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OBA SCUBA?

bdahlg

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Waltham, MA
I had my compressor stored at my mom's house, and since she is moving, she gave it away to some dude for restitching armrests on her leather couch:mad:. I have been thinking about OBA for quite sometime.

My dad had left me like 6 SCUBA tanks from when he retired from the Navy (first was a diver, then Master Chief and LCAC instructor by the end of his 26 yr career in 1999.) My question is, can I use one of these SCUBA tanks as air storage? They're tested at like 5000psi, so how much pressure do you think I could store with the AC compressor as my source?

Pretty interested in this as my $400 compressor was given away for free:spin1:
 
They will work just great but if you are using a regular compressor to fill them you can only put like 150 PSI in them. I would see about getting them filled to 3000 PSI with plain air.
 
If you plan to use anything over 200psi I would seriously think about getting them recertified.
 
I agree. I have my tanks certified regularly.

Now, I use air tanks like the FD guys use for their air packs. The yellow one is rated to 2500psi and the silver one is rated to 4500psi. I had them both recertified, found the gauges at a harbor freight store, put them all together and they work excellent. There's enough air in that one tank to last forever without refilling them. I can air ALL the way down (4 flat tires) then air all the way back up to 32psi in about 10 minutes. With that regulator on there I can easily run pneumatic tools on the trail for a good while. Obviously it isn't an unlimited air supply but it sure does last a WHILE. The hardest part is to make sure you get the fitting that screws onto the actual tank. Those fittings are near impossible to find separately.

Also, if you used the same style regulator that I used (0-200psi) make sure you use a different type of hose. That plastic coil hose doesn't stand up to 200psi for extended times very well and it'll sure scare the hell out of you when it blows. :)

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Thanks fro the replies. They haven't been used for the better part of 20+ years, so I would definitely not think about getting them filled without getting the inside polished, etc. I would rather just use it as a storage tank, considering I already have the OBA in the works with parts and stuff for the AC compressor. I would just really like to run air tools off it and fill my tires as well. Since I have the compressor, I can have it fill up whenever I want.

I would imagine I would have to drill and tap a hole for the supply and/or dispense? I would like to run permanant plumbing and not disco the fitting when i would want to use it. What do you guys think?
 
If you have a high pressure tank, why not use it as I high pressure tank. Using a standard air tank with 120psi in it I can only fill one tire. Then I have to refill it. It get's REALLY annoying. I don't have experience using the AC compressor but I know it's also REALLY annoying to try to run air tools off of an average 5 gallon tank. The air supply depletes and the compressor can't keep up.

It's not hard to find the regulator and a hose is cheap.
 
I had my compressor stored at my mom's house, and since she is moving, she gave it away to some dude for restitching armrests on her leather couch:mad:. I have been thinking about OBA for quite sometime.

My dad had left me like 6 SCUBA tanks from when he retired from the Navy (first was a diver, then Master Chief and LCAC instructor by the end of his 26 yr career in 1999.) My question is, can I use one of these SCUBA tanks as air storage? They're tested at like 5000psi, so how much pressure do you think I could store with the AC compressor as my source?

Pretty interested in this as my $400 compressor was given away for free:spin1:

An AC compressor will pump 400 psi and not know it. They are designed to work at those pressures. Belts might slip at that pressure though. You will have to come up with the rest of the system since you will need to have a pressure switch and pop off for safety sake. I have only seen them commonly available up to 200 psi
 
An AC compressor will pump 400 psi and not know it. They are designed to work at those pressures. Belts might slip at that pressure though. You will have to come up with the rest of the system since you will need to have a pressure switch and pop off for safety sake. I have only seen them commonly available up to 200 psi

Why would you want to run that high pressure on a pump?
 
I'm considering the same for a jeepster commando that i'm building. I doubt I'll use a scuba tank for a reservoir though, but I got a York AC pump that pumps out a whopping 10.6cfm. That's more than the shop upright in the garage. This is completely possible to do with what you have. Now the standard compressor of an XJ might not hack it for very long because they were designed to be oiled through the recirculation of the freon. The York compressor I have doesn't have that problem cause it has an oil sump in it.

http://coloradok5.com/york.shtml

Here's a good write up on how to do this right. Tank matter aside, this is the way to go to run everything you could possibly dream up to have on the trail with an absolutely UNLIMITED supply of air. I've spent a lot of time on this subject, and i've got all my ducks in a row. I just need to put it into action.
 
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:soapbox:

You guys are missing the AC pump part of the whole equation. He wants to have a complete onboard air system with compressor and all directly on the jeep. It's not just a high pressure tank that you have filled once in a while.
 
FYI- I will never have another air tank in my jeep when I go offroading...I rolled and totaled my last jeep and I had an airtank which became a flying projectile. I dont care how good you mount it, its just not a good idea. just my .02. Buy the HF pump for 50 bucks and be done with it. Pumps up my 33's in 2 minutes from 10 psi.
 
Your air tank when flying?
What pressure did you have it filled to. If you say 120psi then it was not even mounted. If done right they are fine.
 
when your tub of shit rolls 12 times, 2 times in mid air. Anything is possible. It was a nitrogen tank filled to couple hundred psi. Luckily it went out the side window I believe.
 
FYI- I will never have another air tank in my jeep when I go offroading...I rolled and totaled my last jeep and I had an airtank which became a flying projectile. I dont care how good you mount it, its just not a good idea. just my .02. Buy the HF pump for 50 bucks and be done with it. Pumps up my 33's in 2 minutes from 10 psi.
You should have mounted it better or mounted it at all for that matter.

What the hell were you doing that resulted in 12 rolls?

Air tanks are not THAT heavy, they weigh less than a motor, transmission, or transfer case. Don't tell me they cannot be mounted securely enough. You did it wrong.
 
What does something like this cost?

x2.

I do understand the volume of the as an issue also, especially when running air tools. I was thinking about plumbing two together, if that would even be worth it/possible.

My main question is what would be the maximum pressure I could store in the tank with a std AC compressor? I work for a plumbing supply company, I can source materials cheap and could find pretty much any pressure relief valve and shutoff switch.
 
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