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| May 21, 2013, 10:06:52 PM |
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by Dezertjeepin on May 24, 2011, 01:17:00 AM
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Project Black Whole Gets Onboard Air
Built for less than $100
See How We Built it Ourselves for Less!!
TECH ARTICLE
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Introduction
An onboard air system is a MUST for anyone that drives their Jeep to the trail, goes wheeling for the day, then drives that same rig home. When you hit the trail and air down, most people are too nervous to drop their tire pressure too low due to the fact that they either (A) don't want to pop the bead because they have no way to reseat it, or (B) have to drive a considerable distance on the highway before getting to a gas station to fill up again. Then when said person finally makes it to the gas station, they have to wait for the air because their buddy got to it first, pay a crapload of money to turn the damn thing on, then stand in a kneeling position for the next hour trying to fill up their tires because the compressor being used is so slow!
Enter Onboard Air Systems... There is a few different styles one could use:
A "cheese-ball" cigarette lighter compressor will fill you up, but you might be retired before it finishes (if it hasn't overheated and seized by that time).
Then there would be the much better (and much more expensive) hard wired compressors like Viair. These systems are much better and much more reliable. Some can run air tools, but most are just good for airing up tires. However, they can still be a bit slow. Unless you're going to run the dual compressor units, but those are even more pricey.
There is always the CO2 tanks. They are portable and fast. You can run air tools. You can help a friend. But what happens when the tank runs out? It becomes as useful as a giant empty bottle of beer. I had one of these when they first came out and the closest place I could find to fill it up was over an hour away. Every place I went wanted to trade me my $300 aluminum bottle for a crappy (absurdly heavy) steel bottle.
Then there is the YORK... This system, in my opinion, is by far the BEST way to get compressed air on the trail. It's fast, pumps endless amounts of air, very little maintenance, convenient, and will run any air tool possible ALL DAY LONG.
Some might argue that there is other systems out there that will do the same, but for a high cost. Some might argue that YORK systems are more expensive (upwards of $1200 actually) and more complicated than other 12V systems. Yes there are disadvantages... But there are disadvantages with ALL types of OBA systems.
How to build an OBA system for under $100
I have run YORK's on all my older jeeps, so it was only a matter of time before I added it to the list for the JK. The only glitch I had with doing this on the JK is that there is not nearly as much room to put the compressor as there is on a TJ or YJ. With a little ingenuity, knowledge, and skills, you can put together this system for under $100. I did a TON of research online of what to get and this is what I came up with............
YORK Compressor: eBay!!! Found one for $40 shipped on eBay (but you can find them at junk yards for about the same price). Both routes are a gamble. Sometimes you get ones that don't work, but for the most part they are pretty good. Even if you get one that needs work, they are 100% rebuildable.
Click on images for large view
MISC. Fittings: There is a TON of fittings and parts that need to be purchased. This is the expensive part..... But it's actually very simple. When I was researching this area and found that the parts were going to cost me 3-4 times the amount of the compressor itself, I realized that any compressor on the market is going to have every single one of these pieces. So I headed to the CL (that would be CraigsList for those that aren't up to speed with todays lingo). I found an excellent deal on an Ingersoll Rand 15 gallon compressor with a belt driven pump for $30. This supplied me with just about EVERYTHING I needed to start piecing together my OBA.
Air Tank: Now this is an idea that I have had for a LONG time and fortunately was thinking ahead of the game when I built my......... FRONT BUMPER! Thats right... When I build the front bumper for Project Black Whole I used 2"X6" tubing and made sure that when I built it, it was going to be able to stay sealed so I could use it for an air tank. After completion I did the math and figured out that it should hold about 2 gallons of air.
Compressor Mounts: This is one of the tricky parts. I am a welder. Personally, I like a challenge! When I was looking into the mounting positions I found only 2 places to mount the compressor. Next to the alternator, and in front of the engine. Both companies that make complete systems wanted $200+ just for the brackets! I understand they need to make money on all the time they took to design the brackets, but this to me is asinine. I made my brackets out of ONE $8.50 piece of 3/16" steel. I ended up mounting mine in front of the engine due to the fact that mounting it next to the alternator forces you to (A) BUY a new A/C line because there is a little sensor that pokes strait up and is in the way, and (B) you have to PAY SOMEONE to put the new line in. You cant save money by doing this.
Compressor Pulley: You can buy a serpentine pulley from a few different places online but it is going to cost you around $100...... We are on a budget here! I could go out and find a serpentine pulley at a junkyard, but to tell you the truth, they are REALLY hard to find. YORK compressors are generally going to come with V-Belt pulleys on them. The one I got had a rather small diameter one, which is good (I'll explain why in a bit), but most have a slightly larger pulley than the one mine has. The way I am powering the compressor is by one of the pulleys that is already on the front of the motor. I had a V-Belt pulley in the shop from a Chevy 350 that had the same 3-Bolt pattern as what was on this particular pulley already there (see photo's). Why is the smaller pulley on the compressor better? Think bicycle..... If the front sprocket is small and the back one is big, what happens? Your legs are working their asses off and the bike is barely moving! If the front sprocket is big and the back one little, your legs are barely moving and your hauling ass! Same happens with the drive pulley and compressor pulley. In this case the drive pulley is slightly larger than the compressor pulley, thus spinning the compressor MUCH FASTER at idle RPM's than normal and not needing to get a special idle control to raise the idle when airing up. This is okay because I don't run the compressor when I am driving and it is free spinning (not pumping).
Parts List:
YORK: $40
Donor Compressor: $30
Pulley: Free (laying around the shop)
Brackets: $8.50 for steel
Pressure Switch: $12 eBay
Intake Filter: $10 auto parts store
Oil/Water separator: $10 Harbor Freight
Misc. Fittings: ~$15
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Sub Total: $125.50........ ISH
Sold the motor and pump off the compressor for $40
Sub Total: $125.50........ ISH
Sold Parts: -$40.00
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New Total: $85.50......... ISH
Pictures
Specs:
I'm not quite sure of the CFM it puts out, and not even sure if or how I could even measure that myself, BUT With this setup and pulley sizes it can fill the front bumper tank in 33 seconds and it filled my 35/13.50R18 from 11lbs to 32lbs in 70 seconds (or a minute ten seconds). This is pretty damn good. This means I can go from rock crawling to street driving in less than 10 minutes. And that's including getting the stuff out and putting it all away.
Conclusion
In my opinion there is no better onboard air system to have than a York. It's reliable, continuous, never runs out, and pumps a crapload of air! As for a heavy off roader, this system takes the cake over any other system out there. Not to mention can be installed for a fraction of the cost of some of the other solutions.
Check out more articles in this section:
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