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On board Air Compressor

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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 02:19 PM
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On board Air Compressor

Ok,

Who out there has an On Board Air Compressor on their truck? I am looking for advice on what compressors are good and how and where you have mounted it.

I am looking for something that can fill up tires, maybe run a few air tools, inlcuding an occasional impact wrench.

Thanks,

blindlightguy
 
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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 02:35 PM
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I have an on board compressor, I found it in a wrecked motor home. I mounted a small 2.5 gallon tank on the outside frame rail on the passenger side underneath the cab. For the compressor I made a small box and mounted it just forward of the passenger side rear spring. I have used it to pump up tires but not to run any air tools, with its small tank and slow recovery time I suppose it could, but you could not be in a hurry.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 02:39 PM
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pacrewchief do you have pictures of the installation? How is it wired on a 12v toggle switch?
 
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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 02:42 PM
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If you can wait a day or two I can get you a picture........I have to wait for one of my kids to come home and show me how to do it. Yes I have it wired to a switch in the cab.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 02:45 PM
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For what you seem to want you would be better with one driven off of the crank pulley, or better still, off of a power take off if so equiped. Just my two pennies.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 03:17 PM
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you need a pretty good compressor and tank to run any air tool or impact wrench.

to pump up tires i keep a small portable compressor in all my vehicles.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 08:16 PM
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If you home make an air system, please don't forget to use a pressure relief valve. I know a guy that used an a/c compressor to make an air system for his wrecker. He didn't bother with a pressure relief valve. When the tank exploded, the results were....amazing, astounding, and awesome.
Good luck Frank
 
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Old Mar 6, 2008 | 08:48 PM
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For those who only need tire inflation and very minor duty an air compressor from a luxury car (air suspension) is a great choice. 12V @ <10A gives you plenty to fill tires, rafts and other things. Lexus, Benz, Lincoln, Full size Ford, even Expeditions.

If you want to run tools, well, bigger is better. A lot of folks convert a York style air conditioning compressor and mount it on the engine to drive directly, and that's enough for most occasional use tools (impact guns, wratchets, etc) but not all that good for sanders and things like that. Though most people don't sand their vehicle out in the woods anyway
 
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Old Mar 7, 2008 | 07:44 AM
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[QUOTE=frederic]For those who only need tire inflation and very minor duty an air compressor from a luxury car (air suspension) is a great choice. 12V @ <10A gives you plenty to fill tires, rafts and other things. Lexus, Benz, Lincoln, Full size Ford, even Expeditions.


Where would the compressor be located on a big car like a Lincoln? Would it be in the engine compartment? If I can find one at the u-pull, it might be a handy thing to have.
Thanks Frank
 
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Old Mar 7, 2008 | 11:10 AM
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A/C Compressor?? That has me thinking, I have a/c in the truck, but it doesn't work(don't know why, haven't cared to look), and I don't use it. Could I convert my a/c compressor to an air compressor, or replace it with one I could?

This might be worth exploring.

Blindlightguy
 
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Old Mar 7, 2008 | 03:17 PM
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Where would the compressor be located on a big car like a Lincoln? Would it be in the engine compartment? If I can find one at the u-pull, it might be a handy thing to have.
Thanks Frank




in a lincoln town car they are in the driver front corner of the engine compartment.
 
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Old Mar 8, 2008 | 10:14 AM
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[QUOTE=fmr9]
Originally Posted by frederic
Where would the compressor be located on a big car like a Lincoln? Would it be in the engine compartment? If I can find one at the u-pull, it might be a handy thing to have.
Thanks Frank

I've always found them under the hood. Lincolns typically have them on the passenger side on the front of the fender liner.

The ford ones typically have a small air tank built in, but easily removable by taking out the snap ring, then retapping the output with a NPT tap to thread in a standard quick connect fitting.

This one is off a Toyota or Lexus, I forget:




These things are not high volume... but definitately high pressure. I adjusted the regulator on the above unit and it puts out 170-180psi.

They are essentially a heavy-duty version compressor of a cheap tire inflator, which makes them good for other things as well - they don't burn out in 10 minutes lol.

The japanese car ones tend to be able to put out a higher PSI than the domestic ones. The lincoln one I had wouldn't go above 130psi even with it's built-in regulator removed.
 
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