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Cheap electric onboard air setups

bluebronco69

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 15, 2005
Messages
1,856
Loc.
Damascas, OR
What are you running for a cheapish electric onboard air system. I see some on eBay with 1.5 or 2 gallon tanks with compressors etc.
Mainly for filling up 33s after trails/dunes.
I like the kits I see because you get the compressor, tank, pressure switch etc. all setup and ready to go.
 

BanditBronco

Sr. Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
690
After seeing both, and only buying one, my opinion is swayed some but still viable I believe. You are going to hate waiting for that cheap little compressor to run as it try's its best to fill up that little 2 gallon tank while you try and air up your tires. The only on board air system I have seen be remotely worth anything was run off of a york compressor.

I am a firm believer in CO2 tanks, yes they cost money to fill up, but I think the pro's outweigh the cons. It will fill up your tires in probably less than half the time that it would take that cheap little compressor. You can actually use it for air tools if you ever need them. Its portable so if someone else needs help on the trail and you can't reach them directly with your rig, you can just go grab your tank and save the day. You can move it from vehicle to vehicle, like on a family road trip with the tow rig and you like to be prepared. You can huff it and kill yourself while you wait for all your buddies with cheap on board air systems to try and fill up their tires (totally kidding)

I have two bottles, one is a powertank that is great if you want name brand, at the very least I recommend their coil air hoses, they are super nice. I also have a swap out tank from my local vern lewis welding store that I just take in empty and get a new one, that is $13 to do. To fill the powertank bottle is usually $14-$18. I could wheel every weekend a month and probably only fill a bottle once each month without running out.

I could go on, but if you want to know any other specific questions I will let you ask them first!
 

73azbronco

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 11, 2007
Messages
8,195
I have ARB and their pump. Pricey but nice. For tires, I use a scuba tank I bought on craigs for $40. Cost another 20-30 to have it inspected then $10 a fill. I can do 4 35's from 8 PSI to full, four times on one fill.
 

SteveL

Huge chevy guy
Joined
Jun 24, 2001
Messages
11,793
Loc.
Hawthorne ca
When I was buying my arb's and looking at compressors to run em the vendor recommended just buying the small arb compressor for the lockers and running a bottle for everything else.
 
OP
OP
bluebronco69

bluebronco69

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 15, 2005
Messages
1,856
Loc.
Damascas, OR
Keep in mind I am already used to using my masterflow mf 1050 12 v electric compressor. It gets the job,done, not the quickest. But does the trick. I was mainly,thinking something like this mated with a small tank would help a bit
 

Nothing Special

Sr. Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
839
I've got a Viair II with a 2.5 gallon tank. The tank is a mixed blessing. If I remember to turn the compressor on a while before I need it to fill up the tank, then it fills the first tire pretty quickly. But by that time the tank is down to the same pressure as the tire, so after that I need to fill three tires and the tank, which is slower than if I didn't have the tank at that point.

What I end up doing is filling one tire fast, then waiting forever for the second, and then driving another 5 minutes or so before doing the other two. And I only have 33/10.50-15s and only air down to 15 psi.

I'm thinking about getting 35/12.50-15s and I really can't imagine using the electric compressor with tires that take that much more air than what I have now. I'll probably get a CO2 setup at that point
 

sykanr0ng

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 11, 2014
Messages
5,363
Everything I have seen about air for off road tires has said that the small compressors are so frustratingly slow that they are a waste of time and money.
The small compressors are made for car tires and are not fast even for them.

Either go with a portable tank of highly compressed gas/air or go with an engine driven compressor.
 

Remos69

Contributor
Sr. Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Messages
661
Loc.
SW Florida
I carry 3 bottles of CO2 primarily for the kegs, but if the beer runs out and someone at camp has a low tire, I can fill it! Also make good backup fire extinguishers! (What happens in camp..)
 

sanndmann3

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Messages
1,790
I carry 3 bottles of CO2 primarily for the kegs, but if the beer runs out and someone at camp has a low tire, I can fill it! Also make good backup fire extinguishers! (What happens in camp..)

Off topic but can I camp with you? I promise not to have any flat tires... lol

Seems like a cheap compressor that flows alot of air is kind of like a unicorn...

Engine driven compressor or power tank seems like the best option.
 

SteveL

Huge chevy guy
Joined
Jun 24, 2001
Messages
11,793
Loc.
Hawthorne ca
I carry 3 bottles of CO2 primarily for the kegs, but if the beer runs out and someone at camp has a low tire, I can fill it! Also make good backup fire extinguishers! (What happens in camp..)


Did you pass a kid playing banjo on the way to camp?
 

pcf_mark

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2010
Messages
3,641
I have never used on board air forgive my noob question. Has anyone every taken a pump from newer cars that have self leveling suspension? Lincoln Town Car comes to mind as one with factory air suspension.
 

Nothing Special

Sr. Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2016
Messages
839
I have never used on board air forgive my noob question. Has anyone every taken a pump from newer cars that have self leveling suspension? Lincoln Town Car comes to mind as one with factory air suspension.

Those are probably going to be pretty low flow.

The problem with cheap 12V compressors flowing much air is the heat they'd generate. A 12V compressor needs 10x the amperage that a 120 compressor of the same power needs. That takes lots of copper and copper's expensive.
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
35,632
Air suspension compressor won't work. Doesn't have the volume needed to fill tires. OK for an air locker or an air horn but that is all. In the original application there are computers that control the compressor, including duty cycle so they don't burn out.

I've done a 1/3 HP pancake compressor on a 400W invertor. Overheat the compressor, smells bad, thermal limit switch tripped and have to blow cold air from an A/C vent through the compressor to cool it off enough to restart. That doesn't work very well.

CO2 is still a great way to put a lot of gas into a small package. Since CO2 is liquid, it is the greatest amount of "air" possible in the smallest space. I've known people to use propane in a pinch. Not safe, but a 20 pound propane tank will make a LOT of gas.

I've had CO2, still have a small 5 pound bottle setup. But my go to fill is back to a SCUBA tank. Since I dive as well I have them around. Fills are $4-5 most of the time. What is real nice is the pressure gauge really tells you how much is left. With CO2 it is more of a thermometer and confirmation that you really ran out. This is due to CO2 being a liquid and the pressure is based on temperature (until you get it hot enough to go supercritical, but you don't want to get into that math).

Cheap+Electric is not a way to fill tires.
 

valveamp

Jr. Member
Joined
May 30, 2011
Messages
287
Hello. I wanted to mention another possibility. It may not qualify as cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than the one mentioned previously, which uses a York compressor turned by an electric motor. The company is Extreme Outback Products and they make a compressor called the Extremeair Magnum. It's about $590 on their website, although they do have somewhat less expensive models available with a little less capability. I have one that I ran on a '67 CJ5 for a while. The CJ had, I believe, 35" tires. I would run them down to about 10lbs. It pumped them up if a fairly reasonable time. I never timed it, but I remember it as not being that long. Compare this to my son who has 33" tires on his Wrangler and uses a portable compressor (clips that hook to the battery) and it seems to take him forever to pump up. I intend to install the Extremeair on my Bronco, but I mounted an ARB compressor for the locker in the best location for the Extremeair, so it's still sitting in my garage. I used a 5 gallon tank when it was on the Jeep. Regarding the heat, I initially used nylon air line and these "quick connect" connectors on the compressor. First time out, the line developed a leak. I quickly discovered that the nylon had melted where it went into the compressor head. I switched it out to a copper line and had no more troubles after that. Other than the compressor mentioned earlier, I think this has the best performance for an electric compressor you can get. Still, not cheap, but, to me, it was worth it as it was a good compromise between performance and not going through the headache of trying to mount a belt driven compressor. I picked up a used York years ago for that purpose, but never really wanted to spend the time to install it. On the Bronco, the compressor unit won't be too difficult to figure out where to mount it, but I don't know where I can mount a 5 gallon tank. Good Luck.
 

valveamp

Jr. Member
Joined
May 30, 2011
Messages
287
Oh, just one more comment. Years ago, I picked up off eBay or Craigslist, or somewhere, a home version of the expensive electric compressor from earlier up the chain. The builder took a York compressor and attached, what I think, is a winch motor and mounted them on a plate. It's a bit of a beast, but you may be able to make one for a lot cheaper than the ones they are selling. As a note, the compressor is still in it's shipping box on the floor of my garage, so I can't say how good it performs. Just a thought.
Regards,
 
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