On board air system

[gapatriot]

After talking with thatguy last night he said I should do an overview of what I'm doing. So here it goes I have allotted $200 max but really hope to finish it for under $125. So yesterday I got the heart of the system for a whopping $36. It's a York 210 series a/c compressor (long stroke). A/c compressor just pump and compress gas but in your a/c system the Freon has oil in the charge to lubricate the compressor. So how am I going to get oil into the air on this compressor? I'm not which is why this compressor is unique. It has a crank case with its own oil so there is no oil in the air. This compressor comes in 3 versions the short, medium and long stoke you want the long stroke or at least the medium don't bother with the short. It takes about 10 seconds to fill a 2 gal tank to 120 psi at 2200 rpm with the long stroke. So here is the beast!!

[gapatriot]

Now to make it a little easier on you I'm posting the way to identify the strokes. When find the compressor you take off the clutch and look at the shaft.

[JohnyMac]

So what is the compressor to?

[gapatriot]

This one came off a 80 ford f150 ranger but that doesn't mean that you can find that truck and it have the correct compressor. I'm sure there is a list somewhere I just walked around the junk yard looking for one. I'm planning on having 3 small tank in the rear of the Tahoe. I want to be able to air up tires and run air tools in the event of a road side emergency. The Tahoe is becoming my bov test platform, and she thought I was buying it for her

[JohnyMac]

  cool beans brother!

[Kentactic]

Being the Ahole that I am I must ask. Wouldn't a unit seperate from the vehicles motor,  be a better option? If your engine takes a dump and you'd like to use said air tools to fix it you're screwed. Plus you must idle a very inefficient motor to use the air source. A separate unit that runs on 12v alone would make more sense. You might have to idle the engine here and there to recharge the battery but you at least have some "air time" if the motor is dead. You could also easily add another battery and double it or then run it as a 24v system and run a more powerful 24v compressor. Finally you dont have to run an oddball belt on your motor further (even if very minor) reducing your engines reliability.


I will accept "Go to hell" as a response...lol

[gapatriot]

Cubic feet per minute. To run a dc motor with any horse power to it would require a huge amount of amperage. Space is another issue placing the compressor under the hood saves space. The belt drive is the most efficient option available and cheapest. Have you ever used one of those crappy little 12volt compressors to fill a flat? And the belt isn't really a big deal make a bracket fab a pully and is you do the math correctly you can spin the compressor up vary fast with the engine idling.

[thatGuy]

Now that is some interesting thinking Ken. I'm not sure there is a right or wrong answer to the questions you've posed but I can tell you these York pumps will air up a tire with the quickness which is the real intention of having air on board.

I can tell you that running a ten horse B&S like on my mobile air compressor isn't any fun either, I'd much rather flip a switch on my dashboard than pull on that rope!

Sure there's ups and downs but for the money you can't put air on a truck for less then a York pump and having a great source (12cfm!!) with you is priceless.

[Kentactic]

All good points. I just thought id play devil's advocate. There are ups and downs of both options. It all comes down to the needs of the user I suppose.

Good stuff guys.

[thatGuy]

I've been thinking about the electric route and it really isn't feasible. When you look at electric compressors you'll see their are basically two types, ones that run air hammers like pin/brad/finish nailers and staple gun and the big ass 220v units that are popular with mechanics. Even at 220v those units are only capable of running high demand tools like die grinders and impacts because of their increased capacity and the intermittent nature of the work.

Those big ol'220 units all run with an 8" GE motor.. Same as the power plant in a Prius.. I think adding a second AC compressor to a truck is way easier than making a pickup into a Prius.. Not saying.. Just saying..

[Kentactic]

I hear you TG. But how long are we running an impact or something? The compressor is only as good as its tank. There's a huge newer 50-100 gal. 220 compressor(whatever those big standup ones are) in the garage here... it wont run an impact non stop. The compressor just fills the tank and then the tank supplies the tool. How much are we running these tools that we need rapid refilling of our tank? Are we opening a mechanic shop or changing a tire?

Personally I dont see the need for air tools on a rig. Its just a convenience for those who work on cars all day. Onboard air in my opinion is for filling tires youve deflated for traction period. Ive got all the air tools you could ever want at my fingertips (my step dads a mechanic) and I just pulled a motor out of a Camry... the only air tool I touched was an impact once to pull the harmonic balancer.


I dont mean to derail  your thread GAP. Tell me to shut up anytime and I will.

[thatGuy]

Exactly Ken, the CFM rating of the compressor is too low to actually power the tool and because of that you need a tank to build up a reserve capacity.

The York pump makes enough air to power an impact without a tank. Which kinda puts it in a world of it's own without even thinking about putting it under the hood.

So let's change the whole angle of discussion.

You're (hypothetically) a mechanic and the shit has hit the fan, sure you can't use air tools to fix your own motor but you can use them to fix someone else's.. Building community and trading skills, good shit right?

[Kentactic]

You lost me at help someone besides myself.... lol jk... are you sure said compressor can run said air tools constant? If so, thats pretty good. Still not sure if Id do it to my vehicle but running the same setup on a lawnmower motor might be cool. Gas powered compressor for the shop.

[gapatriot]

I'm pretty surprised there wasn't more interest in this It's actually a cheap and I can't say simple under taking but I thought more people would be interested. I'm kinda losing faith in yall. Johnny Mac how nice would it be to have air on site on that little tractor? And super simple to set up on it!! If guys aren't willing to take on something like this well when the shit hits the fan I would Be worried. Just my thought on it no worries on me posting anymore on this subject because it takes time I could be working to take pictures. Good luck to you all

[JohnyMac]

Sorry you are bummed GAP about your perceived notion of low interest by the folks on the forum concerning your On Board Air System subject line. Personally I think it is a nifty read and a good DIY project just not for today.

As I write this it is currently 21'F outside and the snow is coming down sideways from west to east.  I just got done putting the final coat of clear satin poly on the next 12 tongue & grove boards going up on my ceiling.

Just not enough hours in a day to tackle all of the projects on my todo list. So I have divided them into: Have to do and Like to do. Once I get the ceiling's done then I have to pull wire for the two outside spot lights, then pull wire for the fire alarms, then pull wire for the to make the kitchen outlets hot, then by then it should be warm enough outside to turn the garden.

  you get the idea. 

[graynomad]

Using those compressors is fairly common in Oz, great idea and they have some real oomph. I was about to do similar but then found an ARB dual unit that had a similar CFM rating and will be a lot easier to install, so I think I'll go for that.

[Burt Gummer]

Hey GA want to make some preppers jealous? install an overpressure air filtration system in your vehicle.

If your emergency scenario potentially contains contaminants such as chemical gasses, exited particles, harmful micro particles (asbestos, R.A. Dust), biological hazards. This system (given your compressor's up to it) would make your vehicle an effective safe zone.

picture yourself wearing a gas mask and exhaling while covering the exit valve, you are experiencing over pressure.

This is used in industrial equipment that operates in contaminated environments, even the newer generation military vehicles.
On a larger scale concept is used in most modern hospitals.

Some examples of commercially sold versions. But keep in mind this can totally be built on a prepper budget.
http://www.arcticaircon.co.uk/overpressure.php
http://www.bioquell.com/products/vehicle-versatile-cbrn-filtration/
https://www.elbitsystems.com/elbitmain/area-in2.asp?parent=132&num=134&num2=134