on-board air

[Scoutn79]

I had a smaller ARB portable which I finally installed under hood after 20 years,and hardwired (no tank). Then it died. Given it didn't really have much output I bought a new Viair rather than repair the ARB ... but somehow goofed on the dimensions and it won't fit where I had my ARB. So for now I'll probably keep it as a portable. My use is mostly for tire air-up. Anyway (get to the point), I had finally hard mounted the ARB underhood to save space and hide it from potential theft. Now that I'll need a new location, is hard-mounting really worth it for function, if you don't have horns or lockers? Seems I have more flexibility with a portable, and can get away with a shorter hose which could reduce air-up times (less pressure drop along the length of the hose). Curious to hear real-world pro's and con's. Thanks.

You could run a 100ft hose and have little issue with the air side of things and if all you are doing is airing up tires you won't even notice. You aren't flowing that much air. You could, however have issues with voltage running a long electrical lead to the pump. The pumps draw a lot of current and if you loose to many volts you will burn up the motor prematurely. You will likely need 6 gage wire, I am guessing here, to get 20ft to the pump.
Your choice how you mount it but I would have a good connection with the proper gage wire fore the length of run and amps required to feed the pump and keep it rather short and run a longer hose.
Plus copper is way more expensive, heavier and bulkier than an air hose.

Darrell

 

[punisher1130]

Well the air pump i ordered came in and it simply wont work for what i am thinking, way too small but it does air up a tire good so ill just use it for that and go with plan B.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Well the air pump i ordered came in and it simply wont work for what i am thinking, way too small but it does air up a tire good so ill just use it for that and go with plan B.

Order a Puma and dont look back:smiley_drive:

After 9 years and 100's of hours of use never a blip. You will be hard pressed to find any 12V compressor with such a solid record.

 

[punisher1130]

Order a Puma and dont look back:smiley_drive:

After 9 years and 100's of hours of use never a blip. You will be hard pressed to find any 12V compressor with such a solid record.

I will look into it on a later date, too close to my road trip to afford anything now but at least i have something to air up my tires, better than nothing since i don't have a spare.

 

[dman93]

You could run a 100ft hose and have little issue with the air side of things and if all you are doing is airing up tires you won't even notice. You aren't flowing that much air. You could, however have issues with voltage running a long electrical lead to the pump. The pumps draw a lot of current and if you loose to many volts you will burn up the motor prematurely. You will likely need 6 gage wire, I am guessing here, to get 20ft to the pump.
Your choice how you mount it but I would have a good connection with the proper gage wire fore the length of run and amps required to feed the pump and keep it rather short and run a longer hose.
Plus copper is way more expensive, heavier and bulkier than an air hose.

Darrell

I can figure out and manage voltage drop, but you've made a good point, CFM and thus the air velocity are pretty low pumping up tires, so pressure drop through the hose isn't really a big deal. Thanks. By the way, I am a huge fan of my 19.2V cordless impact. It's changed the way I work.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I will look into it on a later date, too close to my road trip to afford anything now but at least i have something to air up my tires, better than nothing since i don't have a spare.

Everyone seems to expresses personal needs, me included. If you only use/need your compressor a few times a year and if it works when needed its perfect for you. There is always something better.....

 

[punisher1130]

Everyone seems to expresses personal needs, me included. If you only use/need your compressor a few times a year and if it works when needed its perfect for you. There is always something better.....

Well this kinda got off track of what the original post was about, i just needed to know what tank size would be the best option for a diy onboard air system.

 

[MOguy]

WD-40 Sprayed from its can is a good flamethrower, but it wont create an explosive vapor if sprayed in a tyre. (bad for the rubber bead too)
Without ether, or maybe LPG from your barbeque tank, you wont be flame seating a tyre bead.

I am pretty sure we pulled it off with WD-40 this time it's been a few years but I'm almost positive it worked

 

[Comanche Scott]

Nice thing about an air tank is water vapor tends to drop out when using the air tank as a pass-through, since most 12V DC compressors won't keep up with use. It works pretty well in humid areas. That along with a dryer will help keep moisture out of your tires/rims, reducing corrosion issues. The size of the tank is really determined by initial volume required.

I have a Puma PD1006 mounted in the Jeep, and an MV50 mounted as an OBA setup with a 2.5 gallon tank in another rig.
The Puma will run circles around the MV50, except for the first tire. Hard to beat a 2.5 gallon air tank when fully charged.
Eventually this is the way the Puma will be run (dismount the stock 1.5 gallon tank, and a 2.5 gallon tank mounted under the Jeep).
I also run a 3.8" I.D. curly hose to reduce volume loss for faster fill rates with both rigs.

Picture one: 2.5 gallon tank mounted with 3/4" hosing from manifold shut off valve
Picture two: MV50 modified and mounted. Dryer used for a surge tank when rear 2.5 gallon tank is shut off. Manifold also has a pressure shut off to control the MV50 automatically, and there is a valve to shut off air to the rear tank when not needed.

Picture three: Setup for the Jeep with 50' 3/8" diameter air hose
Picture four: Puma mounted in Jeep. Very happy with this compressor and how quiet it is.

 

[punisher1130]

Nice set up, looks like the 2.5 gal tank is the most popular size to run other than the puma tank.

 

[MOguy]

Nice thing about an air tank is water vapor tends to drop out when using the air tank as a pass-through, since most 12V DC compressors won't keep up with use. It works pretty well in humid areas. That along with a dryer will help keep moisture out of your tires/rims, reducing corrosion issues. The size of the tank is really determined by initial volume required.

I have a Puma PD1006 mounted in the Jeep, and an MV50 mounted as an OBA setup with a 2.5 gallon tank in another rig.
The Puma will run circles around the MV50, except for the first tire. Hard to beat a 2.5 gallon air tank when fully charged.
Eventually this is the way the Puma will be run (dismount the stock 1.5 gallon tank, and a 2.5 gallon tank mounted under the Jeep).
I also run a 3.8" I.D. curly hose to reduce volume loss for faster fill rates with both rigs.

Picture one: 2.5 gallon tank mounted with 3/4" hosing from manifold shut off valve
Picture two: MV50 modified and mounted. Dryer used for a surge tank when rear 2.5 gallon tank is shut off. Manifold also has a pressure shut off to control the MV50 automatically, and there is a valve to shut off air to the rear tank when not needed.

Picture three: Setup for the Jeep with 50' 3/8" diameter air hose
Picture four: Puma mounted in Jeep. Very happy with this compressor and how quiet it is.

For me that is just too much space for on board air.

 

[dman93]

Following up on a question I asked a few posts back, I think I've found a good under-hood location for my new Viair ... which leads to another question. The new unit came with the male portion of the quick coupler on the compressor. My home compressor and the old ARB which died were set up backwards (quick disconnect socket on the compressor, then plug the male end of the hose in. I'm assuming that using the male end on the output is less restrictive, and maybe that orientation also makes it easier to disconnect under pressure, but I wanted to confirm if that's in fact a standard practice in case I need to use someone else's hose, etc. Thanks.

 

[Ghostyman]

My compressors have always had the quick disconnect on the compressor. That's the normal way.

If you keep yours as is, you'll need a hose with quick disconnects on each end. You might also want to make a male-male coupler so you can use other people's gear.

 

[punisher1130]

Following up on a question I asked a few posts back, I think I've found a good under-hood location for my new Viair ... which leads to another question. The new unit came with the male portion of the quick coupler on the compressor. My home compressor and the old ARB which died were set up backwards (quick disconnect socket on the compressor, then plug the male end of the hose in. I'm assuming that using the male end on the output is less restrictive, and maybe that orientation also makes it easier to disconnect under pressure, but I wanted to confirm if that's in fact a standard practice in case I need to use someone else's hose, etc. Thanks.

Personally i'm not sure, try posting some pictures that may help get the answers your looking for.

 

[Comanche Scott]

Sounds like the Viair does not have a high pressure shut off switch built into the compressor. If that is the case running the compressor with nothing hooked up to a female connector (which cuts air flow) will damage it.
Double check with Viair to be sure.