why Powertank?

$300 for a compressed air tank

why not just one from Harbor Freight instead?
they're way cheaper. Like $50

 

HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE difference. The Power tank is liquid CO2. You can air up many, many tires with it and even run some air tools. With an air tank, you can probably air up 1 small tire. The 2nd one, forget it.

 

oh shit, didn't know that. I thought both used regularly available oxygen.
Last I heard of someone using an HFT tank (or Craftsman) was on a regular car, the idea being a backup if one tire gets a puncture on the street.
But definitely not for off-road use (airing up 4 tires quickly)

What if you filled the Harbor Freight tank up with liquid CO2?

 

I have an aluminum 5lb CO2 tank with a regulator from the welding shop, a 2' hose, and a coupler. You can mount it in a fire extinguisher mount. The advantages over the Powertank are cheaper, smaller, and easier to pack around. The disadvantages are, can't run air tools and if you try to air up several very large tires, you have to wait for the tank to warm up before you get them all aired up. If you want the cheaper price and the ability to air up several very large tires, you can buy a 10lb CO2 tank, but you still won't be able to run air tools. Powertank has a special high flow regulator that flows enough to run some air tools.

 

You can save money and buy your own co2 tank, but paired with Powertanks regulator.

That's where the money's at really; the regulator will not freeze or fail.

Mine lives in the back of my truck, and my truck lives outdoors. It's exposed to the sun, rain, moisture, etc. every single day yet looks and runs like new.

Pic was taken in Jan or so...the cover was already faded like hell within months.



From about a month ago when I last went wheeling.



These kind of accessory questions should be posted in offroad, recovery, etc. for more exposure as many people use co2.

 

none of them use oxygen. It’s too explosive. The common tank uses 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide and some trace gases.

 

You can run air tools off a 10lb co2 tank with their standard regulator. I have ran numerous air tools off my 15lb with the standard regulator. There's no pressure difference between the tank size, just the capacity.

OP, I have a 15 lb powertank setup. All in all I think it was around $600. A lot of people scoff at the price or compare it to a DIY setup that's half the price, but they're just not the same. As mentioned above, the money is in the regulator. It's adjustable, high flow and will never freeze. Just yesterday I was using mine to actuate my front air locker, and then when we were done for the day I aired up myself and another friend, both on 35s. The tank never skipped a beat and it was about 25-30 seconds per tire to fill up. He was blown away and will be ordering one for himself.

These setups are a premium, but they are of the highest quality.

 

If anyone is wondering how many fill-ups you get out of a tank, here's a chart. It depends on your tire size, size of tank and how many PSI you're airing back up. Me with my setup, I get 5-6 trips out of it before I need to fill back up and the refill is $25 from my local roberts oxygen. They fill it on the spot, takes a couple of minutes.

https://powertank.com/pages/tire-air-up-chart

 

why you want the regulator well protected

 

The way the liquid CO2 works in the tanks is that you pump in the liquid CO2 then the liquid sits in the bottom of the tank and since liquid CO2 wants to be a gas at anything above -70 fahrenheit it boils off inside the tank until it reaches a pressure that stops the CO2 from boiling any more, that pressure is about 860psi. This means you use a regulator that reduces your 860 psi CO2 down to a workable pressure (most air tools like ~90 psi) and as the pressure inside your tank drops, more liquid CO2 boils off to maintain that constant ~860psi pressure until all the liquid is gone then your tank pressure will simply decrease until it is the same as the air around it.
The portable air tanks from Harbor Freight etc usually have a safe working pressure of about 125 psi or so, meaning if you put liquid CO2 into your air tank it will be over pressured and explode, BOOM! but for a millisecond before it explodes you might run your impact driver at 860 psi...

 

What size power tank should I buy for my taco ?

 

I’d want to get it mounted on its side in bed of truck

 

That's personal preference because it's all up to you as to how often you'll use it, refill, share with others, etc.

10lb is a nice medium.

 

I think it's also a good idea to talk about what your intended use is for your air setup. If you have an installed onboard compressor (ARB or similar) then having a cache tank to store pressure is a great idea. Doesn't need to be big either. Just a few gallons will be plenty to air up all 4 tires. Remember, 2 gallons at 150 PSI can take all 4 tires from 20PSI up to desired pressure and probably doesn't even need the compressor to run. (Obviously, it will run after that to replenish the tank). But the point is you have a high volume of air at a high pressure just waiting to be used and it will make short work of filling tires. If your need is air tools or similar then hell no, a cache tank won't work. That's where a PowerTank will really shine.

 

I had ordered the duel air but canceled it from poly performance anyways heard a lot of issues anyways just have that and just going out to the beach 10 times a year overlanding but wondering if I should do 10 or 15 size

 

Thanks for reply guys

 

it was filled with air....yes its just air.

Guys, please don't risk a failure on a cheap tank. Be sure it has the pressure rating and certifications of working pressure.

 

So if I go to the beach ten or fifteen times should I get a ten or 15 tank

 

Ive had a power tank since 2008 for my offroad rig. You can air up way faster than using a traditional portable pump. I bought the tjing purely out of not wanting to wait. But it can be a pain to have filled.

 

So should I go w a 15 lol ?