Hi all,

I'm kitting my Defender out for the BIG TRIP across Africa in 7 months time and have been toying with the idea of fitting an onboard compressor to help with all manner of things....filling tyres especially!

I have a 300TDi engine, without air-con, and have thought about fitting an air-con compressor to the mounting point on the block as a pump which will then fill a reservoir.

Can anyone tell me if this is likely to work...or am I barking up the wrong tree totally!

Cheers in advance,

Ben

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www.bensouthall.com
www.bestlifeintheworld.com

www.overland.co.za/Alex_Aircon.html

complete guide to the process - his is more complex as he has and is keeping his air-con.
Gil

Hi. You can do what you want to do, but you have to put oil through the air con compressor, then take the oil out at the other end. There are 'oilers' you can buy to do this.
If you have the air con compressor and oiler, I will be able to supply you with all the other parts you'll need to make up your system. Take a look at Matt Savage - Home


Cheers,
Matt Savage

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www.mattsavage.com
VIAIR - 12 & 24 volt compressors and systems. Tyre levers, Land Rover parts, Sand Tracks, Allisport Intercoolers, Overland Prep, and much more...

You can avoid some of this if you manage to track down a York style compressor that has it's own internal lubrication.

Here are a couple of links to writeups on fitting on board air:
York air compressor
York Compressor for On-Board Air

If you hunt around on the web you can find companies (mainly in the states) that will sell fully refurbished/new York style compressors, e.g.: ::Kilby Enterprises::

Good Luck.

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Cheers,

Julian Voelcker
Overland Cruisers - Specialising in Land Cruiser preparation and servicing.

Thanks for all of the info from all parties, it seems that it is very possible to do with some subtle engineering to acheive it.

The report from overland.co.za is about as comprehensive as you get when it comes to retro-fitting such a system.

Matt - I will have to look into the oiler setup and get back to you about the remaining parts I'd need, my biggest concern is having a reservoir tank of a suitable size mounted somewhere on the chassis, originally I was going to use a fire extinguisher but AlexAircon's setup reported that this was too small to be of much use.....thinking cap back on then!

Thanks for you useful advice everybody

Ben

__________________
www.bensouthall.com
www.bestlifeintheworld.com

Hi. I've supplied a few engine mounted air compressor kits, £581 inc vat. 9cfm, pressure switch etc.

I`ll put them on my web site when I get a chance.
(pic here)
http://www.mattsavage.com/compressor

Cheers,
Matt

__________________
www.mattsavage.com
VIAIR - 12 & 24 volt compressors and systems. Tyre levers, Land Rover parts, Sand Tracks, Allisport Intercoolers, Overland Prep, and much more...

A small fire extinguisher would be fine. But I do have a few different sizes of tanks.

Cheers,
Matt

PS, you could run the air con compressor without an oiler. It won't last forever, but if you can get a cheap air con compressor it might last for as long as you need it.

__________________
www.mattsavage.com
VIAIR - 12 & 24 volt compressors and systems. Tyre levers, Land Rover parts, Sand Tracks, Allisport Intercoolers, Overland Prep, and much more...

a small 220V compressor with a 1000W inverter could also be an option, I used it last year and it's alright for an ocassional use for tyres, dust cleaning, etc.

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Mario T. - southing

I used an air-con pump on my 110 300tdi without a tank- it worked a treat for the tyres. I got a standard 300tdi air con pump. I then made brackets to mount this to the engine (the original casting was way too expensive) a new longer drive belt is required, along with a tensioner pulley & bracket and an idle pulley. IIRC the pulleys are about £30 ea, the bracket around £10 and I guess the belt £5.

By the time I got this far and despite getting the air-con pump for free I'd gone way over budget, so I made the inlet filter out of a 500ml gear oil bottle - the type with the long narrow spout -the spout being ideal to connect to the air hose that ran to the pump. I used some open cell foam for the filter (off-cuts of the mattress I used for a bed in the back of the 110). I over-oiled the foam with ATF, which provided the lubrication for the pump (this worked better than an air-line oiler I tried -they're designed for compression, not suction).

I ran a hose from the air-con outlet through a mini-filter (to catch the ATF) to an open male quick-release coupling and used the female (closed when disconnected) connector on a hose, long enough to reach all the wheels, with a tyre valve connector, with the trigger cable-tied open. Set up like this, the air path was always open, except when connected to a tyre. Tyres went up in seconds.

It worked a treat and lasted for a couple of months hard work pumping tyres (approx 80 tyres from 15psi to 50psi, 80 from 15psi to 30 psi, 10 from 0psi to 50psi and 5 from 0psi to 30psi) I then got home & ran it for 20 minutes non-stop to do some paint spraying and melted the compressor.

The system that these air-con pumps fit into don't just provide lubrication, they also cool the pump. If you're going to use it for more than a few minutes (I was re-inflating 8 tyres at a time on 2 110s) then it may run too hot. Note that the pistons in the pump have polymer o-rings. I guess the self-lubricating yorks are designed to be cooled by the air-con gas too.

My choice for the next big trip would be a compressor, without a tank, for tyres only from Matt Savage- I like using an air ratchet/impact wrench at home, but I can't afford the weight of a load of OTT tools, or even air-shake makers etc. on an expedition (especially when you consider you still have to have duplicate manual tools anyway). If you still intend to go down the air-con pump route & need the pulleys, belt & brackets for a 300TDi, then I'd be happy to offload mine to you for the cost of postage.

Mo matter what you use, don't forget a foot-pump as back up!

Hope this helps,

Ian

Ian,

45 quid for the whole works and still over the budget? Ian, you're a scrounge, admit it :-)

Yorks rely on lubrication achieved by splash and positive pressure and oil return through suction, so the medium doesn't make a difference. They are damn good and duty cycle doesn't seem to apply to them.

Mine can pump tyres and run power tools for as long as I need (a 20L air tank is a bit pathetic, though). I'll have to try harder to bring it anywhere near the melting point!

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Roman (UK)

Actually it adds up to £75 Roman -you missed a £30 pulley

I thought it unwise to spend much more money on testing a used air-con pump that could well have been removed due to a fault. I'm just paranoid!

A link to endless air compressors.
ENDLESS AIR

Regards
ivanll Au.