SpudBoy's 130 Defender camper build - UK to Sth Africa project

Spud,
can get numerous different switches from flea bay. I got mine from Hobzees but it is essentially the same as this
150 PSI 12V Pressure Switch for Viair Air compressor - eBay (item 120680292447 end time Mar-05-11 12:25:51 PST)

You will most definately need a drain in them sliders, unless you run a large fancy seperator between compressor and tank - the very act of compressing air condenses water. Your sliders will fill up with water.

From my rough calcs, guessing at your mount dimensions I think you will struggle to have 4L each tank. It would be hardly worth the risk of rusting those beaut looking sills for 8L IMHO.

I have put a 20L ex direct drive air compressor tank (from those $99 supercheap comps) under the drivers seat box with Al bash guard.
When/ if it rusts out I will just replace it with another $10 junked air compressor tank. With a 20L tank at 150psi rattle guns and seating beads are all good.

S

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roverrescue

Spud,
can get numerous different switches from flea bay. I got mine from Hobzees but it is essentially the same as this
150 PSI 12V Pressure Switch for Viair Air compressor - eBay (item 120680292447 end time Mar-05-11 12:25:51 PST)

You will most definately need a drain in them sliders, unless you run a large fancy seperator between compressor and tank - the very act of compressing air condenses water. Your sliders will fill up with water.

...
S

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Thanks for the link - I'll take a look.

I'll also put in a thread for a drain plug. I was initially thinking of a drain tap like you get ont he bottom of a workshop air compressor, but no reason to be that fancy. Just a plug will do the job. Put one at the back and park uphill to let the water out once in a while. Cheers for that thought.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AJSLRD

SpudBoy,

Have you thought about using air tanks found on trucks, these tanks are rated to the pressures you require where the RHS section would most likely not.;)
Not saying it wouldn't work but I'd hate to be in Koo Wee of it if it did go off.:eek2:

Isn't there a nice space in behind the cab that could suit the tanks...

Allen

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I'd second that about the risk, I know the Emerg services have strong feelings about such pressure vessels. perhaps check with your registering authority before going too much further. T'would be bad enough to have them stop rescuing Mrs Spud in Oz if things went pearshaped, but if you should happen to be in those lands that experience suicide bombers they may stop rescuing and start shooting if a sudden bang occurs:angel: That said I love the rest of the build.

We have been distracted from Land Rover things for the last two week ends, replacing the 50 or 60 year old roof on our house that had got a bit perforated. I could have done without that, but there was daylight visible from inside the roof.

Tonight I got the 2nd slider welded up and all fitted. I incorporated some ideas suggested on my other slider thread, like having a drain hole to let out any mositure from the compressed air:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...nished-001.jpg

and added a locating bracket for the high lift jack to stop it sliding left or right. The bracket is between the recovery point and the step to keep the jack away from the paintwork:

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...nished-003.jpg

I did a test lift with the high lift jack and it is remarkably solid. I put the lift point about mid way on the vehicle so I should be able to lift both wheels with a single jack. Hope I've got the balance right.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...nished-006.jpg
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...nished-009.jpg

Crappy photo, but this is lifted up high and no twisting or movement of the slider at all:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...nished-007.jpg

The insides have been swished with primer then drained, so that should stop any rust from moisture coming from the insides from any moisture in the compressed air. Next weekend's job will be to prime and paint in satin black, then I can get a few things done on the canopy.

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Originally Posted by 86 shed

I'd second that about the risk, I know the Emerg services have strong feelings about such pressure vessels. perhaps check with your registering authority before going too much further....

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I didn't really think about any regs controlling this. It is only 100PSI, and the steel is 3.2mm thick, so probably around the same gauge steel as a propane cylinder.

I found this:
Normal propane cylinders, such as those used with portable grills have pressure relief valves set to 375 PSI. PRV settings for ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) tanks are 250 PSI. DOT engine fuel cylinders use PRV settings of 312.5 PSI.
so I'd say my sliders are only about 1/3 of the pressure of LPG cylinders.

Not sure that emergency services would care, as there is nothing flamable inside them, just air.

'Twas a quiet week on the build front. Spent quite a bit of time running around buying things or picking them up.

First up I decided to get 3 new batteries, one for starting and two for all the slow drain items like the fridge, lights, Music, etc. After a lot of reading and a few phone calls, I finally decided on Optima Blue Top 900CCAs. These are the Marine version, and you can mount them in any direction you like, with nothing to spill out no matter the orientation.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...chases-001.jpg

I am going to hook these up with a CTEK power management unit which takes both the alternator and a Solar Panel as inputs and boosts it via a DC to DC converter to 14.4V.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...chases-004.jpg

I got a small regulator for my air tanks, so I can have low pressure air inside the canopy (maybe 5 or 10 PSI) to pressurise my Coleman stove without having to pump it at all. Not sure how this will work yet.

I fitted the compressor (a TJM OX) upside down in some 'dead' space in a side cupboard. This will have the on/off pressure sensor in it too, and I got a few assorted bits of tubing to plumb it all together.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...chases-003.jpg

Lastly, I have primed the sliders and given them a "sugar" non-slip treatment on the areas where we'll be stepping onto them.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...chases-002.jpg

I just painted a thick coat of black epoxy paint, sprinkled on the sugar, and will let them dry for a day or two. When you wash the sugar off, you are left with hundreds of little pock-marks which stop wet shoes slipping!

All those new bits will make the vehicle look schmic.

Love the sugar idea, I've not seen that before!

Cheers,

Adam

That's an old trick from my boat-building days. Good for deck tops where varnish makes it slippery. Cheap solution :p

Today I got the prototype of my solar charging system up and running. It is pretty simple, mainly due to using the CTEK D250S charger/DC-DC unit.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...otying-004.jpg

I've got a little Amp/Volt meter to show how much juice is going in to/out of the battery. This is from Bainbridge technologies, and lets you measure the Amps without needing a shunt (Hall Effect).

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...otying-006.jpg
The D250S can take power from both the alternator and a solar panel and work out the best mix to recharge the batteries. When the engine is not running, it acts as an isolator once the voltage drops to 12.4v (? I think) so even if the fridge flattens the service battery, the starting battery is protected.

It's a bit hard to read above (in the sunlight) but is showing 2.0A charging @13.7V under half sunny/cloudy conditions, so I am expecting higher than that when I get a nice clear day. When the battery is supplying power to the fridge or whatever, it shows negative (as you'd expect).
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...otying-007.jpg


The panel is a 135W Kyocera, so that should keep the fridge running all day even in moderate sun. I am going to fit it over the cabin on some custom bar work , which should shade the roof of the cabin from direct sun, and act as a bit of a sun-visor as well.

I am going to hook all this up to two Optima AGM batteries in parallel.
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment...otying-008.jpg