I was at Paragon on Sunday and had an excellent run. We stopped for lunch to watch some big boys play on the black trails for a bit. I noticed one of the guys with what looked like a scuba tank airing up a flat tire. That got me thinking...

I can't really afford a true on-board air setup, and realistically, it wouldn't get used enough to make it worth while. My father has an air compressor that I sometimes borrow for work around the house. Could I buy somethign like this for airing up tires after a ride? I'm not looking for something to run power tools... just something to airup a flat on the trail and so I don't have to wait in line at the gas station next to the air pump.

If it would work, they offer a 10gallon and a 5gallon, both rated at 135PSI. Would either of these be enough to air up 1 flat 33" tire, and/or 4 33" tires from 15psi to 35psi?



Description:
Craftsman 10 gal. Horizontal Air Tank, 135 psi
Portable tank Compressor with a gauge located at the top of the tank for quick and easy pressure reading. Tank relief valve relieves excess pressure. 3 ft. high-pressure air hose & tire chuck.

 

iF thats just a tank, it might be barly enough for filling a flat. But i dunno bout airing up all 4 tires.

 

I second that. It's enough for maybe 1 flat, or 2 tires from 15 up to 30PSI. Just a guess...

Jim

 

I've got one, and it doesn't work for filling tires. I don't think it holds air at a high enough pressure to force it into the tires.

 

It's not even close. Check out this recent thread:

http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showfl...5&o=14&fpart=1

Sounds like you have no choice but to get a power tank or an on-board compressor!

 

If your just trying to fill up a flat just in case, just go with a cheap 12v compressor. Yea its slow, but it will fill your tire(s) eventually.

 

how would one of those little 12v ones do on 38"s i also was thinking about the same thing like the onboard air but where to put it in a 80 truck no room under the hood and if i put it in the bed it wont stay there long with a 4" body and a 4" suspension would one fit under the truck ?

 

It would probably take a good half hour to air up just one 38 tire.

 

I saw a Coleman 12v compressor take about 15 min/tire on stock 265/75/R16's (about 31"). I can't imagine waiting for it on 38".

Are you sure you don't have room under the hood of your rig? I had to move a cruise-control box, but I found enough room under my hood (96 4Runner, 3.4L) to fit a ViAir 450c. That'll run a 31" from 15-32psi in about 3 minutes.

 

I have the Craftsman model pictured. I can take three tires from 15psi to 35psi if it is at max pressure. The fourth tire will go to about 25psi. Since I've only had to air down once and that was to 15psi, the tank will work for me. I could probably bring all four tires from 15psi to 30psi, which is adequate for highway travel.

BTW, I'm running 32" tires.

Chris

 

hrmmm... Interesting. I only air down to 20psi, and I'd be happy as long as I could get back up to 30psi for the ride home.

 

For about 125 bucks, I put together a home-grown CO2 system from parts off of ebay. Basically a 10 lb CO2 tank, regulator, polyurethan hose, and tire chuck. One tank is good for about 20 tires from 15 to 33 PSI. MIDIWAll has seen in it action. Definitely a whole lot cheaper than a powertank.

Before that, I just used the 12V coleman compressor which worked fine, just noisy and slow, but it got the job done.

 

Aye I have thar matey!

It be a worker!

 

Mad Chemist,
Which regulator did you get. I saw a number of the beverage CO2 tanks on Ebay.

 

If you don't mind filling up the CO2 more often... you could go and get a paintball CO2 tank. I spent $30 for a 20oz tank. Nothing huge... but from the results I'm hearing about the 10 pounders.... a 20oz should be good for AT LEAST all 4 tires, if not 8 tires. (the beauty of compressed air/co2). It cost me $3 to fill up the tank at the paintball shop. Kinda expensive per fill.... but if you rarely go wheeling, it would serve it's purpose.

 

is there a difference in a CO2 tank and an air tank? cant u use that craftsman and fill it with CO2? besides the air pressure limit wat else makes a tank good for co2? how many lbs do u fill a co2 tank to anyways? i bought a used air tank on ebay and was planning to fill it with CO2.

ooh i also found 2 empty propane tanks... the ones they use on forklifts. they're huge! those would work for co2 yeh?

 

Answers to your questions

1) I borrowed a regulator from work. If you plan on running air tools, you'll need a reg that'll keep the outlet pressure under ~100 PSI. A beverage CO2 reg would do the trick for airing tires I would think.

2) A CO2 is not the same as an air tank. An air tank could not hold the pressure of the CO2. I won't go into a long explaination why, there are a bunch of CO2 tank threads on yotatech, so do some searching/reading to learn more about CO2. Bottom line, don't use anything other than a tank rated for CO2 use.

 

Oh WOW...


*** DO NOT DO THAT! ***

If you could find a place that would actually fill it, then you'd be looking at an incredibly dangerous explosion as it came up to pressure. Metal shrapnel will be everywhere.

 

lol ok. i did some reading... will not do that. hehe

now im looking for a good co2 tank

thanks!

 

I built my own CO2 setup this past week.
I will post later, but basically I bought a CO2 tank from a local welding supply, a fixed high flow150 psi Regulator online, local hose, and I had a tire inflator that I customized. Total around $150. The day I assembled it my daughter came home with a tek screw in her Honda tread. It was nice to do the patch, and inflate without having to run the ol' noisy compressor. Plus, I took the air to her at the curb. Nice