Need suggestions for an on-board air system

[Radshooter]

I am thinking about installing an on-board system on the CTD. I DO NOT plan on ever running air tools or anything high-volume like that. I just want to be able to "top-off" a tire on the fiver or truck, blow out the AFE once in a while, just minor stuff like that. MAYBE someday I will add some type of air-hitch to the fiver also. And of course... ... ... air horns.



What kind of CFM should I look for? I like to run around 100psi in the fiver tires, and do not want to spend all day topping off the last 10 pounds. I am leaning towards a 12V compressor mounted under the hood somewhere for ease of installing. I am not super mechanical, and not too interested in trying to mount a motor-driven unit. Do I need a storage tank? Are the compressors "on-demand" operated or do they have to be manually turned on and off?



Should I look for a kit, or try to piece it together myself? Money is an issue. I am thinking the compressor will be the most expensive, and don't mind spending a little for a good unit. What kind of prices are we looking at for a complete basic setup? $200?? $500??



Thanks for any ideas.



Steve

 

[PatrickCampbell]

You have a lot of choices in a wide range of $$$ for electric compressors.



Here is one: http://www.viaircorp.com/product.html 450C. It is "100%" duty cycle which means in theory it can run indefinitely.



About $200 on ebay includes a pressure switch and shipping.



It turns of turning on and turning off, you can have the compressor turn on with a switch like this: http://store.gaugemagazine.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1914



That would be if you had a tank and it was filling up the tank. If you do not want a tank then you will have to have the compressor turn on every time you use the horns (seems like that would be weird to me).



For filling up tires, you would need a tank of some sort. I am not sure how much air or how big of a tank it would take for example, to fill up a 235 85 16 or 265 75 16 from 70 psi to 80 psi ?? I would also like to get something going for filling up tires and for air horns. Seems like by the time I find an air pump at a fuel station on the road, I have driven so my tires are warm, and then it costs 50 cents and doesn't work!

 

[BarryG]

I went with an extreme air and a small tank. Tank has a pressure switch so it turns the comp on when it needs air. I also have a switch in line in the cab so that I can shut the power off to the compressor. The extreme air is 100% duty cycle and I personally would not get one that is not 100% but that is just me.

first link is compressors next are install diagrams

http://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?exact_match=yes&product=Air Compressors&cart_id=2262268.3812

http://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?page=extremeaireinstall.htm

http://www.extremeoutback.com/index.cgi?page=ExtremeAirePortableWiringDiagram.htm



They also have a portable setup. Then if you mounted a tank for horns or whatever you could just fill it up when it runs low otherwise just the put the comp in the toolbox and hook it up when you need it. It would save most of the install hassle. And you can take the compressor with you in any other vehicle as well.



I did my setup for just under 500. 00 when it was all said and done.

 

[BillGotthelf]

Do a search on ebay PatrickCampbell is correct and you can get a 1, 2. 5 or 5 gal tank with the compressor and the pressure goes up to 150. More than adequate for 100 lb tires. For what you are describing the 1 gal tank will work fine. As for the 100% duty cycle-never gonna happen no matter what the manufacturer says. The compressor heats up so much with continuous running (depends on manufacturer) that electric draw goes up high enough to blow fuses. When you actually read the complete manfacturing specs you will see 100% of a certain time period like 15 minutes not 100 of 24 hours.

 

[TKingsbury]

Ditto the ExtremeAire. Good unit and they stand behind them. The biggest tank you can fit is the tank you should use. You can get a pressure switch for 145psi too. That will give you a bit more volume. No matter what you use it for, it will kick on almost instantly if you use a large volume of air right away. If you look around, you can find inexpensive manifolds where you can connect your switches and air horn lines. That way you don't need to run wiring all over the place to get to the tank.

Travis. .

 

[Radshooter]

Thanks for the info guys. I thought I had it figured out, but you really gave me lots more to think about. For instance... I didn't even know they made pressure switches . And the manifold thing... . I am guessing that is a pipe-like structure with one inlet and multiple outlets??? Sounds like I have a lot more research to do. Thanks again... ... ..... Steve

 

[frosty]

Another solution is Kilby Enterprises. But they are by no means cheap. It does include almost all the parts you will need to bolt it up and it is engine driven.



http://www.kilbyenterprises.com/KE-3100-K.htm

 

[RJOL]

... Should I look for a kit, or try to piece it together myself? Money is an issue. I am thinking the compressor will be the most expensive, and don't mind spending a little for a good unit. What kind of prices are we looking at for a complete basic setup? $200?? $500??... Steve

You can look at my reader's rig photos to see how I did this on my 2005. I don't think you need the expense of a 100% (?) duty cycle pump. I got my Thomas 12V pump from this source, on ebay:



http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZdanelboone2



Email him and see if he has pumps available. I've bought two from him and both have worked without failure.



You can buy a 5 gal tank from Harbor Freight for about $30. You'll also need a pressure switch (to turn the pump on, usually on at about 80psi and off at 115psi), and if you add an air horn, you will need a 12V solenoid to activate the horn. This isn't a particularly hard project, but if you know nothing about 12V wiring, or making parts to mount the tank and pump, maybe you should by an all in one kit and have it installed... .

 

[Van Blom]

I use a little five pound co2 bottle with a 100psi regulator. It fits nicely under the rear seat and I can air down for the beach and reinflate many times. I still have about 800lbs left in the tank from my last Baja trip.

 

[y-knot]

You sound alot like me... ... I to wanted a on-board air supply but had no need for a super system to run air tools. I started off buying the AirLift pump, it was a bit small and I really would not recommend it to anyone. For my next purchase I went with the Quick-Air II pump, it is day-and -night different then the AirLift one. That was 5-6 years ago, and it is still going strong. I perhaps use it a little more then you, I do run rear air bags and that is it's first priority. But we use it to inflate swimming gear, top off tires (ATV mainly) and help out others in need. It performs great, but I think no matter what the system or it's intended use, you really do need to include a air tank if you want practical results.

I made a bracket that looks much like a shelf, and it bolts to the frame on the passenger side. With this I was able to completely mount the air pump, tank, secondary tank I use with the bags, and all controls, before lifting it into position and bolting it in. This made things much easier, and considerably less time laying on my back wrestling things in place. Just plug in the electrical supply and control wires and make the air connections. The shelf is protected on three sides with thin 3/16" pieces of metal that do a great job of keeping the contents protected from Debra and the elements. Most people could not detect it, it's tucked up tight to the cab floor. I use electric solenoid valves to inflate or deflate the bags form inside the cab. I also ran a quick air connection to the rear for easy access. The most important feature in my eyes on an on-board air system is to have it set up properly so it only comes on while the engine is running. Most use a pressure switch to automatically cycle the air pump, but very few include the necessary pieces to only allow it to cycle while the engine is running. Most think it they have a tight system with no leaks there Will not be a problem, but they forget to take the outdoor temperature swings into account, which raises or lowers the tank pressure causing the air pump to cycle and drain the batteries. I used the oil pressure as the determining factor for engine running, and wired it and a few relays into the system to protect the batteries from draining. I use my truck very little, so this became a problem.

Two things to remember when working on mobile air systems, the electrical connections need to be quality one that are protected from the elements (you can use heat shrink terminals, and or shrink tube to protect them, tape will not last) and the air connections need to be quality one also. After many air related projects, I have grown very fond of the push-on connections, they are reliable and can be UN-assembled and reused. Also do not forget to use the Anti-Seize, anything exposed to the elements will need a coat. Good luck on the air project.

 

[Nate]

I run an ExtremeAire compressor in the Jeep. It will run 24/7 without a problem IMO. I've let it run for 45 mins before. It actually killed the battery in my Jeep.



I run it to a 2 gallon (I think) tank. Runs my air lockers and air tools, tires, etc.



For the truck, I was just going to get a small compressor, like the ones you can get at Walmart for $35 that plug into your cig. lighter. Works good enough to fill tires, etc. Not worth putting a $350 compressor in the truck for what I'd use it for.



Look under www.98jeepzj.com, under tech I have a writeup I did a while back.

 

[RBrunson]

Steve, another option is to buy a 115v air compressor with intergrated tank. This is what I did on mine. I bought a 1500w inverter from Cosco for about $85 and the compressor can be bought for under $100. This requires a bit of running wire and tubing for the air lines, but it is an inexpensive way to go and it runs my air horns and exhaust brake real nice.