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A/C compressor to onboard air?

H

Hubbazoot

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Saudi-Arvada, CO
Could the A/C compressor be easily modified to be an air compressor? I don't want it to fill up a reservoir, I was going to use it directly to fill up air for tires and such. How difficult would it be? Any way I can get around the oiling issue? Where does it go on the serpentine route? I don't have A/C now, would it just replace that idler pulley on the upper passenger side?
Info pls.
 
you need an air tank. it would take forever to strait fill up tires without a tank. you have the ac bracket on the motor?
 
Hubbazoot said:
Could the A/C compressor be easily modified to be an air compressor? I don't want it to fill up a reservoir, I was going to use it directly to fill up air for tires and such. How difficult would it be? Any way I can get around the oiling issue? Where does it go on the serpentine route? I don't have A/C now, would it just replace that idler pulley on the upper passenger side?
Info pls.
Click to expand...

There have been several threads covering this, do a search for "onboard air" or "compressor". If you don't already have A/C, find a boneyard rig that does and get the compressor and brackets, order a belt for your rig with the A/C option. The threads I've seen guys run in-line oilers on the intake side to keep the compressor happy, as well as a seperator on the outlet side to keep oil out of the tires. You'll want to get a pressure regulator to keep the thing from blowing hoses along with a bunch of fittings and hose to plumb it all together.
 
I am currently turning converting mine to OBA. You need an inline oiler, air cleaner/seperator, check valve, pressure switch, and lots of fittings and stuff. It is best to run a copper tube right off the compressor to cool the hot compressed air. And you do need a tank. I currently have about $70 into it, so it might be best to go to Lowes for the lower priced fittings than your local store. Just search it here or on Jeepforum, I am copying one from JF.
 
Ritter4.0 said:
I am currently turning converting mine to OBA. You need an inline oiler, air cleaner/seperator, check valve, pressure switch, and lots of fittings and stuff. It is best to run a copper tube right off the compressor to cool the hot compressed air. And you do need a tank. I currently have about $70 into it, so it might be best to go to Lowes for the lower priced fittings than your local store. Just search it here or on Jeepforum, I am copying one from JF.
Click to expand...
Thanks I'll look into that.
 
I'm also considering this on a rig that will be trail only. Does anyone have a good write up? I understand the fittings & oil separator. But how are you doing switching? Through the HVAC panel or a separate toggle switch?
 
I did a write up here: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=994978 utilizing almost entirely stock wiring. It might not be the best write up from a wiring perspective if you don't already have A/C, but I did provide a very detailed list of parts that I used. Could it have been done cheaper and with less parts, sure, it all depends on what you want the final product to look like.

As for needing a tank, I would highly recommend it or it is going to be really rough on the A/C clutch. I run a 10gal carry tank I got on clearance from Sears and I have it set up with quick disconnects and a ball valve so I can charge it and take it else where in case my 50ft of hose can't reach something.

Also, for anyone looking for good prices on fittings, I had good luck with Lowes for the basic stuff, but as soon as you start looking for anything remotely special I recommend a place like http://www.hoseandfittings.com/
 
FWIW on my old XJ I never ran an oiler on my compressor. Just a filter. I had a 3 gal tank with an adjustable pressure switch and one way valve on the fill hose. Ran an impact, air ratchet and other tools off of it on the trails along with filling up tires and the air mattress for camping. Over 3 years of very regular use and no problems at all.
 
Here's a pic I made with labels of mine before I installed it ( It's only on the bench because I didn't have factory AC, and pieced it all together first).
labeled.jpg


I have a small writeup in my build thread here: http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14599

I didn't put any wiring info anywhere though.
 
Question: Where did you get the one-way valve for the output side? Is it a common Lowe's or Home Depot item, or an online e-bay or manufacturer order thing?

Reason being is I have mione set-up pretty much just like yours less the one-way valve, and it doesn't build pressure when I turn it on. The gauge bumps around at about 5 psi while a quiet hissing emanates from somewhere (not loud or distinct enough for me to isolate it) I figured it must be slow bleed-back through the intake side.

Thanks for any input.

Doug
 
fubar XJ said:
Question: Where did you get the one-way valve for the output side? Is it a common Lowe's or Home Depot item, or an online e-bay or manufacturer order thing?

Reason being is I have mione set-up pretty much just like yours less the one-way valve, and it doesn't build pressure when I turn it on. The gauge bumps around at about 5 psi while a quiet hissing emanates from somewhere (not loud or distinct enough for me to isolate it) I figured it must be slow bleed-back through the intake side.

Thanks for any input.

Doug
Click to expand...

The one way valve can be found at any welding supply store, and at some hardware stores.

Sounds like a pretty bad leak, I have mine setup with a 2.5 gallon tank and from empty it is only 1 to 2 mins to reach 140psi.
 
What is the point of all this? Why not use an electric air compressor and save a lot of work, mechanical gizmos to break, wasting gas to air up, etc? And you'd still have AC
 
winkosmosis said:
What is the point of all this? Why not use an electric air compressor and save a lot of work, mechanical gizmos to break, wasting gas to air up, etc? And you'd still have AC
Click to expand...

Electric compressors tend to be expensive. The really quality ones are a couple hundred dollars. Then you need to find a place to mount them and wire them up to your battery terminals. They also are slower than a pump compressor, from moderately to agonizingly slower. The portable electric ones are generally crap and don't last very long in addition to being very slow.

The A/C conversion can be done for $50-$100 dollars, pumps a lot of air very fast, doesn't require finding space for and mounting an additional compressor, and lasts a long time with proper setup. When you live in a climate where A/C isn't much of a concern, it makes sense to convert the pump to something more useful.
 
I agree with fubar.
A couple friends of mine, one with the ac conversion, one with a viair. Neither had a tank, and both had 35" tires.
They were both aired down to about 12 psi, and aired up to 25psi.
Well, the AC conversion pumped up all 4 tires by the time the electric did about 1 1/2!
I did my ac oba without fear of losing anything since I didn't have ac to begin with :laugh:
 
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