12 volt air compressor question
 

Anyone have any recommendations on a 'good' 12 volt air compressor for inflating tires, and the such?

Thanks.

I have a few 12V compressors, the $10 are poor, all the $50 ones perform about that same and are good enough for P235s and maybe a 31". When airing down just my LT235s, I would try to have (2) $50 compressors to get aired up after being off road because it would take so long (40 min.)to do four tires and would overheat the single compressor.

I found the $50 compressors run much better by cutting the lighter plug off and putting on battery clips.The other way I have modified them is putting on small alligator clips and running off my trailer plug, vehicle side, to air up dual axle trailers where my 15 foot cord could not reach from the battery.

If you want to air up a 33" or something, then buying a $250 compressors from GodFather's Custom is the way to go.

If you have a few bucks to spend, check out Viair compressors, particularly their 400 series. They even sell a complete on-board air system that works great.

VIAIR - 12 volt and 24 volt Air Compressors

If you have a lot of bucks to spare, there's VMAC UNDERHOOD Air Compressor Systems.

Mount a sausage tank on the frame rail, and fill it up at home or service stations. If you can't get one used, big truck parts stores should have something like the Euclid E-10732, an 8" diameter tank, about 32" long, 1425 cubic inches. Add a belt-driven A/C compressor or 12V compressor in the future. For a low-buck, high output 12V compressor, use an A/C pump driven by a starter motor.

I don't think your A/C compressor & starter motor setup will work for very long. Automotive A/C compressors are designed to be lubricated by the oil carried thru the system along with the refrigerant and cooled by the cool returning gas. They wont last long without it. Starter motors are designed for very short duty cycles. At 30 seconds they're hot. At 60 seconds of use they're VERY hot. There are belt driven compressors available for under hood mounting but in modern truck engine compartments it's a real bear finding a place to mount one, fabricating brackets, adding pulleys and belts, etc. The 12V compressor route is still the easiest and best route. They make weather proof units that can be mounted to the frame under the truck.

Old York compressors have a sump filled with their own oil. Drain it, and refill with ~6oz of 10w30, put a filter on the inlet side and a high temp hose on the outlet, and you can get a 125-150psi cutoff switch for about $15. I have a system almost ready to go on my truck, just need to get the switch and tank for it.
Oasis Air used to make a compressor that was a starter motor and A/C compressor, but they have since upgraded to a fan cooled motor and put their own finned head on the same basic compressor: http://oasismfg.thomasnet.com/viewit...ors?&forward=1

Great ideas, I never thought of that. I keep a power inverter in my truck and regular 120Vac compressor. It seems to work fine with the truck running.

Tim

You could also go to a wrecking yard and find a luxury car with airbags, lincoln, buick, caddy or the like. their 12v air compressors can run a long time efficiently. You may need to do a little adapting but it should work.

Does anyone know if they make an air compressor that runs off of the PTO end of a T-18?

Yes, but they are very large- The smallest one I have seen is 30cfm.

That would inflate a flat tire..........in about 2.8 seconds.

They don't make anything that is directly driven from a PTO. You would have to build a drive system with the necessary pulleys, shafting, belts and bearings. Way expensive.

The york on board air system is great and plan on using it on my 79. Just get a 5 gallon tank so that you have some reserve instead of running the compressor constantly. Run a pressure switch on the tank and the York will only cut on when pressure drops. I can vouch for Viair being great. I have 2 Viair 380 compressors, each filling a 5 gallon reserve tank on my ranger. These compressors have been run at least once a day for the past five years and are still going strong. I aslo had a Viair 400 on another rig without any problems