On board air

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

smurfslayer

Be vewwy, vewwy quiet. We’re hunting sasquatch77
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Posts
16,265
Reaction score
23,936
I have to admit, most of my off road adventures are dirt, some gravel and mud. Ok some rocks too but not what our crew or Jeepers would call rock climbing, just typical east coast stuff. After airing up/down with a portable at the beach, I could be convinced to go to onboard air. My portable performed flawlessly and worked quickly, but the process could have been improved.

aside from duty cycle I noticed to things to be concerned about
current draw
heat

some of these compressors pull 40 amps by the doc. I know we can handle that with the alternator we have, but that current draw makes me a little concerned.

back to my beach excursion - that little viair got hot as h@ll!

Am I sweating these two concerns too much or not?
 

The Car Stereo Company

aka grumpy car stereo guy
Supporting Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Posts
31,720
Reaction score
21,696
Location
here, on frf
all compressors run hot. too hot to touch. its normal. thats why theres a cool down time on some compressors. the 100% duty cycle arent as fast and thats why they can run continuous. they are slower and generate less heat over the course of airing up
 

Sheeepdog18

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2017
Posts
415
Reaction score
276
Location
Bay Area
I use my power tank a lot to air up everything from tires to air mattress. Excellent tools to have, air up tires faster then any air compressor out there BUT, YES it’s going to cost you every time you use it. Noah hit it right on the spot. It’s all depends on how and what your needs are. Being in Northern Cali, I only use my on camping trips and once in a while to play in the hills. So the air tank works great for me and I won’t have the extra weigh on my truck all the time.
 

jzweedyk

FRF Addict
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Posts
2,315
Reaction score
4,499
Location
Moab/Winter Travel/Summer Travel
Would the arb single be adequate for 37s?
Adequate is a personal choice. Personally I would not to take that long to fill the tires. I use the singe for my RZR that has 32" tires and it is fine, but I only go from 7 to 14 PSI when I air them up. Going from 14 to 34 PSI for the road on 37" tires would take a while with the single, but it could do it. If you are going to use a single in a Raptor, I would also put in a tank, and turn on the compressor ahead of time to fill the tank.

The real problem with the tank (other than the size, and keeping it secure) is if you are going to places where there is no filling options. I have several Jeep friends that have run out and there is no where to fill them when you are out in the middle of nowhere. Other than that the tank works well.
 

802Avalanche

Full Access Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2017
Posts
151
Reaction score
66
Location
Bold North
It only costs about $10-15 to fill up my HPA Systems AuxAir66 at a local SCUBA shop. I think an ideal kit might include both a tank like my HPA for super quick air ups and the on board air kit of your choice. Having the HPA Systems bottle as the primary might make the slower 100% duty cycle on board air a more appealing choice. And the best part about on board air... TRAIN HORNS!
 
Joined
Oct 15, 2014
Posts
48
Reaction score
14
I just ordered all the components for a DIY power tank equivalent. I have a total of 260 bucks in it. I think with CO2's performance and the reasonable set up costs, a DIY tank and single stage backup would be the bee's knee's.
 

Jonnie510

Active Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2019
Posts
74
Reaction score
14
Location
NorCal
Take a look at zenith air OB2 compressor. One of these has more cfm than 2 viair compressors.

4.25 cfm with 100% duty cycle @ 200 PSI.

I have this compressor with a 5 gallon aluminum tank and couldn’t be happier with the setup. I didn’t buy a kit. Just built the setup myself.

5891722C-828E-4E0C-872E-4C62382A5149.jpeg
 
Top