Air Tank

[RubenZ]

Hey guys, I havent been on these forums in a while. I havent done any welding in a while. But I'm back in the action.

Here is what I want to do. I'm going to purchase a 12volt compressor that are used for Air Suspensions and mount it somewhere under my truck. What I need is to make a Tank thats around 5-6 gallons and be able to fit that TOO under my truck. I want this to be used to fill up small ATV tires and tractor tires. My question is, how do I calculate how much pressure the tank can hold and what thickness of metal should be used? 1/8"? Thicker?

[zapster]

Originally Posted by RubenZ

Hey guys, I havent been on these forums in a while. I havent done any welding in a while. But I'm back in the action.

Here is what I want to do. I'm going to purchase a 12volt compressor that are used for Air Suspensions and mount it somewhere under my truck. What I need is to make a Tank thats around 5-6 gallons and be able to fit that TOO under my truck. I want this to be used to fill up small ATV tires and tractor tires. My question is, how do I calculate how much pressure the tank can hold and what thickness of metal should be used? 1/8"? Thicker?

what we use at the race track is a empty freon bottle with a kit you can buy for cheap that turns it into a air bottle..
it'll hold 6 gal @120 psi

enough to keep dragster slicks inflated in the staging lanes...

...zap!

[RubenZ]

Hmm arent those the round ones? If so I'm not sure if they would fit well under the truck. I want to just make one so that I can make it rectangular and mount it somewhere either under the truck or around teh toolbox. I'm thinking the toolbox will be better so I can reach the hoses fittings better.

[zapster]

well if your gonna make a pressure vessel..
your gonna have to purge the inside with argon
no question about it..

...zap!

[fwalz3]

I know how we all like to make stuff rather than buy it, but you might want to use an air tank from a big truck. You could probably get one cheap from a truck junk yard. They are heavy duty and made to take abuse. It would probably come with the brackets to mount it to the frame too!

[chopper5]

a rectangle air tank you going to need 3/8 to hold 120 psi safely

[wroughtn_harv]

Consider using a ten or twelve ply tire for your spare. Then you put double females on an air hose. You have a handier than a pocket on a shirt air tank that will safely carry eighty to ninety pounds of air.

Back in the day I used to carry two spares on my CJ 5. I'd air them up to sixty pounds. Then when I dropped the tires on the jeep down to ten for running on sand I had enough air to get all four up to thirty for the ride home, one air hose with two female chucks.

[zapster]

Originally Posted by wroughtn_harv

Consider using a ten or twelve ply tire for your spare. Then you put double females on an air hose. You have a handier than a pocket on a shirt air tank that will safely carry eighty to ninety pounds of air.

Back in the day I used to carry two spares on my CJ 5. I'd air them up to sixty pounds. Then when I dropped the tires on the jeep down to ten for running on sand I had enough air to get all four up to thirty for the ride home, one air hose with two female chucks.

i like that

...zap!

[Joker11]

I have two 1 ton dually crew cab trucks and I have air bags on both trucks. Let me tell you....those tanks that you can buy for big rigs are some great tanks. Now, I would NEVER recommend doing this, but I will just say that those tanks WILL hold 600psi of Helium. HEHHEEH. When you open the 1 inch valve and 600psi of helium hits the airbags, you can pick a truck right off the ground about a foot in the air. That was the test. I was sold on the product after seeing it firsthand. At any rate, the guy I buy my equipment from told me he can get just about any size tank you want. They have them all pre-fabbed. While I wanted to build the tanks long and narrow to run alongside the driveshaft the length of the truck, it was too costly. You almost can't even buy the materials for what a pre-fabbed tank costs. Then you have to add in your welding wire or rod, and your precious time to do it. I bought two 5 gallon tanks for 50bucks a piece with 8 1/2inch ports on it. Plus it has a decent paint job on it already. My vote goes to buying a tank. If you email me, I will give you the shop name and phone number. I don't want to spam the board here.

[Joker11]

oh, the video of the truck being lifted with helium can be viewed here: http://www.jakdupkustoms.com/images/videos/MOV00305.MPG

look around the site at www.jakdupkustoms.com . This guy has some mad fab skillz. I work in the building behind him. He makes some great stuff. He is, and some of you might not believe me, ASE certified master mechanic. He got bored fixing cars and decided to build them instead. I have seen his creations from the ground up and I have seen his custom modifications. I tell you what, his shop is the premium customs shop for crazy road squeegee guys like me and for the offroad extreme 4X guys as well. It was guys like this that got me into welding to begin with. I go into their shops, check out their tools and then go buy those tools for my own use. The difference is they are making money with their tools right now and I am just learning as much as I can. Welding is the easy part for me. Creatively designing stuff is my downfall.

[RubenZ]

LOL at that video. Ya, I guess I'll just buy the tanks. I really only need this for filling up my ATV at the ranch and our Front Tractor tires which are like 29" or so. I just hate using those cigarette lighter cheapy air pumps that are slow and burn out after so many uses and I go to the ranch so often that carrying those red 5 gallon tanks all the time is a pain. I'd rather have the hose already on my truck and just filler up .

Another quick question, I've seen guys mount York Air Compressors that are belt driven and not even use a tank. Is this a better option?

[littlefuzz]

I made a air tank bumper for a friend that worked great. 4" sq. tube 1/4" wall with 1/2" end caps drilled and tapped to take air fittings. The fittings were recessed into the ends so they wouldn't get broke off.

[gimpyrobb]

Why not just get a york ac compressor from a junk car and add it to your motor? Lots of people do it for on board air. There is even a company that hooks them to 12v motors and sells them, check out Kilbey enterprises.

[RubenZ]

ya I like that York compressor option best.

[RonL]

wroughtn_harv

Clever idea. I had a '73 Super Beetle that used the tire pressure from the spare to run the windshield washers. There was a pressure valve that shut it off when the pressure dropped to a certain level.

RonL

[Weldordie]

Here's a site that might give you some ideas...

http://www.dodgeram.info/tech/mods/York_air/

[Joker11]

The york compressor runs a decent amount of air. you will have to install an oiler on the intake side. There are some yorks mounted with a 12v winch motor on them too. A lot of stuff out there. I am using 2 Viair compressors that run up to 150psi. I am installing two more Viair compressors that will then run from 150 to 200psi. even with that, they pull some serious amperage. They pull up to 30 amps per compressor. I have a 200amp alternator and dual batteries in my dually. The alternator shop stalled out their motor when they were load testing my alternator on their work bench.
Nice.

[RubenZ]

I saw someone else mention the VIAIR compressors too. I believe the VIAIR 450 . They are used for air systems etc. The guy said they use around 26 amps or so.

[burn]

Ever think of something more portable?
http://www.offroadairstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=10

[metalman]

Here's a couple places that I buy my air ride stuff from
www.suicidedoors.com
www.gravity-werx.com
There's alot of people in the air ride / baggin truck hobby that install their tanks and compressors under the truck. HTH