Thread: Cheap electric compressor - add a tank??

Originally Posted by setsuna

"stick it where it fits"

and.

"make it as big as possible!"

eyeball engineering =)

I am thinking a scuba tank will fit the bill. being aluminium, thin, but long, and of a decent capacity.

David

too wide for most places and too heavy for the pressure you need.

LPG tanks work nicely as do gas bottles, even the little primus hand torch bottles are good value.

oh I imagined it would be very light seeing it has to be carried around.

I think it would fit nicely next to the chasis rail on the Disco!

will take a look around and see what is available

David.

nahh scuba tanks weigh a motsa even the "lightweight" aluminum ones what makes them appear light is that they are generally carried around on the back and in the water they get a good chunk of buoyancy from being in the water which makes them very easy to swim around with. (but they to take a lot of air onboard if you can pump them up to rated pressure)

I had similar ideas when I started diving but the skinniest tanks (excluding pony, some exotic tanks designed to be used in gangs and re breather bottles) are further across than a the depth of the series chassis member.

SCBA units from the firefighting trade are a fiberglass like tank and are very light but dont take too well to abuse. I would suggest that the very best bet for a tank will come from a truck wreckers or small 240V compressors.

other things you will need are a pressure switch and the plumbing. If you got the 240 compressor to donate the pressure control switch you usually also manage to score a safety valve, one way check valve, a regulator and an outlet fitting. They (both the truck tanks and the 240v compressors) also tend to have mounts prewelded to the tank so that an amateur hack welder can mod the mounts to fit the tank where it needs to be.

Lots of tanks available at any truck wrecker. I got this one for $15, gave it a lick of paint made up some straps and hung it off the the chassis rail under the drivers seat.

Some like the idea, others prefer to use their rock sliders and use the space for long range tanks etc. I don't have any extra fuel tanks so the space was going begging.

The idea works well. I have a 24lt tank with cheap compresser. Turn it out when I head out and can inflate 2 tyres before it gets quite slow. Compressor kicks in at 80psi and cuts out at 100 psi. I'm looking at fitting a second tank.

Wait till council clean up days and see if anyone throws out an old compressor to use as the tank, thats all mine is

Adam

Originally Posted by hillbilliywheelchair

any of the 2 series 4 or 6

and the cars they can be found in
244, 245, 240
242
264
262
and just got of the phone to a volvo freek and he said the 1 seres
had them to

Volvo 262 ,264 and 265 ran the GM AC Delco compressor, a dinosaur of a rotary compressor, my mate the a/c man hates them. Great car, shocken engine.
Yorks are also found on Fords up to XD 6cyl or XE V8

While the Yorks have a sump, they are big and bulky and harder to find. The Sandens work just fine and are everywhere. A $5 inline oiler from Bunnings clamped on the end of the inlet is all you need.

If its just going to be used to inflate tyres, you'll find that a tank isnt really necessary if using an ac compressor. Even at idle speed, my Sanden inflates tyres virtually as fast as my 16 cfm workshop compressor. Once the compressor gets over a certain capacity, the flow restriction at the tyre valve is the limiting factor. I have a truck air tank sitting in the shed but cant see any benefit in fitting it until I need to run mobile air tools.