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Equipping the Overland Vehicle Vehicle accessories - Making your home away from home comfortable, safe and reliable.
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  #1  
Old 29 Jun 2002
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Grand Erg in Milan makes them

info@granderg.com

www.granderg.com

Ch
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  #2  
Old 29 Jun 2002
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Re the CO2 bottles:
It's nice to be able to fill up a CO2 bottle almost anywhere in the world but don't count on Holland (admittedly not the destination of choice for users of this forum). I called around to check out the availability of CO2.
A specialised welding shop told me they could get me a 2nd hand bottle at approx. 100 eur but getting it filled with CO2 would be a bit of a hassle as these days a mixture of Argon and some other gas is used for welding. This was confirmed to me by the garage.
The welding shop also told me that nitrogen is the gas actually being used for pressurising tyres these days.
I guess a CO2 bottle is nice and handy for weekend trips but not as reliable as having your own compressor.
cheers,
Camiel
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  #3  
Old 29 Jun 2002
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Love this thread! An RAC patrolman recently recommended Porsche compressors to me. Apparently modern Porsches have a spare tyre packed flat to save space. The toolkit contains a compressor to inflate it. That's all I know.
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  #4  
Old 7 Jul 2002
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Has anyone heard of or have a compressor from VIAIR? I found them at the 'Offroad 24' store , along with airtanks etc...

http://www.offroad24.de/offroad24_b2C_pfund/index.html

Have a look, it's not cheap, but if you can't be arsed with a dozen trip to the breakers yard then it could be interesting.

Baldrick.
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  #5  
Old 15 Jul 2002
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Baldrick,
I noticed that Daerrs now offer the VIAIR compressors as well. Compared to ARB's offering they're actually cheaper.

In their catalogue, Daerr state that the 12 volt VIAIR compressors can easily be run off a 24V vehicle by putting the clamps on one of the two 12V batteries. In theory this should work obviously but I've always been told that this ruins your batteries. Has anyone got experience with this?

cheers,
Camiel
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  #6  
Old 16 Jul 2002
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I've done it a handfull of time and got away with it with no problems as long as the engine is running. What's the argument here, why would the batteries go bad?

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  #7  
Old 16 Jul 2002
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I'm no expert, but I think that charging two 12 volt batteries from a 24v source requires the batteries to be of similar capacaties and output rating, that the charge is equally split between the two. Any imbalance would cause one battery to recieve a higher and possibly damaging charge, and theoretically a large enough compressor could cause this imbalance.

I'm no electrical engineer so my theory could be complete rubbish:- Any thoughts?
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Old 16 Jul 2002
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I am no engineer either so I checked with the garage. They basically confirmed what Baldrick is saying. While it is not too harmful to occasionally tap 12V from a 24V system, it does wear out the battery in the long run.

Camiel
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  #9  
Old 18 Jul 2002
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Another option, which might be cheaper for some (though not cheaper than buying used stuff out of the junk yard)--

I bought a 12v compressor, in the US but I think the company is australian. It's called "big red" but it is made by one of the main compressor manufacturers, thomas I think. So I bolted it into the rear of the jeep, ran wires, switch, relay, etc forward to the battery, and everything works great. Add a 25' coil hose and it will pump up all the tires in a few minutes. Not as fast as an engine-driven compressor, and no running of air tools, but installing it was nice and easy, and it supplies enough air for my needs. There are a bunch of companies offering similar products if you don't want to go looking through the junk yards...

(And if you do like junkyards, I am told that older cadillacs had air-controlled suspensions, with nice strong air compressors.)
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  #10  
Old 25 Jul 2002
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Just curious, does this thread win the “Most Posts” award?

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  #11  
Old 25 Jul 2002
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I couldn't help but notice that this subject has gone crazy with replys!! Good one Sam! I'm sure Chris Scott will give you a free tee shirt. Although it might be one of his old ones!!

Regarding these compressors, the one I now get is 1.7 cfm (about 48 lpm). These are made by VIAIR, and I sell it with a 50 ft (15m) hose and tyre inflator. Have a look at my web site. www.mattsavage.co.uk

We've just returned from the Land Rover show at Billing. I took 10 of these compressor kits with me expecting to sell maybe 4 or 5 over the three day show. We sold them ALL on the first day!

Cheers,
Matt Savage
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  #12  
Old 30 Jul 2002
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Those people with aircon (ie engine-driven) compressors:

How is the pump turned off and on? I'm just thinking about how much power an aircon unit saps from an engine. If it's belt-driven, how do you turn it off when you're driving?

sorry if this is a stupid question!
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  #13  
Old 30 Jul 2002
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The York compressor comes with a magnetic clutch controled by an electric switch. This allows the pump to freewheel when not in use, so power consumption is minimal.

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  #14  
Old 30 Jul 2002
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The setup works just like Roman explained above. If you have a tank, then you must install a pressure switch to the tank and hook both it’s pole to one of the switch wires. The switch will turn cut electricity when the tank is full no matter the position of the switch itself. And will turn it on when the tank is empty but the compressor clutch will engage and run the compressor only if the switch is on.

I can dig up a wiring diagram if it would help.

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  #15  
Old 30 Aug 2002
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After starting this thread, I figure I may as well tell the end of the story.

I bought a "Grand Erg", with high expectations (given it's impressive cost). It never worked properly from the first moment - see my note approx mid Sept.

I have been told that I will have to pay a further €102 (over £60)(plus postage to Italy) to have it put into working order.

This is not the level of service you should expect for something that costs over £400. I cannot advise anyone to buy this unit - mine didn't work, and now I'm expected to pay more to rectify a factory-original fault.

Just thought I should let you know!

Sam.
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