikey,
Pressure vessles are spheres. I'm using a 6-1/2 gal air tank from a trailer brake application. It's mounted where the spare used to be, along with a box containing the compressor(s), switches, wiring, relay, and various plumbing stuff. 6.5 gal is not enough to do everything but you didn't say what it was you are planning for the tank.

The biggest variable is the compressor that fills the tank. Spend the bucks for a good one and even a small tank (1 or 2 gal) will be plenty.

-B-

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

I've been pondering OBA for some time as well.

While my ideal situation is a custom fab CO2 system, I've also been thinking about using sliders as the 'tank' (eg Slee's can do this) with a very good ($$$) compressor. I believe the sliders are ~2.5gal per side. Really the best part is having your friends and neighbours watch you connect an air hose to your 'steps' and then run an air gun to change their tire While this system is 'never ending', I'm not sure where to put the compressor. As I've found out, it seems that the ideal compressor to do this job is as much, if not more, than a 'OEM' air CO2 system.

Cheers, Hugh

 

[turbocruiser]

I bet the bigger volume of the step sliders means you could get over six gallons on each side. I was playing with the thought of tapping in valves and just pressuring with my home compressor prior to hitting the trails. I figure if each side was at about 115 psi, I would not really have on board air for tools but I could at least air up the tires prior to hitting the highway again to go home? Whaddyall think?

 

[Photoman]

FWIW, a standard air impact gun uses about 4 CFM at 90 psi (114l/min). A 3/8" drive air rachet uses about 3 CFM. Some of the 12v electric air compressors for onboard air make around 1 CFM at 80 or 90 psi. I have a Currie/Thomas and that's about what it makes.

A couple of considerations for using sliders:
The welds would have to not leak.
The air fitting could get torn off with loss of air.
It probably should have a drain also welded in.
Your using your air tank to slide over rocks?????
You would have to rig something up to know how much air is in the tank. Pretty disappointing to go to air back up and find out your MT.

I know running out of air is not as critical as when I did some cave diving, but I would want some kind of compressor with me "just in case" for airing up - not just a tank. Of course everyone's situation is different.

Another possible way to go is by converting or buying a York or other AC compressor and running it off the engine. Some of them put out around 4.5 CFM at 1200 RPM's. I don't know how someone could mount one though on an 80 and keep the existing accessories.

Bill

 

[landtank]

I had thought that mounting a compressor to the engine where the SC goes with that belt setup might be an option. Anyone heard of this?

 

[sleeoffroad]

Re: AC compressor where SC goes. Lance and Scott Simmons did this after I gave the idea to Scott. Purchased the drive mechanism from TRD. Not cheap.

Re: Sliders as tanks. Ours are welded so that they keep air. I had mine set up as tanks on has never ripped the line out. However as a safety I did have a disconnect valve at the manifold where the airline that went to the slider originated.

They do not provide much air volume, but I had ARB's and they did make it so that the compressor would not cycle everytime when you turned on the lockers. Also when airing up it allowed to collect air when you switched hoses from one tire to the next. So overall air-up time shorter.

 

[ppc]

[quote author=turbocruiser link=board=2;threadid=11925;start=msg108897#msg108897 date=1077546075]
I bet the bigger volume of the step sliders means you could get over six gallons on each side. I was playing with the thought of tapping in valves and just pressuring with my home compressor prior to hitting the trails. I figure if each side was at about 115 psi, I would not really have on board air for tools but I could at least air up the tires prior to hitting the highway again to go home? Whaddyall think?
[/quote]

As an example a 285/75 16" tire has about 6500 sq in or about 24 gal of volume. Considering you start at 20 PSI in the tire and 110 in the slider:
(20*24) + (110*6) = ending pressure*30
This works out to 38 PSI as the ending pressure. Barely enough for one tire without considering any loses.

Just not practical from that point of view.

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

I'm talking about one of these bad boys http://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?cart_id=8410663.30796&pid=30 8)

12V (high amp!), 150psi working pressure, 4cfm and 100% duty cycle...but with a price that makes CO2 systems look quite cheap!

 

[Junk]

I hope if anyone goes this route, that they know what they are doing. Welding pressure vessels should not be taken lightly. Something goes wrong and someone could die or be badly injured. A good friend of mine requested I make him a custom tank. I declined, because even though he's a great friend and I wanted to help, I could never live with his kids or anyone else getting injured. Any pressure vessel built should be hydro tested.

 

[Junk]

BTW, I agree with Christo (as what sane person would disagree) about the engine driven air. I've used Scott's on board air and it is awesome. That is definitely a route that folks should consider. Then again, his rig is not the typical occassional offroader though either. Most folks need to realize that if it takes a few minutes to fill a tire, who cares? After all, that's usually the best part of the trip, just the hanging out and bsing afterwards. I'll stick with my CO2, but I have onboard air as a backup.

 

[Riley]

[quote author=CDN_Cruiser link=board=2;threadid=11925;start=msg109356#msg109356 date=1077597254]
I'm talking about one of these bad boys http://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?cart_id=8410663.30796&pid=30 8)

12V (high amp!), 150psi working pressure, 4cfm and 100% duty cycle...but with a price that makes CO2 systems look quite cheap!
[/quote]

Hugh - that looks pretty cool. Can you run that without a tank? if so it seems wierd. That would be pretty cool if you could run an impact gun. Put that on the wish list. $380 doesn't seem to bad until you convert to Canadian and then pay taxes ect.... gets kinda of crazy.

Riley

edit - Just checked Slee's site (I remembered that Christo's got cool air stuff). He carries the same brand/type. Just thought I'd point it out.

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

Riley:

Yeah, it seems that you can run air guns directly, but this is why I was also thinking of using (Slee) sliders as a small tank.

Then again, to get this kind of performance, you are paying lots of $$, which is why a local, home brew CO2 systems seems to be better (I think I could proabably make one of C$200) - I just need to go to some welding supply cos to see what's doable. I could use the $400 savings to pay for 20 refills of CO2, which would likely last me 20 years!

Cheers, Hugh