One of "Those" weekend projects

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WILLD420

WILLD420

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Mar 14, 2008
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Seems to be my luck lately, that every time I have a "Simple" weekend project that shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 hours, I wind up spending the whole weekend and don't even get it finished.

I started with a little project to put my 12v compressors in an ammo can, which has turned into a nightmare of plumbing and wiring snafu's complete with my traditional regret of even starting the project.

I'm within sight of the finish line, but I'm pretty sure I could live the rest of my life without doing another project like this and be perfectly happy holding down the couch, getting fatter and drinking a nice cold ice tea while I watch mind numbing weekend television...
 
WILLD420 said:
Seems to be my luck lately, that every time I have a "Simple" weekend project that shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 hours, I wind up spending the whole weekend and don't even get it finished.

I started with a little project to put my 12v compressors in an ammo can, which has turned into a nightmare of plumbing and wiring snafu's complete with my traditional regret of even starting the project.

I'm within sight of the finish line, but I'm pretty sure I could live the rest of my life without doing another project like this and be perfectly happy holding down the couch, getting fatter and drinking a nice cold ice tea while I watch mind numbing weekend television...
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Sounds like my EVERY DAY in the shop lately. However Im too dumb to stop!
Sounds like an interesting mod though. id be interested in seeing some pics! (hint hint)
 
I'm trying real hard to muster up some sympathy for you. :flipoff2:

I dropped the transmission out of the 60 today.

BTW thanks for the loan of the transmission jack. With it I was able to have a semi-controlled descent of the transmission.


The main problem working on the 60 is it's too low for a crawler and to tall to reach anything comfortably. My friggin shoulders feel like they were worked over with a baseball bat.
 
I started this project because I am tired of wasted space. Right now I have a ginormous plastic box in the cargo area of my Ramcharger that's completely full of stuff I haven't used in 2 years. Mostly it's because the truck is old and I haven't done all the PM on it that I would like, so I carry lot's of parts for the things I haven't done yet and things I've had happen in the past.

This doesn't leave a lot of room for important things, like dogs, and kid stuff, so the box has to go and so does all the junk I haul around for nothing.

Thus starts the idea, hey, I can take one of these ammo cans I've got laying around and mount it where the spare tire used to be, then I can fill it up with stuff.

Then comes the idea, hey, I've got these 2 compressors I carry around and I don't want to hard mount them under the hood in the elements, maybe I can throw them in this can and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

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Yep, they fit, sort of and it looks like a good idea so far. O'h wait, I think they might get too hot down in there, not to mention rattle around. I better get some ventilation in there and screw them to the can so they don't rattle around and break something. Hmmmmmm..

I know, I've got a couple computer fans I was going to use for another project. Maybe they will work. While I'm at it, I might as well add a couple power plugs for things like my fridge and the DVD player for the rugrat. Then I should add toggle switches and fuses so I don't burn the rig down if something shorts out.

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Hmmmm... I forgot, there's no power anywhere near the back of this truck. No problem. I wanted to add a rear winch feed anyway. I'll just patch into that and get some juice. Then I don't have to run another line under the truck. I can get it all done with one. Now; where did I hide that old cruddy welding cable I scrounged out of the junkyard...

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Cool. Now I just have to separate the compressors from the hoses and junk I carry for the tires and I'm set. O'h wait, I spy a piece of old plywood from a remodel two years ago laying in the dirt next to the shed... Looks perfectly fine for my use.

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All I have left is to hook the battery end of the cable up and change out the relief valve. All I had was a 165 psi blowoff valve, I think I'll see if Napa has one a little lower. I'm not sure these things will put up enough pressure to activate the 165 without blowing a fuse. It also helps that my air chuck leaks air until it's clipped onto the valve stem.
 
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Doesn't look like much, but I'm not the best pre-planner when it comes to these things, and I have all my stuff scattered to the winds so it takes me forever to find the things I know I have stashed away. Doesn't help that I stink at wiring and electrical stuff, then I have to re-do things at least 3 times before I figure out that what I was trying to do won't work and I have to start over again.

Overall I'll be pretty happy with it if it works. The ammo can should hold all my hoses and tire patching stuff with ease and the two compressors plumbed together should really speed up my air up times. Not as good as a York, but I already owned 90% of the stuff to get it done and the plus side is that I no longer have some of those things taking up space in the shed. Now, if someone would just get the idea to mass produce something like this, I wouldn't have to ever build another one.

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The ones who makes it all worthwhile..

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rusty_tlc said:
I'm trying real hard to muster up some sympathy for you. :flipoff2:

I dropped the transmission out of the 60 today.

BTW thanks for the loan of the transmission jack. With it I was able to have a semi-controlled descent of the transmission.


The main problem working on the 60 is it's too low for a crawler and to tall to reach anything comfortably. My friggin shoulders feel like they were worked over with a baseball bat.
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Your welcome. That thing is worth every penny I paid for it. I cannot imagine trying to wrestle with the transmission in my Dodge without that jack. Heck, I could barely lift the torque converter long enough to get it stabbed in the pump. I can't imagine trying to get that trans up in the truck and start a bolt in it.

Floor Creeper with Adjustable Headrest | Overstock.com

At least your neck doesn't get tired with one of these..:cheers:
 
FAAAAWK!
Cool idea for sure. Wouldnt think it would be that tough, but....
 
If you used the original hose, I'm pretty sure the yellow part will overheat and blow out long before you hit that pressure. I modified mine to use standard air hose fittings, and the first thing I did was overheat and blow out the yellow hose - I had temporarily deleted the thicker standard hose it uses on the compressor side, and I was trying to use a standard inflator that closes off. It took about 5 seconds.
 
One other thought - you might find that the fan cools the whole operation better if it pushes or pulls air through a hole in the opposite corner with the lid on, so the air flow is across both compressor heads. I just saw a good example of this with a computer case at work, with the cover off the airflow bypassed the CPU so the temperature actually went up about 12F.
 
I didn't think it would take that long either. Seems I underestimated the complexity and overestimated my skills again.



I threw away the yellow plastic hoses that came with the compressors. I already broke one of the stupid inflator attachments the 2nd time I used the compressor. I ran the two outputs into a 4 way connector, then I ran a 3/8 hose out the side of the box to a coupler I can hook into with my longer hoses to reach the tires. That's where I put the blowoff valve, so it vents inside the can where it will be muffled a little and have the shortest amount of line that has to be pressurized.


I mounted 2 fans in the box, one on each opposite corner and directed them to blow air from the front of the box to the rear. The plywood sits up on top of the carrying handles, so there is a couple inches of airspace for the flow to run from one end of the box to the other, hopefully carrying some heat with it. The plywood should help channel that air a little faster than just the empty box, where it would let the air volume become stagnant. Kinda like the air dams on a radiator that direct the flow.

I haven't even used the stupid thing and I've already figured a dozen ways I would do it better next time.
 
Got it all working tonight. So far, so good. It aired one of my 35x15.50-15's from 12 psi to 30 psi in 2 min 30 seconds. Not York speed, but good enough for me. I think the stupid yellow HF coil hose is slowing down the flow a lot, since I can open the line after the yellow hose and the pumps still pop off the pressure relief valve.

Speaking of pressure relief valve, I bought a 150 psi one, but it was too much without having one-way valves on the compressors. Lucky thing, they are easy to adjust. I didn't take any pics, but the pop off valve is just a spring loaded valve with a big set screw on the top that is held by a place that they staked on the side at the manufacturer. I drilled out the stake spot and then I turned the screw until I got it to release pressure at 90-95 psi. Works perfect.

Guess I'll know how it works as time goes on. So far, I like it and the can holds a lot of stuff on top of the compressors and the hoses.
 
rusty_tlc said:
The same one is on sale at Harbor freight for $26 this month.
I may have to make an investment. I pulled the clutch cover and flywheel after work tonight, man am I sore.
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Best $26 buck I've spent in a long time.
 
Used it today after the bronco run. Not as fast as real OBA setups, but it worked and the pumps didn't get too hot. I think I'll shop for some more plumbing parts and do some hotrodding on the pumps and lines someday.

I wholeheartedly support the creeper with the neck support. I don't know how I ever got along without one for all those years.
 
WILLD420 said:
Used it today after the bronco run. Not as fast as real OBA setups, but it worked and the pumps didn't get too hot. I think I'll shop for some more plumbing parts and do some hotrodding on the pumps and lines someday.

I wholeheartedly support the creeper with the neck support. I don't know how I ever got along without one for all those years.
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Somebody did a whole write up here on Mud about "porting and polishing" those pumps.
 
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