Looking for on-board air ideas

[reddvltj]

I've always been intrigued by the concept of using your bumper as an air tank. Unfortunately, my concern is putting a highly compressed tank as the first thing headed towards a rock seems unsettling.

On my fist Jeep I used a medium sized fire extinguisher bottle tucked down behind a front fender under the hood. Not the biggest but it worked. I was just using the stock sanden a/c compressor with an inline oiler on the suction side and an oil separator on the pressure side to keep from burning up the pump.

 

[jjvw]

I've always been intrigued by the concept of using your bumper as an air tank. Unfortunately, my concern is putting a highly compressed tank as the first thing headed towards a rock seems unsettling.

What happens when you disconnect the hose from a fully charged air tank on your shop compressor? Would a 1-2 gallon bumper charged to 100psi be more or less violent?

FWiW, it's a rare day that my bumper is pressurized on the street.

 

[reddvltj]

What happens when you disconnect the hose from a fully charged air tank on your shop compressor? Would a 1-2 gallon bumper charged to 100psi be more or less violent?

As long as your using couplers for your hose the only air you'll lose is in the hose. Shouldn't be violent at all. A hose long enough to reach your tires and maybe a vehicle next to you won't have too much stored energy when you disconnect it. As far as pressure is concerned that can vary depending on what value switch you use to engage and disengage the compressor, or what your regulator is set to at if you have an adjustable one.

 

[jjvw]

As long as your using couplers for your hose the only air you'll lose is in the hose. Shouldn't be violent at all. A hose long enough to reach your tires and maybe a vehicle next to you won't have too much stored energy when you disconnect it. As far as pressure is concerned that can vary depending on what value switch you use to engage and disengage the compressor, or what your regulator is set to at if you have an adjustable one.

I've drained fully charged 80 gallon shop tanks, both on purpose and also when the coupler valve has become stuck. It's noisy for several minutes. A rapid dump of 2 gallons doesn't seem like much of a concern to me.

 

[reddvltj]

I've drained fully charged 80 gallon shop tanks, both on purpose and also when the coupler valve has become stuck. It's noisy for several minutes. A rapid dump of 2 gallons doesn't seem like much of a concern to me.

It's not really a concern. It more of a convenience. Plus you still have stored air if your compressor isn't running.

 

[jjvw]

It's not really a concern. It more of a convenience. Plus you still have stored air if your compressor isn't running.

That stored air doesn't get you far. That's why I believe a tank on a Jeep isn't all that useful. The moment the pump kicks in is the moment a tank isn't doing much. My bumper gives me a few seconds of reserve when filling a tire. From there, the York is cycling every 3-4 seconds to keep up during the 1-2 minutes it takes to inflate one tire.

 

[Mr. Bills]

I've always been intrigued by the concept of using your bumper as an air tank. Unfortunately, my concern is putting a highly compressed tank as the first thing headed towards a rock seems unsettling.

Back in the early days of internet list serves and jeep forums debates would rage for weeks over whether a bumper used as an air tank would become shrapnel in the event of an impact with another vehicle or a rock. No one could ever point to a single example of where that actually occurred.

It is a non-issue. OBA tanks are typically pressurized to 150 psi or less whether a commercial tank or home-made from round or rectangular steel tube. They are not going to turn into shrapnel from the compressed air inside in the event of an impact. And if it is a great enough impact for that to even be a concern you will probably be killed anyway.

But back to air tanks - you don't need (or even want) one if all you are doing is airing up tires, air mattresses, etc.

 

[reddvltj]

That stored air doesn't get you far. That's why I don't believe a tank on a Jeep isn't all that useful. The moment the pump kicks in is the moment a tank isn't doing much. My bumper gives me a few seconds of reserve when filling a tire. From there, the York is cycling every 3-4 seconds to keep up during the 1-2 minutes it takes to inflate one tire.

To each his own there's no right or wrong way to put together your own oba set up. Everyone has their own opinion. The OP asked for ideas. Just because your opinion isn't the same doesn't mine is not a good idea.

 

[jjvw]

To each his own there's no right or wrong way to put together your own oba set up. Everyone has their own opinion. The OP asked for ideas. Just because your opinion isn't the same as mine doesn't min is not a good idea.

Yes. But there is no point putting effort into a "feature" that adds complexity without a meaningful purpose.

Here's mine.

As I mentioned, my bumper is a coupler mount that coincidentally is an air tank.

 

[reddvltj]

Yes. But there is no point putting effort into a "feature" that adds complexity without a meaningful purpose.

Here's mine.
View attachment 99160
As I mentioned, my bumper is a coupler mount that coincidentally is an air tank.

Once again your opinion is yours, I have 5 gallons of air capacity for a reason... I honestly don't care if you think it's necessary or not. The OP asked for opinions I gave mine, yours is no more or less valuable.

 

[Mr. Bills]

Once again your opinion is yours, I have 5 gallons or air capacity for a reason...

What is that reason?

 

[reddvltj]

What is that reason?

With 5 gallons capacity at about 150psi I can fill all four tires from about 15 to 22 psi.

 

[Mr. Bills]

With 5 gallons capacity at about 150psi I can fill all four tires from about 15 to 22 psi.

And with no tank at all I can also fill all four tires from about 15 to 22 psi.

So the underlying questions really are: (1) How long does it take to fill that 5 gallon tank to 150 psi; (2) With the compressor off, how long does it take to fill all four tires after the tank is full; and (3) How long does it take you to fill all four tires from 15 to 22 psi when you bypass the tank and fill directly from compressor output?

I would wager that the time savings from using the tank is insignificant when one factors in the time it takes to fill the tank.

 

[reddvltj]

And with no tank at all I can also fill all four tires from about 15 to 22 psi.

So the underlying questions really are: (1) How long does it take to fill that 5 gallon tank to 150 psi; (2) With the compressor off, how long does it take to fill all four tires after the tank is full; and (3) How long does it take you to fill all four tires from 15 to 22 psi when you bypass the tank and fill directly from compressor output?

I would wager that the time savings from using the tank is insignificant when one factors in the time it takes to fill the tank.

With a York compressor your wager would be a good one. With a stock sanden compressor I don't think you'd win that bet. Yorks put out a lot more volume than stock vane style compressors.

 

[Hog]

I am using a CO2 tank. It does take up space in the back but its bearable. Refills happen maybe 2-3 times a summer. I can fill up each tire about 5 times with my 10lb tank.
View attachment 99149

I like the tank

 

[Steel City 06]

One potential advantage of an air tank is reduced cycling on the compressor, which may improve the life of the compressor, motor, or clutch. Instead of the compressor turning on/off every minute, it can now run for several minutes at a time.

Same reason that well systems come with large pressure tanks. A small one could easily maintain pressure, but larger ones reduce pump cycling

 

[Hog]

To each his own there's no right or wrong way to put together your own oba set up. Everyone has their own opinion. The OP asked for ideas. Just because your opinion isn't the same doesn't mine is not a good idea.

I like all the ideas. I do believe there is a way to avoid needing a tank if you get the right compressor, but you may need a tank for bigger “jobs” if you go with a cheaper version of a York?.. correct?

 

[Hog]

Yes. But there is no point putting effort into a "feature" that adds complexity without a meaningful purpose.

Here's mine.
View attachment 99160
As I mentioned, my bumper is a coupler mount that coincidentally is an air tank.

So just the bull bar is the tank or the whole bumper?

 

[reddvltj]

I like all the ideas. I do believe there is a way to avoid needing a tank if you get the right compressor, but you may need a tank for bigger “jobs” if you go with a cheaper version of a York?.. correct?

Like Steel City said it provides volume at pressure, using air tools is one of the biggest reasons for the addition of a tank regardless of what compressor you use.

 

[Mr. Bills]

With a York compressor your wager would be a good one. With a stock sanden compressor I don't think you'd win that bet. Yorks put out a lot more volume than stock vane style compressors.

You miss the point. It has nothing to do with whether one has a high capacity York, medium capacity Sanden, or relatively low capacity ARB or Viair 12v compressor. Its about total time with whatever compressor you are using.

Regardless of the compressor, you will be spending the same time compressing air to a given pressure in a 5 gallon tank as you will filling an equal volume of tire(s) to that same pressure. All you are doing when filling a tank is filling one vessel then transferring that air to the tires rather than filling the tires directly. The work performed by the compressor and the time to do it is the same.

Tanks are desirable when you need a source of stored air such as for air lockers, air horns or air tools, although only Yorks have enough capacity to keep up with air tools regardless of how large the tank. Also, the work done by air-driven impact wrenches and grinders can now be done as well or better with lithium ion battery powered tools without any of the complexity of an engine driven compressor. As for a "buffer tank" to keep a compressor with an on-off pressure switch from cycling on and off too frequently, a small 1/2 gal. tank is more than sufficient. (A friend with a York experimented a bit and discovered that a longer 3/8" air hose was all he needed to provide enough volume to stop the cycling.)