Vehicle mounted twin air compressor

Shopkeep · Sep 19, 2024

MileHigh said:
I watched the video again and it looks like there isn’t room under the seat for tank.

-Can you attach a small tank inline with the 1/4NTP(?) fittings as an ad-hoc add on when using tools? Just make that part of the tool kit?

Maybe you can fit a thin air tank in the rear footwell, mounted on the back edges of the seat brackets (something like the TJM 5 litre.) Depends how often the rear seats are occupied, I have a Maglite 6D mounted there which is a bit longer but is not intrusive.

TCMColorado · Sep 19, 2024

Just put an air tank under the body between the frame rails.

MileHigh · Sep 19, 2024

TCMColorado said:
Just put an air tank under the body between the frame rails.

I was starting to wonder about that. Are there pre-existing holes you can re-purpose ?

For this mount, getting the seat out of the way doesn’t seem that bad- but how often does an ARB twin need maintenance?

TCMColorado · Sep 19, 2024

MileHigh said:
I was starting to wonder about that. Are there pre-existing holes you can re-purpose ?

For this mount, getting the seat out of the way doesn’t seem that bad- but how often does an ARB twin need maintenance?

I have not investigated in detail an under body mounting location for an air tank. But a small one gallon model like that sold by ARB should be quite easy to find a location for. I have done this on my other vehicle which is a Jeep. I like having a tank if only because it acts as a buffer in the system, reducing the amount of on-off cycling by the compressor. When I get around to installing a compressor in the Grenadier the first place I will investigate for the air tank is the location used for the urea tank in the diesel models.

MileHigh · Sep 19, 2024

TCMColorado said:
I have not investigated in detail an under body mounting location for an air tank. But a small one gallon model like that sold by ARB should be quite easy to find a location for. I have done this on my other vehicle which is a Jeep. I like having a tank if only because it acts as a buffer in the system, reducing the amount of on-off cycling by the compressor. When I get around to installing a compressor in the Grenadier the first place I will investigate for the air tank is the location used for the urea tank in the diesel models.

How far from the pumps can the tank be? I assume a few feet doesn’t matter?

TCMColorado · Sep 19, 2024

MileHigh said:
How far from the pumps can the tank be? I assume a few feet doesn’t matter?

The distance between the compressor and the tank is not an issue. In the setup on my Jeep the compressor is under the hood (an engine driven AC style compressor) and the air tank is mounted above the rear axle on the underside of the body. The air line connecting them is approximately 8 feet.

chrsbe · Sep 20, 2024

I thought of using the oem rock sliders as an air tank. Just need to check if they are tight.

Steve.B · Sep 21, 2024

chrsbe said:
I thought of using the oem rock sliders as an air tank. Just need to check if they are tight.

The OEM rock sliders have drain holes in them.
But for the air compressor location it is easy to mount 2 ARB air compressors between the chassis, sill panel and rock sliders as I have done, ARB compressors are waterproof as long as the air intake is higher than water level.
I have the air intake, air outlet and switch, and power supply under the bonnet, no holes drilled, I did that in the first week of ownership.
I made a bash plate for the compressors, and they mount higher than the bottom of the chassis and rock sliders
There are pictures in the thread steps added to rock sliders.
ARB used to advertise their air compressor in a fish tank with a raised air intake, and in one Adelaide ARB store they told me they had the same compressor in a fish tank on display for a couple of years, and it still worked.

chrsbe · Sep 21, 2024

I have not investigated the OEM rocksliders if they can be converted to air tanks. The drain holes look like they can be welded over or closed with screws. your two compressors work in parallel right? how strong are they compared to the ARB dual compressor? How well do they hold against high pressure cleaning?

Steve.B · Sep 21, 2024

chrsbe said:
I have not investigated the OEM rocksliders if they can be converted to air tanks. The drain holes look like they can be welded over or closed with screws. your two compressors work in parallel right? how strong are they compared to the ARB dual compressor? How well do they hold against high pressure cleaning?

So far so good, and have high pressure cleaned several times.
I had the same set up on my old Land Rover when the CMPK 12 first came out in 2007 to when I sold the Land Rover to my nephew in 2020, and it had a hard life and never missed a beat.
My nephew gave it an absolute flogging for the next couple of years lots of beach driving, and the compressor and L/R never missed a beat.
He did over 60,000km in that time never touched it besides oil and filters, and sold it for nearly 3 times the amount I sold it to him for.
But he now loves four wheel driving, and comes on the odd trip with me in his modern 4x4.
I made an air tank out of pvc steam pipe 750psi rated for the L/R so I figured the 120 psi the ARB delivers would be fine, and it was, you can make the pvc any diameter or length you want the fittings are available and very cheap.
I wrapped 10 rolls of insulation tape around the pvc pipe for stone protection so I learnt what it would be like to work in a low skill job that day.
The 2 single compressors are stronger than the ARB dual compressor as they don't have a cooling fan as a fail point, the fan is not water or dirt / mud proof.

chrsbe · Sep 21, 2024

Building a pressure tank from PVC pipes is a great idea. Do you have pictures of your build? How did the end caps look like?

Steve.B · Sep 21, 2024

chrsbe said:
Building a pressure tank from PVC pipes is a great idea. Do you have pictures of your build? How did the end caps look like?

The L/R is gone, and I have not made one for the Grenadier yet, but the end caps were PVC steam pipe rounded, with threaded centres, one end for inlet, and the other end for outlet, and normal plumbing screw in fittings at each end, all from Bunnings.

MileHigh · Sep 21, 2024

PVC is about the last thing that I’d want to make a pressure vessel out of? CPVC, maybe. Maybe as a tight fit liner in a metal tube for condensation and corrosion control- but as a stand alone? Aged PVC is the definition of brittle. Talking about rigid PVC pipes.

Steve.B · Sep 22, 2024

MileHigh said:
PVC is about the last thing that I’d want to make a pressure vessel out of? CPVC, maybe. Maybe as a tight fit liner in a metal tube for condensation and corrosion control- but as a stand alone? Aged PVC is the definition of brittle. Talking about rigid PVC pipes.

Yes you are right, that is why I used 10 large rolls of insulation tape, and mounted it under the vehicle, but yes probably not a good practice.

chrsbe · Sep 22, 2024

i thought of one or two bigger diameter pipes mounted to the underside of the roof crossbars.

MileHigh · Sep 22, 2024

Steve.B said:
Yes you are right, that is why I used 10 large rolls of insulation tape, and mounted it under the vehicle, but yes probably not a good practice.

Well, you didn’t mention Duck-tape. That solves everything. Duck-tape, WD-40, and Bisquick are why we won The Cold War.

K1LL3M · Sep 30, 2024

After mostly completing the rear fitout (finishes still need doing) the trim install look like this.

If not doing a fitout to the rear, Installing switch and coupling to trim would be the way to go.

MileHigh · Oct 29, 2024

So on the twin ARB, it gets to 150psi.
To use it effectively with tools, it is suggested to have at least a 4L tank. It looks like there isn’t enough room under the seat for that.

As part of a tool set, could you have a tank that you could plug into compressors when you are going to use tools? My garage/shop air compressor has a regulator. Outside of painting and trim nailer, I haven’t used an air powered impact tool.

Is that an issue when using tools, or does the twin ARB’s pressure so it doesn’t need a regulator?

TCMColorado · Oct 29, 2024

There is plenty of room under the body between the frame rails to mount an air tank. A 2 gallon model would be an easy fit on the drivers side to the right of the frame. It would be simple to run an air line from the compressor to the tank and then a line leaving the tank to wherever you wanted to mount the air coupler.

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Vehicle mounted twin air compressor

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