89silverpu

I know little about wiring and electrical stuff but I was wondering if it is possible for an air compressor run off of AC power to be converted to 12volt to run off of a vehicles battery? (I think those are the correct terms lol)

Like this one:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...+%26+Inflators

bigt

you would need an inverter capable of p uttting out the amps nessesary i dont think youll find one on the cheap

89silverpu

So what you're saying is that the battery wouldn't put out enough power?

ozziesironmanoffroad

no, hes saying that a cheap power inverter wont work. you need a heavy duty inverter, which get VERY pricey

AxleIke

Yeah, you'd need to spend some coin on an inverter.

Go CO2. You'll never look back. Ebay hunting, and you can piece together a kit for 100 bucks.

toy_tek

Figure you'll need about 375 amps at 12v to get it started, about 133a to keep it running. That is a lot of 12v draw.

89silverpu

Sorry I have no idea about amps and power inverters, It was just an idea and I was curious to see if it would work, guess not lol. I'll probably end up just getting a cheap portable compressor for about 60 bucks and hookin it up to a 2 gallon or so tank like a couple of onboard air builds I've seen online, thanks for answering my questions though

CyMoN

I have seen those at Kmart on sale 49$ you could buy one of the tsunami mv50
compressors at pep boys for 50$ -70$ and a tank for 25$- 40$ and make your own air set up.

89silverpu

And I have thought about CO2 but CO2 = expensive and then I have to deal with refilling....

89silverpu

Exactly what I'm thinkin

CJM

To wire it properly you would need a power inverter to switch your DC current in your car to AC current to run the compressor. Not only are even the smallest crapsmen compressors junk and heavy as lead, they dont put out nearly enough air imho.

You would do much better to get the pepboys one.

AxleIke

I have 50 dollars into mine. Refill's about 3 times per year at 14-17 dollars per fill.

89silverpu

Do you have some specs and possibly some pictures of your system?

bigt

yeah axleike has got me interested... how much pressure do they put int he tank??? you must get alot of fills from those small power tanks....
can you use a scuba tank???

AxleIke

I have a 20lb beverage CO2 tank. You can bum these off of restaurants and the like: free. Stamp "Sold to Public" in the side, and you are good to go to get it exchanged at a welding store.

When it is empty, I swap it at welding supply stores.

It sits at roughly 800-1000 psi, since the CO2 is liquid inside the tank.

I find I can fill aproxamtely 40-50 tires, which is 10-12 wheeling trips for me. If you have a bigger tire, less, smaller, more. These are 33x9.50s. If you share, you'll refill more often.

I'm running an ebay special beverage regulator, 30 bucks. 10 bucks in a hose, 10 bucks in teflon tape, and male-female quick disconnects.

Voila! On board air.

Now, I also bought a fancy guage, and a bracket to mount in my truck and blah blah, but you don't need those things to make it work. All you need is what I described. The extras are up to you.

bigt

axleike i thank you for you information.. it is most helpful and im going to do some searching as i build my rig....do you think a scuba tank would work?? i could get one free. actually i have a huge beverage co2 tank im my garage but its like 5 foot big! from when my dad used to make beer or pop in his draft fridge.

89silverpu

What do you mean swap it at welding supply store? You take the tank from the restaurant and take it to the welding store and they give you a filled tank or what? Your system sounds like an ingenious idea! Could you post up some pics of your system please? I'm not exactly sure what a beverage CO2 tank is but I'm about to google it so i'll be able to have a better idea of what you're talking about.

AxleIke

Alright. I'll try to answer these questions as best I can.

A "beverage" co2 cylinder is just a 20lb co2 tank that is owned by either Pepsi or Coke. Any restaurant that has a soft drink machine that dispenses soda for cups has these. You have to find one willing to give you theirs. Ebay also has them, but they aren't free. My buddy got two tanks when he asked.

However, because they are owned by a company (pepsi or coke), welding places won't exchange them unless "SOLD TO PUBLIC" is stamped on the side. (I found this out the hard way, but managed to sob story my way into getting them to exchange it).

Every time my tank is empty, I bring it in, and they give me a full one, so I can't slather it in stickers or paint it like a powertank. You CAN do that if you wish, but then you have to get the tank filled, which costs more.

The swaps cost 14-17 out here, depending on the store.

I don't have a picture of the system close up, sorry. I'll get one, but I seem to be completely out of AA batteries, and my camera is dead. I'll get the pics for you tomorrow.

Here is a recent pic of the truck airing up. Note that I have an expensive hose, and air guage. Those are perks I've added, but not required to make this work.



As I said, you have to hunt for the regulators online. If you want to pay a little more, this is a good option: http://www.ultimate-air.com/EXpress-...r_p_13-33.html

which is what I will be switching to, as I cannot drive with my regulator on the tank, since it would rattle and possibly break it.

89silverpu

Thank you for helping out!! That system you have there looks sweet and your 4runner is exactly what I would want mine to look like if I had one! Its BA! I was talking to my auto teacher about both of the systems (the compressor with the tank, and the C02 system) and we were talking about the compressor wiring and then he remembered he had a super heavy duty compressor in the shop he got off one of the big ole Chevron trucks he used to work on and he'll give it to me for free so I'm gunna go that route and hook it up to a tank in my spare tire area under my bed and hook it up to a pressure switch and a relay to a switch in my cab. All I have to buy is the tank and hose and thats only gunna cost about 50 60 bucks and he has all the other fittings and a relay in the shop I can have for free too Oh and the compressor already has a built in pressure switch! I'll make another build up thread for it when I get all the pieces together

AxleIke

Thanks man!

And good luck. Sounds like you've got a good plan!