I use, abuse and would personally recommend this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180034976050

The pump is 1HP and made by Puma in Taiwan, and it extremely rugged. Puma supplies their 3/4HP compressors to other vendors as an OEM, so you will see the same type with names like "ExtremeAire" and "MaxAIR" on it for a lot more money. But... this 1HP one that Buzzard Gulch sells will actually outpump the older style 3/4HP by about 50%, but with a 50% increase in current draw and noise. I have one of each on my truck filling 30 gallons: the quiet 3/4HP one automatically kicks on at 120 psi to keep the tank topped off to 150 psi. The 1HP I can engage manually when I want a fast but loud fill.

Nothing from Viair, Air zenith or any other 12VDC pump will keep up with one notable exception: the $1000 Oasis models (which have a huge 200-amp hydraulic pump motor turning a York A/C pump).

 

Darth, is that a battery box that you cut to fit so the compressor would go insige. It is a very nice job.....

 

It's definitely a battery box with the bottom cut off.

 

Hmmmm.... The specs are marginal for anything more than pumping tires (as the vendor states), but that is by far my major need, and the price is certainly right. How much trouble was it to mate it to the larger tank?

 

how bout another not so cheap option. A gas powered direct drive air compressor.. Dewalt makes one that is like 699 and northern tool carries a coleman powermate oiless direct drive gas job for like 550.. A bit much, but another idea...



LAter chris

 

This is true of all the 12V compressors (puma, viair, air zenith, etc..). They are fine for filling tires and air suspensions, but a little light for using air tools. If you anticipate using your compressor for running air tools, then you should consider the more expensive option of getting an under-the-hood compressor (one that runs off the fan belt). The options range from repurposing a York A/C compressor to pump air, to getting a real screw compressor as found on ambulances.

There is one universal truth: high-CFM on-board air doesn't come cheap! Anything over 4 CFM and you're looking at either spending a grand or more for a permanent install solution, or sacrificing a lot of bed space to carry around a gas engine unit.

 

I dont see anything mentioned about an engine driven unit. I have looked all over the place to try and find one for the 6.0. Does anyone know where I can find one.

 

The only really affordable DIY engine-drive solution is to install a York 210 air compressor pump and use it as an air compressor. Sanden and other wobble-plate type compressors also work, but the York is preferred because it has an oil sump built in, it does not rely on having oil mixed with the refridgerant to cool itself. The downside is that the York passes oil mixed with the air, so you need to have a coalescing filter. You generally need to fabricate your own bracket for this install if you already have air conditioning, and you need to re-route belts. It's a pain, but this application for the York 210 is routine in air-suspension-based low-riders (those switch-hitting, hopping guys need lots of air). Those guys generally scrounge the compressor from an 80's Volvo. A 209 is fine also if that's all you can find, 90% the displacement of the 210 but still plenty of air. 210's show up on eBay too.

Screw compressors meant for the 6.0 are likely to be prohibitively expensive to buy and install new, if you can even buy them at all. They are generally installed when the vehicle is built and customized (such as part of the "ambulance package" offered for the F-350), they are not aftermarket add-ons as far as I know, or at least I've never heard of anyone getting one. In order to install one DIY, you would probably have to get one from a scrapped ambulance and make it fit.

 

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If you can't find the york 210 at a junkyard, you can always get one from ebay. I've bought 2 for use on my jeeps...they are great.

 

there is also a little fix for that problem too.

 

Well thanks for sharing . . .

 

Would it be possible to use a 110V larger compressor, secure it in the bed (permanent or temporary, depending on your needs) and hook it up to a 12V Inverter? I've seen some pretty larger inverters out there - but not sure if there's one out there that will throw out enough amps....

If so, this seems like it would be ideal. Portable, larger volume, fast tire fill ups, much easier to install and cheaper....

 

Using a 12VDC compressor is going to be cheaper, more compact and more reliable than a 110VAC compressor run through an inverter. You'd need a high-capacity inverter which is both expensive and bulky. It would be much cheaper to just get the Oasis unit for $800 and have more air than even most 110VAC shop compressors provides. Remember that when you go through an inverter, you lose power as heat, so your amp draw to get the same amount of air from a 110VAC compressor is going to be considerably higher than with a 12VDC compressor.

If you're a DIY guy and want serious output for tools, you could get a 12VDC or 24VDC motor, put a v-belt sheave on it and drive a regular cast iron compressor pump too. If you need larger than what your alternator can handle, you should probably be looking only at engine compartment compressors (eg the York option) or a gas engine compressor. 12VDC or 24VDC compressor systems get too bulky once you start needing a rack of supplemental deep cycle batteries to handle the amperage.

 

I've been looking for a 12v winch motor in the past couple weeks to mate to a york. You can get york 210s all day long here in NC. Look on car-part.com and search for a late 70s ford truck. Some places want over 100$ but there are all kinds of places that sell them for 35-40 bucks.