Ideas for on board air

[rweis]

I'm looking to do a USG air operated exhaust brake.



I have looked at Thomas 4101DC type air compressors, but think a pump/tank/regulator integrated unit might be better than trying to integrate individual parts.



The unit should be 100% duty cycle, and about 75psi min - ???psi max. With a 2. 5gal hotdog tank CFM should not be a concern. Ex brake piston is probably 6" long and 1 1/2" diameter.



I'm thinking of mounting it in the bed instead of trying to hang it under in the frame.



Wanting to keep amps to some reasonable range (30 - 40).



Any Ideas? Is anyone running a 100% duty cycle DC air unit?



Inverter with 120v compressor could possibly be a solution, but seems most 120v compressors are way high in wattage required.



Thanks,



Bob Weis

 

[MCrossley]

If you think amperage is high in a 120V compressor you do not want to see what it will be at 12V... just for example 1500 watts at 120V is 12. 5 1500 watts at 12V is 125Amps you can imagine what a compressor would take. Also remeber if you use an inverter you still have to make that same kind of DC amperage anyhow and now you have an efficiency loss to boot. If you need serious air I am afraid you are going to be stuck with an engine driven unit whihc there is some realy good options on here if you search for onboard air. Just my. 02 worth

 

[Thomas]

OnboardAir - Kilby Enterprises

 

[Dkevdog]

I had a BlowJax 100% duty compressor from AIM industries on my 96 and was very happy with the setup. It was a 1/2 HP unit, very beefy and HEAVY. Darn thing weighed about 20 lbs. I mounted the unit inside the cab in a custom built center console. It would fill a 3 gal tank to 150psi in just under 2 minutes. It would recover (110 psi back to 150 psi) in 20 to 30 seconds.



If I had it to do over again (and I'm getting ready to do it over on my 01) I'd go with a slightly smaller compressor and mount it in the engine compartment or underneath on the frame somehow. It wasn't all that loud in the cab, but loud enough. Fortunately it didn't cycle very often. It was overkill for the air suspension (bags and coils) that I had. Check out their website though, their compressors are much less than the thomas units and every bit as powerful and reliable.



Kev

 

[BarryG]

Yet one more place to check out is extreme outback at www.extremeoutback.com they have several different units as well as portable kits.

 

[rweis]

I think I am going to do a inverter with a 120v compressor. There are several compressors that run 120v @ 4 amps = 480 watts + safety margin = 800 watt inverter = 12v @ 40 amps + losses = 50 amps when the compressor is running.



I will have the option to turn off the compressor and use the inverter for recharging a hand drill, or any low amperage hand tool or trouble light.



If the compressor goes south, then easy to replace it with another 120v low amp unit.



Thanks for all the replies and links.



Bob Weis

 

[SRadke]

I hung a storage tank off an old log truck under the bed and plumbed it into the little compressor that was supplied with my Pacbrake. It's way too much tank for the duty cycle of the compressor (gets hot) but if you let it cool a couple times it will build 100 psi in about 15 minutes.

All I wanted was enough to add to the airbags or pump up a tire in a pinch and it works great for that. My $. 02

 

[rubberneck]

Just finished my onboard air install. I used the bracket from kilby enterprises and one of their 10 cid york compressors. It is faster than i imagined. It fills the 2. 75 gal tank from 0-130 psi in probably 30 sec at idle!! I bought everything new from them and have to admit it was a pricey adventure, but if you just bought the bracket from them and sourced the compressor and clutch at a junk yard , i think you could do this system cheaper than a good 12v unit. I am very pleased. Now its time to order the train horn

 

[rweis]

Rubberneck,



Where did the bracket fit on the serpentine belt? I thought of that, but did not see how or where the York would fit the accessory belt.



I'm going to do the inverter route, but really courious how the York fit in.



Bob Weis

 

[Thomas]

The Brad Kilby kit replaces the OEM Nippondenso alternator pulley. The replacement pulley adds provisions for a vee-belt to drive the York compressor.



#ad

 

[EricBu12]

So is the spring Pully making the tension for the Compressor and not for the alt now? Is the Serpentine belt done on an adjustment bolt?

 

[rubberneck]

ericbu12, the serpentine belt system works the same as stock. The new bracket for the york replaces the upper alternator bracket and the cast iron piece that fastened it to the block. The alternator moves down about 1. 5" to 2" and therefore a shorter serpentine is suplied with the kit. The new pulley that mounts on the alternator is a double pulley. It has the serpentine drive on the inside and a v-groove on the outside. The york is driven off of the v drive portion of this pulley and has its own tentioner mounted down to the right. The tentioner for the v drive belt is a bolt adjusted unit. About the only modification you need to perform to make the kit work is to "dimple" the corner of the radiator overflow tank with a heat gun to keep it from hitting the york compressor. I didn't dimple mine enough, and it is hitting. I might just replace it with an anodized aluminum unit from summit.

 

[EricBu12]

Thanks! That cleared that up I was told the guy has the pulley for the bosch alternator. If that is true, then I will most likely get this kit as it is about $500 rather than $700 for the 12 vlt model

 

[rubberneck]

You could save a lot of money if you sourced the compressor and clutch from a junk yard. I bought everything new as i didn't really want to spend my time searching and then fixing any probs on a used unit. One thing to keep in mind is that if you buy new you will need the compressor, bracket kit and clutch. That was 100 bucks i didn't even think about. You will also need the coalescing filter. If you choose to run a tank you will need the one way valve also. By the time i bought all the above parts plus the plumbing supplies, a regulator, safety blow off valve, drain for the tank and distribution block, i had over 850 bucks in it. But alot of those costs you would have on a 12 volt system of the same quality. Overall, i love the system and it was worth every penny

 

[EricBu12]

I have the tank and blow off and tank drain. I might be able to use the hose I have but if not, it isn't that much. I just need the main parts and fittings and a guage and the manifold. I have some other connectors and stuff already so I Calculated what I needed was like $500 for everything new. $190 If I went to see of a Used comp but new looks good to me since I have some of the parts.

One thing, on the Serpentine belt that is shorter, is OBI the only place to get it? or can I get it at a parts store? #'s?

 

[rubberneck]

The belt comes with the bracket kit. I believe it is the belt that would be used in non AC applications for our trucks. I have not confirmed that, but it is a 2045 i believe and the OE belt was a 2055. I bet we could get a spare at any parts house. One other tid bit i might share. The adapter fittings they sell to convert the compressor outlets/inlets from the tube-O design are like $25. 00, I didn't like the way the hoses were routed with the adapters, (90 degree fittings) so i pulled the head off the pump and tapped it for 3/8"pipe. I then used AN adapters and plumbed the thing with AN fittings and stainless braided line. I took the passenger side battery out and made a mounting bracket in its former location to mount the manifold, regulator, filter and pressure switch. I am planning on putting the battery back under the bed in front of the rear wheel. I Don't know what size tank you have but the 2. 75 gal one kilby sells fits perfectly under the bed in between the fuel tank and exhaust above the drive line.

 

[EricBu12]

If your batteries are old just get the odyssey 1700 amp dry cell battery. It eliminates the 2nd battery and so far, it works good. I have been told it still starts good even at like 10 deg. He says the dry cell works better in the cold than a wet battery... ...



The amps is 1700 at reg temp,

1050 at 32 deg.

850 at 0 deg.

Even though it is 850 CCA, it works better than a wet batt.

 

[rubberneck]

I run 2 optimas, i have had really good luck with the optimas on other vehicles, and i like the fact that i can mount them sideways.