I just put new ceramic tile floors in 2 bathrooms in my daughters new house. Free of course, as a matter of fact it cost me some money. I also tiled my ex-wifes kitchen, got payed for that one and she bought me a small compressor to run my air guns for her and my daughters trim. It's only a 4 cfm 1/3 hp. 3 1/2 gal tank.
It was on sale for $40.00. Do you think it will be ok for airing up the bus? I planned on getting one to do that so I hope this one will be ok. I'm sure it will take forever but better than nothing. If it will work out I plan to put it in the rear passenger side engine compartment where I already have a hook up and will run electric back to it.
Ron, it would be best to keep it on all the time when parked so the poor little guy don't have to pump up the whole 20 gal system without a rest is my first thought. Second thought is it may not last long in full time service unless your bus holds air real well. I'd never move my bus with a system like that, I'd just get my compressor repaired. Habits being what they are when I get into a truck I always let it warm up before I drive it. By the time they are warmed up I either have air or out of service issues. The bus is about the same. The 6v92 is pretty clean, the 8V71, is what it is and I use the block heater to cut the smoke.
I don't have a problem with my compressor on my bus, I just want an aux for emergency or to pump up system when I don't want to run engine. It does take forever to fill the 3 1/2 gal tank so I know it would take a long time on the bus. I know my buddies Prevost had a small compressor in it but don't know cfm's or how much of the system it was hooked into. I know it would run when leveling the bus or operating the air powered pocket doors.
Ron, Give it a try and let us know how it does. I would like to do the same with my bus.
Laryn
Ron, It came from your exwife and I don't think you should even store it in your bus.
She makes a better ex-wife than she did a wife ;D She had a plumbing leak but she hired someone else to fix that, She said I could lay tile at her house but couldn't lay pipe ;D Really she's a good woman and she's going in the morning (5am) to get another surgery on her shoulder so I will go stay with her for a few days or a week to help her out.
Ron,
I don't know how long the little compressor will last since it is an oiless model. I had a Porter-Cable that I used for a few years and it held up pretty well, but that could have just been luck.
My new compressor is one from Advance Auto - 2HP, 4 gallon capacity, oil sump. It does a really good job of airing my bus up and will also run my 1/2" impact long enough to get 2 lugnuts off the bus before having to let it catch up.
We paid $88 last year, I hope it lasts as long as the P-C did.
Also:
I miss my exwife ;)
But my aim is getting MUCH better! ;D ;D
Don't put it in the engine compartment. It's probably oil-less, and the moisture will cause the piston to rust and seize. BTDT.
You might consider using a bigger compressor that is more like 1.5-2hp, or one that can work on a 20 amp circut. Then you'll build up pressure faster and actually have a compressor you can use for impact, air ratchet, spray gun, etc if the need arises. Good Luck, TomC
Ron I'd say if you traded yer ex-wife for any air compresser, you got a pretty good deal! Coulda been a little better I know a guy who got a Pick up truck for his ex! BK ;D
Check to see what the max air pressure is. Some of the smaller ones won't go much higher than 100 lbs, and you need more (like 150lbs) to get the air moving fast enough to make a difference in that big bus tire.
I bought a harbor fright model that was similar to yours that would not add any air to the bus tires. I bought a Sears with similar specs, much more expensive, but I'm very happy with it. It does the job nicely. Although I don't think I would try to use it to pump up the bus air tanks, too small, too light duty.
SINCE U GOT IT, USE IT. Then see how well it works in your situation for your needs. If it craps itself, you will have a better idea of what to replace it with.
U must be one hell of a good guy to still be on such good terms with an ex.
We've been divorced 25 years and I stay at her house some times when I'm in town for a couple weeks at a time and it's just like when we were married, I do the yard work and house repairs and she bitches at me the whole time I'm there and demands money then I have to go to her sisters house to get laid. It's just like when we were married ;D
See?? That's why I never miss a day reading this BB. I'm afraid I'll miss something...you just never know what's gonna come up next! (I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to buy my own compressor...
Here is a compressor I am thinking about using in my bus. It is home made and since I already have it the price is right. The tank and compressor are salvaged from an old truck. Who knows where the motor came from. I have seen an air compressor built out of an old automotive A/C compressor. The man hooked two up, one on each side of a motor similar to the one I have. I know it worked, but I have no idea how many cfm an A/C compressor puts out.
Barn Owl - I have used the same setup in my shop before I could afford a store-bought compressor. They work fine but are somewhat inefficient since they are made to work at different pressure gradient. If you are going to use yours only in the bus, you may consider taking the tank off & just pipe the compressor directly into the bus tanks to save space. I did that on my truck with a similar setup. Make sure to use a check valve so the bus air doesn't leak back thru the auxiliary compressor when the auxiliary is not being used.
Tom,
Thanks for the input. Could you go into more detail about "They work fine but are somewhat inefficient since they are made to work at different pressure gradient". I could use an education on it.
Thanks,
Laryn
Laryn,
I have a friend that says "I've already told you MORE than I know about it now!" ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
That's almost where I am! ;D
I do know that the A/C compressors are designed to work from about 30psi to about 300psi so the pressure differential is about 270 psi. To do that, some of them are 2 stage and some of them use a very long stroke to get from 30 to 300. A regular single stage air compressor usually works from 0psi to about 125psi so the differential is about 125psi. The result of the design is you will get more air VOLUME from a regular air compressor assuming the same amount of energy input. You will get more PRESSURE from the A/C compressor. In our case, any pressure over about 150 will be wasted.
In the case of using an A/C compressor to pump up your air tanks, you are probably not worried about the amount of time it takes to air up the bus. You would notice a difference if you were using an air tool. Of course, you can always start the bus & use BOTH compressors if you were changing a tire roadside.
Hope that helps.
Now, don't you REAL engineers bust my chops over my maybe not quite accurate descriptions here!. Just because I use NeverSieze in ALL my compressors and nuts are not falling off........................ ;D ;D ;D
Tom,
The compressor I have is a single stage air compressor off of an old truck I think. So that would be OK, right? I see what you are saying about the use of two stage compressors.
Laryn
Laryn,
Sure! I misunderstood. I thought you had an old A/C compressor. I wonder how many more times I can stick my foot in my mouth?!
BTW, an A/C compressor WILL work also.