Air Compressors

[nav-pilot]

does the tank make it any faster overall to pump up the all the tires?

Hi tweak'e

I think it does make it quicker with the 2 tanks to pump up the tyres.
But i would only say that because of the amount of volume my compressor puts out.

You can pump the tanks up before you even stop so with 100psi with 48 litres sitting there waiting for you, it has to be quicker.

The tanks and tyres will always balance out with air pressure, so if you have a compressor always pumping the tanks up your always in front.

Dont forget You always have your down time between changing tyres so in this time your compressor is still pumping air in the tanks.

There is also the advantage of if you want to blow your filters out or other things you simply plug an air gun in (100psi on tap)

This particular compressor you can buy all the components of it seperatly so if you ever have any problems with it you can service it.
The prices of the parts are also very reasonable.

The are a few better soloutions out there but they are a lot more expensive.

By the way if anybody is looking for a tank there is one on ebay at the moment the same as one of mine, In vic starting price $10
Just type in air tanks.

Cheers

 

[tweak'e]

i was trying to find details on the pump, only see the big red plus. which i think is rated at about half of that one.
anyway that rating means its probably on par with ARB pump (unless its the first pump in history to actually pump what it claims )

just discussing this on outers at the mo. i don't think it makes much difference to pumping up tires due to what you gain from the tank you loose as the pump has to pump the tank and tire up at the same time.
mind you if you could somehow switch between tank and pump, ie use tank only to pump tire(s) up then run pump direct to the rest of the tires. mmmmmm......complicated

when my cheapy starts to pack up i'll look at doing a tank setup. mainly so i can put an outlet at the rear so i can access trailer tires easly.

 

[Aido]

For inflating tyres tanks are superfluous - the compressor still has to displace the same amount of air. Benefit is that stored air is available at a much higher pressure on demand for short term use of tools / blow guns etc. Tanks will place an enormous load on a 12v compressor because it has to work alot harder to fill the volume of the tank to a higher pressure than it would working on its own to just inflate tyres.
I've got an old school approach to stored air in progress at the moment - once the current job I'm on is completed I will have a 3L tank charged with liquid gas (inert) holding 10 000 kpa fitted with a regulator it will mean just opening the bottle. Endless refills too!
Apparently alot of people used to use a similar method with scuba bottles before 12v accessories were available.

 

[nav-pilot]

This is the brand i have.

Dont forget to allow for the w---k factor from the suppliers

Details below copied from the website

BIG PRO 7 COMPESSOR:

12/24 volt compressor 3/4 hp engine 100% duty cycle 170 Ltr fee flow rate (3 cfm).
Recommended working pressure 0-150psi. Maximum pressure 200psi - 35amp maximum draw. Fan cooled engine & cylinder head, oil free design, 3/8npt ported head, rebuildable design, crank case fed. External washable air filter, cast aluminium legs, special piston valve design for maximum performance. MUST USE CHECK VALVE TO PREVENT BACK-FLOW + 35amp CIRCUIT BREAKER - NEVER OIL THIS COMPRESSOR.


Performance Specifications 1 tyre 4 tyre
ARB (large) 3min 20sec - 13min 20sec
Bushranger 2min 15sec - 9min
BOSS 3/4 without tank 50sec - 3min 20sec
Boss Compesssor kit: compressor + 5 gal tank with pressure switch 23sec - 1min 32sec

PROBAG AIR SUSPENSION, Australia's largest range of air suspension components and kits, we are the largest importer of air suspension components into Australia, selling only Top Quality air suspension components, stocking Airide Technologies, Tubular

Cheers

 

[tanz]

For inflating tyres tanks are superfluous - the compressor still has to displace the same amount of air. Benefit is that stored air is available at a much higher pressure on demand

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you here. The tanks change the volume of air not the pressure. Example: At my workshop I have a compressor with a 300l tank, at home I have a compressor with a 100l tank. Both compressors are set at a working pressure of 100psi. (cuts in at around 80psi, out at 110psi) If I inflate 2 tyres on the workshop compressor it will not need to recharge the tank for the job, but the compressor at home will cut in. Reason being that the tyres each require say 20l of air to fill, so it has only taken 40l from the 300l tank (13% of the volume) Vs 40l from the 100l tank (40% of the volume).

I understand your view in that maybe a 4, 6 or 10 l tank will not offer much advantage(?) but it still does offer more volume which helps with tyre inflation. And of course yes the compressor will need to recharge the tank again which will take some time.

Cheers.

 

[Aido]

Using your example though both compressors , irrespective of size or displacement still have to replenish the loss eventually. A 3 phase compressor with a Vtwin displacing 1000cc per revolution will do it all day long but a 12v single pot compressor displacing 20cc at 12000 rpm is going to wear alot quicker and place it at a much higher risk of failure charging a tank to 100+psi. It will run for longer, at higher speed, create more heat and wear components at a greater rate.
Oh and because I love a good argument, the tank does provide greater pressure and not volume. It is stored pressure not volume. There is no 12 v compressor that can provide 100psi on demand. To do that you would require a Vane compressor run by a Cummins diesel.

 

[SOLID D22]

Has anyone ever or is it even possible to get air from the turbo, if its spooling at 16psi could it be possible to somehow tap in to the airline and use that to inflate tyres?
Just a weird thought running through my head.

 

[tweak'e]

another late night thought.....
tank is higher pressure than running off a pump direct (tank 100psi, pump usually about 20psi above tire pressure) laos tank is has been cooled. so inflating with higher pressure cooled air the tank should still pump the tire up quicker.
as long as the tank doesn't get that low that your relying solely on the pump (ie big tank) it should pump quicker. of course pump has to refill tank but it can do that while your driving. your not waiting for the pump to do the work.

 

[nav-pilot]

another late night thought.....
tank is higher pressure than running off a pump direct (tank 100psi, pump usually about 20psi above tire pressure) laos tank is has been cooled. so inflating with higher pressure cooled air the tank should still pump the tire up quicker.
as long as the tank doesn't get that low that your relying solely on the pump (ie big tank) it should pump quicker. of course pump has to refill tank but it can do that while your driving. your not waiting for the pump to do the work.

Thats the point I was trying to make.

Point is. My mate has a typhoon compressor & i have the big red with tanks.
We can pull up together and both pump are tyres up the same amount of psi & I can beat him hands down everytime.

Its not only the pumping time its the set up time & the packing away time.
As tweake said I can get to 100psi before starting & finish off to 100psi when finished & driving.

Also one day when i get my rear air locker it can be run of the same system so i dont need to buy a arb comp just for the locker.
And as I said before you can also use a air gun to clean things (maybe a rattle gun - havent tried it)

Summary / By the time you spend the money & get one comp for tyres one for lockers & one for because a new model comes out & you think it will be better you have already paid for a complete better system.

Some people will agree to disagree but thats life & all to there own.

Cheers Guys

 

[tanz]

Using your example though both compressors , irrespective of size or displacement still have to replenish the loss eventually.

That's what I was trying to say with my final line. However, the point I was trying to make is that it will allow the tyres to be inflated quicker due to the extra stored air, and therefore assisting tyre infaltion time.

I can't work out how to do the multi quote thingy, but I think we're both argueing the same point but looking at it differently! Boyle's law directly relates pressure to volume! I was just looking at the volume, whereas you are looking at the pressure.

 

[tweak'e]

found the pump 01. ExtremeAire 12 volt Compressor
also has a higher flowing version.

tanks, it depends on size of tanks, most only fit 10l or so tanks which empty out before the jobs done.

also you can't just use any compressor with a tank. i think the typhoon would die quickly if it had to constantly pump up to 100psi.
if i was going to run a tank i would be very keen to make a two stage pump or compound pump setup. ie use two pumps, one feeding the other.

 

[SOLID D22]

If your going to fit a tank, depending on size, i suppose you could put an external valve on it and pump it up from a servo first so the compressor doesnt have to work as hard first time.

 

[tweak'e]

servo pumps are often crap. but if you have a good pump at home especially a 150-200psi one you could fill the tank a lot more than your onboard can.

the other thought is why not fit a check valve. if your max tire pressure is 50psi, fit a 50 psi check valve to the tank outlet. this stops tank pressure going under 50psi. that way when you get to 50 psi in the tank the pump will be filling the tire only and will only start filling the tank once tire pressure is up to 50 psi (or you stop filling the tire).
mad idea ??

 

[nav-pilot]

Would like to know peoples opinion of what would be a good air compressor to buy, dont want to break the bank

Just an excellent value for money 12v compressor to re-inflate the tyres and wont go "BOOM" after 6 months.

Cheers
STC

I think we have gotten a bit of the title of this post.

my point I was trying to get across when i first joined this post was I was not saying I had the best system but for what it cost me, it is a lot better than some other standard systems out there for around the same money.

Big red compressor second hand of ebay $180
2 air tanks free
Fittings etc $110
Pressure switch $25
Total $315

Yes you can go a spend more money and get a better system but if you hunt around (keep your eyes out) you might just pick up a not bad system for reasonable money as i did.

Cheers guys

 

[tweak'e]

you either got the compressor at a bargain or its a Chinese copy. as i see they are on sites for $300-$500.

 

[nathan96]

He got the big red second hand. Hence the lower price

 

[nav-pilot]

He got the big red second hand. Hence the lower price

Thanks Nathan

Cheers