OBA -> On Board Air Mega Thread & BS

Like this but with a tank?

 

The fittings are slowly starting to come in the mail one package at a time.I'm going to make the box from plywood I have laying around and try to make it as small as possible.I have the designs in my mind.Just waiting on the all the parts before I put it together.My only goal is to make it light and easily removable.It's either this weekend or next it will all come together.

 

Does your box fit under a tonneau cover ?

 

Can someone help me out here?
I was given a 20 pound CO2 tank, but the problem is, it is a siphon fed tank. I want make it an on board system, mainly to air up tires.
Will the siphon fed tank work?
My thinking is that once it is allowed to get closer to atmospheric pressure ( <800 psi ) that it will be vapor anyway, so would it make a difference for this application?

 

Most places that sell CO2 can re valve too...

 

Well, the tank is nearly full..

 

Almost finished with my budget oba build. Just waiting for the tank to get here today and then figure out how the hell to get these fittings off. The p.o. said he tried but he put red loctite on them when he threaded them in. It's a free tank so can't complain. But if anyone has any advice im all ears. Gonna try pb blaster over night and heat first.

 

Torch. Red loctite needs to be heated to 300 degrees to release

 

Finished up my OBA. I need a lower psi pressure switch. The one way check valve doesn't work at lower than 1CFM and when psi increases the valves closes and blows off (CFM being inversely proportional to PSI). I'll make a gauge and see what psi the valve blows off at. At the very least I know I can pump my front tires up to 40psi.

 

The results are in. About 80-85 psi is where the cfm drops too low for this unloading check valve.

 

I started building the box last weekend.I will continue building it this weekend or this week.I am leaving one side open on the box for access and in case I want to upgrade.It will be under my tonneau but I'm painting it black anyway.I had some regrets going with the 5 gallon tank because of the size and not finding anywhere to perma mount it under the truck.I could maybe have stuffed it in the drivers side rear wheel well but with the salt ,sand up here I am probably better off keeping it in the bed.Maybe I'll take some pictures when I'm done putting it together.

 

Broke it loose with a ton of ass power.

 

Box is built,painted and wired in.1 small problem is the pop off valve on the compressor blows off when the tank is at 140.The pressure switch I have shuts off at 145.So at 140 the pop off blows off ,the tank drops down to about 70 pounds and it builds back up.So I ordered a 90/120 40A viair switch with relay.20 more bucks.Oh the bigger smittybilt compressor eats 30A fuses for lunch.It is rated 36-50.I had to remove the 30A fuse holder I had and wired a 50A maxi fuse in at the battery.

 

did you read what the amp rating on your compressor was? 50a is overkill.

lol - just re read your post. Carry on.

 

Save yourself the headache. Get a circuit breaker in there asap. It can andwill blow a 50 every so often.

 

Haven't been following this thread lately but hell I wouldn't trust some random hoses and barb fittings. Stick to DOT air brake line and fittings people!! Also you should be using a rated stainless leader hose from the compressor to the tank.

 

seems how my a/c lines were busted when I got my taco, I decided to turn the a/c compressor into an air compressor. Haven't got a tank yet but everythings workin good so far.

 

Hey Chris, is there a writeup to take the bedsides off? Difficult?

 

I've heard stuff like this soo much it drives me nuts. I'll start with your "random hoses and barb fittings" The black hose you see is genuine Goodyear air hose, not some random hose from autozone. The fittings you see is the unloader valve. I would have installed it directly into the compressor but smittybilt did not use a standard sae or metric pipe thread, and my lathe was down waiting for a part so I couldn't make one.

The main reason I did not go with stainless one piece hoses is repairability. This is not the compressor sitting in my shop where if something breaks I have my complete shop and local hardware stores to repair it and get me up and running again. This is a truck I am designing to drive into remote wildernesses with limited tools and resources. This means you should keep things simple. I have barbs on every end of every air hose. This means if anything happens to a section of hose I can easily remove and replace the affected section with basic tools. I also carry extra hose, splices, plugs, connectors, hose clamps, etc.

Not sure about a write up, i just dived into it one day. The hardest part about it is getting to the bolts between the cab and the bed. A standard swivel head ratchet doesn't really work here. I've taken the side off a few times, the second time I tried a new tool I had found, and it makes it 10X easier.

 

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