Tsunami on board air.

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Got one at Pep Boys in Sunnyvale, CA today. San Carlos, CA Pep Boys did not have them. $60 plus tax.

-Dog
 
I looked at one in an auto parts store. On the box it says max operating temp 140° and max continous use 40 minutes @ 75°.

In the hot weather, under heavy loads, my engine compartment gets over 150°
 
The deal on getting them is this. The website Partsamerica is their parts supplier but that's as far as they go. They don't handle getting one from store A to a store near you and that's why you can't just plug in MV50 and order one even though there may be 100 of them around here and there nationally.

Get on there and plug in your zip code and progressively farther away zipcodes until you find one. Then call your local store of the same chain and ask if they will get it shipped from the store in their area that DOES have it. A few days later, they'll call you to go get your snazzy and cheap on board air.

At the store that had mine, I had to send the guy back twice looking for it as he kept finding others and not this discontinued item. Finally he got on the phone and said they were stuffed back in a dark corner not on the shelf anymore as a lot of stores take discontinued items off the shelf and then they fall into a grey zone sitting in the back somewhere. That is precisely where all the MV50s currently are - sitting in limbo in a dark corner of a chain store. Go get 'em.

I was way impressed by a quick look at mine. High quality pliable wires (not the cheap hard plasticky won't unroll crap) and such. I'll be mounting mine this week and reporting back. I'm going to try to make them easily removable, yet hard mounted.

DougM
 
LandyLover said:
The compressor is mounted beside the overflow tank and the winshield washer fluid tank. I welded up an aluminum platform... works good. The black thing on the one side of the compressor head is the air filter, plumbing and green pressure switch on other side.

The tank is from an air compressor. You can see how I bolted it to the frame... Two of my slider supports are on either side of the tank, so the setup is perfect, IMO.

I've run automotive air tools with my system and my airhorn is always ready (used mostly for fun, of course), so Im happy with my system...

Cheers.

I Love this site. One of the 2 things I always wanted my truck to have was "on board air". The other must have was a suplimental electrical outlet. I always loved the idea of utility and being able to help others who are in need. Don't mean to hijack this thread: Question: if I were to add a on board compressor and a duplex electical outlet in the cargo area, would a second battery be needed? I do not have a winch, refridgerator or extra lights.
thanks
 
I was planning on putting in a tank in the stock spare tire location as soon as I put on a rear bumper. I was going to use a tank from a pancake air compressor (like the ones construction workers use), then put on a pressure switch and all.
 
chip7238 said:
Hey Rookie,

Pep Boy's out west & east towne has them - at least they did a month ago. I got one there. Hey, was that you down on KP in west Farragut today about 2:30?

I'll check with P-boys again and be more specific about what I'm looking for, maybe it's in the corner somewhere.

I'm not sure if that was me or not... maybe. I live down that way, so I'm on KP quite often. Hope your rig is running well. Give me a shout if you get into any good projects.

:beer:
Rookie2
 
Putting it where the spare tire goes is alright, you just want to make sure you dont drag it on the rocks. Also, mounting it there can work but mounting a pancake style tank I think would be a challenge. If you use a hotdog tank or even a bonified receiver tank for automotive applications, mounting is much simpler because the brackets are already welded on the right spot (welding your own brackets to a pressure vessel legally requires a ticketed welder). The presure switches are only around $20...

BTW, the maximum "recommended" ambient air temp for this unit is 158 degrees (70 degs celsius)...

Cheers...
 
LandyLover said:
...BTW, the maximum "recommended" ambient air temp for this unit is 158 degrees (70 degs celsius)...
The mf1050 box I looked at said 140 degrees max. I'm thinking its life may be short if mounted under hood and then used under high heat conditions. The box said it had a continuous run time of 40 minutes if the temp is 75 degrees. No telling how accurate any of the printed marketing "specs" are. It is fair to presume that its sustainable run time will be much shorter at typical underhood temps.
 
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Sorry, you're right. Im talking about the firestone unit I've got for the temperature. Since these units are oil-less, they typically use a Teflon ring on the piston. From repairing the industrial oil-less compressors I can tell you that heat is always the culprit for premature failure. However, if you are travelling and the compressor is running, the air moving by the compressor will evacuate the hot air around the compressor head. Similarly, if your air fitting is at your compressor (like my setup) the hood will be open so you can hook up your airline. Of course this prevents the hot air from being trapped in the engine compartment.

What I can tell you is that I've had 2 of these compressors. The first one I had for 3 years, and I used it regularly for 4 wheeling. Let me tell you I went WAY over its duty cycle as I charged all my tires from around 10PSI to street pressure (around 35). I've never had a failure and though I cannot attest to the compressor you all are talking about, I'd be willing to bet that it would last a long time even in arizona... it appears to be a well designed machine.

Cheers
 
Rich said:
The mf1050 box I looked at said 140 degrees max. I'm thinking its life may be short if mounted under hood and then used under high heat conditions. The box said it had a continuous run time of 40 minutes if the temp is 75 degrees. No telling how accurate any of the printed marketing "specs" are. It is fair to presume that its sustainable run time will be much shorter at typical underhood temps.

We need some more storing/mounting ideas :D.

I'd like to mount it and keep everything stock looking. May look at how it would fit up in the first aid kit cubby hole.
 
Rookie2 said:
We need some more storing/mounting ideas :D.

I'd like to mount it and keep everything stock looking. May look at how it would fit up in the first aid kit cubby hole.
What first aid kit cubby hole?
 
firetruck41 said:
What first aid kit cubby hole?

The right side cubby in the rear cargo area is where the factory first aid kit goes.
 
firetruck41 said:
What first aid kit cubby hole?

Where ToolsRus said. May just be a pink panty thing :flipoff2:. It's pretty basic, with some bandaids, gause pads and a few other things IIRC... nice leather zip pouch carrying case and Lexus emblem on the front. Mines packed away in the closet with the third row seats, to make room for jumper cables in the cubby :D.
 
Well the LX470 I just bought had two Lexus first aid kits, now I know where to put the extra one. Don't think I'll remove my own first aid kit though ;).
FWIW, I have my auxiallry fuse block in the corner of that cubby.
 
Mine has held up quite well except for the rubber seal in the hose connector where it attaches to the unit. It is kind of a flat o-ring with a lip; it split internally (looked fine until you pressed the center). It was a bitch finding something to replace it with.

The compressor is great. It will take my 285/75-16 tires from 12-15 psi to 40 in 6-7min per tire. The power cable clips directly to the battery and it or the hose needs more length requiring some creative placement of the unit to reach the right rear of my 80. The hose connectors appear to be non-standard (at least nobody in my podunk 'ville town has anything close) so a longer hose is difficult to achieve.

I got mine at Pep Boys in Fredricksburg, VA, about an hour from my house for $75 about 3 years ago. Sam's Club has 'em on its website but my local one does not carry them.

FWIW
 
For those that have had this unit for a few years, how has it held up? I've been thinking of getting one, but recent reviews on other sites are mixed.

I have a Puma, so mine only get "loan to others" service now, my brother's still gets full time service on 315's. Between us, we have 4 of them, they are ~4 years old and have seen lots of use, often airing our tires, then others that don't have air.

There are a bunch of them in our club and they are well proven. A couple have broken air filters and a few have had wiring problems. The crimped electrical connectors aren't the best, we soldered them and no more problems.

They are what they are, a relatively compact compressor made to put air in tires, for this service they work well. If they are used for more than that you will probably be disappointed, for their intended use they are a great value.:hillbilly:
 
I have been looking for some on board air. $60 at 4wheel parts and this seems like a no brainer.
Does anyone have pics of this unit in a fixed location hard wired in a '93 or newer cruiser? There doesn't seem to be the same kind of room in my '94 as there is in the '91 pictured.
 
I have been looking for some on board air. $60 at 4wheel parts and this seems like a no brainer.
Does anyone have pics of this unit in a fixed location hard wired in a '93 or newer cruiser? There doesn't seem to be the same kind of room in my '94 as there is in the '91 pictured.

Heat is the #1 enemy of compressors, it affects both reliability and output/performance. I wouldn't mount any compressor under the hood, most spec max operation temp in the 120-140F range and under the hood temps are over that before it's even turned on.

For an on board air application I recommend the Puma. They are more powerful (basically a generic extreme air), come with a tank, pressure switch, head unloader, pressure relief, fittings, etc all setup. They are more $, but they make more air and have all of the required parts.
 
Heat is the #1 enemy of compressors, it affects both reliability and output/performance. I wouldn't mount any compressor under the hood, most spec max operation temp in the 120-140F range and under the hood temps are over that before it's even turned on.

For an on board air application I recommend the Puma. They are more powerful (basically a generic extreme air), come with a tank, pressure switch, head unloader, pressure relief, fittings, etc all setup. They are more $, but they make more air and have all of the required parts.

got a link? ....is this set up fixed in or on the truck or a carry around unit?

i'd like to have something that's fixed and hard wired in.
 

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