MV50 12volt Air Compressor - to Tank, or not to Tank??

[robcarync]

First off...Kudos to Oz_X for a killer write up on rigging up the MV50 compressor...that is kind of the direction I am thinking I am going.

http://www.xterranation.org/showthread.php?843-Got-OBA-On-Board-Air&p=14901&viewfull=1#post14901

My birthday was Nov 2 (YAY FOR ME), and one of the great gifts I got was the same MV50 compressor that I have wanted for a while now...



I have a 2 gallon Coleman air tank, already rigged up with fittings and pressure switch etc. It was from an older air compressor and the compressor went out. I am debating on whether it is worth it to use the tank, or to just run the compressor.




From what I have researched and did some fuzzy math, inflating 33" tires will basically empty out the tank partially through the first tire, and after that I would be running off the compressor anyway. Whatever air I used from the tank initially, the compressor would have to keep running to re-fill the tank after tires are done, so the air compressor doesn't "work" less. I travel with a cordless impact wrench, so running air tools isn't a huge need for me, especially given the limitations of only a 2 gallon tank.

Of course, the other side of me thinks...I have it already, so I might as well use it....or maybe there are other benefits of running an air tank that I am not thinking of?

So question being: What would you do? Tank, or not to tank?

 

[metzican]

Two reasons to run a tank, You can use the air to blow off parts and ect if needed, or to run a locker. I know you know this but unless you get a high end compressor you will not run air tools. With the tire inflation thing it is kinda a wash. I use to have 2 5gal tanks and now I have 1 and to be honest it is my backup system to my co2 tank so I would like to go down to a smaller tank but I don't want to buy anything. I would also like to put a auxiliary gas tank back there but that is a lot of custom work.

 

[granitex]

If all that you are going to do is inflate tires it seems like a lot of work with no real gain. But that is just me.

 

[robcarync]

Good points. I hadn't thought about the blowing compressed air to clean things off. I have no plans to get an air locker, so that is kind of a moot point. In all honesty, probably 85% of the time, the compressor will be OFF and not doing anything. 13%, it will be simply for inflating tires. 2% of the time I may wish I had an air gun to blow things off, etc.

Given that logic, I may as well not even do a hard install and just keep it in the pouch in the hatch...but that is just less fun.

Really sounds like the tank will just add complexity, take up space, and likely cost more to get it rigged up with a couple extra fittings....and won't really provide me with much benefit.

Still...just hard to pass up using something that you already have...

Thanks for the input guys...I was hoping someone would talk me out of making this more difficult than it needs to be

 

[Intender]

I have the same pump and its pretty good. I found a write up online somewhere on how to port it and did it to mine. my inlet side was fine, but my outlet side was a tiny roughly cut hole. I can say after porting it it will fill a tire maybe 20 or 30 seconds faster, but it runs a lot cooler than it did before. and most of the info out there says you need to change out the barb to use standard quick connect hoses, but mine works with all the air hoses I have tried so far.

As for the air tank, its a pretty small tank. it could come in handy on some rare occasions, like trying to break one really stubborn nut loose with an air wrench on the trail or something.

 

[robcarync]

I have the same pump and its pretty good. I found a write up online somewhere on how to port it and did it to mine. my inlet side was fine, but my outlet side was a tiny roughly cut hole. I can say after porting it it will fill a tire maybe 20 or 30 seconds faster, but it runs a lot cooler than it did before. and most of the info out there says you need to change out the barb to use standard quick connect hoses, but mine works with all the air hoses I have tried so far.

As for the air tank, its a pretty small tank. it could come in handy on some rare occasions, like trying to break one really stubborn nut loose with an air wrench on the trail or something.

Good call on the porting. Hadn't thought about that, but looks to be very easy and painless.

Did you hard wire/mount your compressor, or do you just keep the compressor in the pouch?

I am thinking I will not bother with the tank and just focus on a good location to install or store it.

 

[Intender]

its hard wired and mounted in the back hatch area. for the wiring I already had a power wire pulled to the back for my amp, and I just bought a distribution block and hooked up the compressor to it, and gounded it with the amp as well. I cant remember if its 8 guague or 4 gauge in my truck, but either way it was plenty enough for a compressor. mine is mounted near the hatch tucked into the spot between it and the wheel well hump as much as possible. It was a little to big to fit all the way in there so it was completely out of the way.

I really like the pump and I am torn as to whether I want to go through the trouble of ripping it out now to install the viair pump that came with my ARB locker or not. I know the viair is a faster pump with 100% duty cycle but this little thing does the job pretty well, and its already hardwired in and installed. I may just leave it there until it dies and keep the viair as a backup.

 

[robcarync]

its hard wired and mounted in the back hatch area. for the wiring I already had a power wire pulled to the back for my amp, and I just bought a distribution block and hooked up the compressor to it, and gounded it with the amp as well. I cant remember if its 8 guague or 4 gauge in my truck, but either way it was plenty enough for a compressor. mine is mounted near the hatch tucked into the spot between it and the wheel well hump as much as possible. It was a little to big to fit all the way in there so it was completely out of the way.

I really like the pump and I am torn as to whether I want to go through the trouble of ripping it out now to install the viair pump that came with my ARB locker or not. I know the viair is a faster pump with 100% duty cycle but this little thing does the job pretty well, and its already hardwired in and installed. I may just leave it there until it dies and keep the viair as a backup.

That is basically what I was thinking about. I thought it would be cool to mount it on the winch plate for my bumper, or in the engine bay, and have a hard wired air fitting...but I just don't trust it in the dirt, dust, sand, water, etc. Not so much that I don't trust it...but I just don't want to expose it to that kind of environment. That is why I was thinking of hard wiring and mounting it in the hatch somewhere.

I don't have a sub/amp...but if I am running wires to the hatch area, I may as well pre-wire my hatch to pick up a sub later on right? If I am running things to the hatch, I may as well design up a rear storage cabinet or shelf, right?

...and so on...but at least I am keeping it simple by dropping the tank from the plans...

 

[TJTJ]

What the tanks adds, tire-wise, is the ability to re-set a blown bead, which your compressor alone could not.

The mv50 is not exactly fast to fill tires, compared to some others out there, so the tank giving a head start is appreciated when squatting in the rain for a long time waiting for enough psi to drive home....it does add up.

You don't have to hard mount btw, you could leave it portable. This is handy if someone ELSE'S bead is blown ahead of you on a trail, etc.

 

[J Everett]

I'm with TJ on this. The tank and compressor combo is a lot more versatile if it's man portable. An then you don't have to have it taking up space in the back of the X when you don't need it.

 

[slantyshanty]

I have that compressor and tank hard wired/mounted in my X. Also, a "T" junction and 1 hose running to the front bumper and 1 to the rear, with quick connect/disconnect fittings mounted. Love not having to get the compressor out, popping the hood, connecting, connecting the hose, stretching to whatever tire (on my X or someone else's vehicle) blah blah blah. I flip a switch, grab my hose, and connect to bumper. Done. Yes it takes a while, nothing you can do about that without spending big bucks. But think about the wasted air/time while you are disconnecting the hose, moving to the next tire, connecting the hose... My compressor is running that whole time so as soon as I hook up to the next tire it catches back up. Plus, it's awesome to see people's faces when I connect a hose to a bumper and go. It's like they never seen such a thing before and mind blown.

I bought the compressor on sale and 1 or 2 of the fittings, the rest I found or made out of spare parts. Total, I think my whole OBA system cost me around $40.00. Are there better working systems? Absolutely. Are there better systems for $40.00? If so, let me know and I will switch to that today!

 

[TJTJ]

I have nothing on the 2004 yet, but the set-up on my 2001 was pretty sweet.

I personally like the bumper QD set-up, as that's the least effort to run on a regular basis, and, I have many hundreds of feet of air hose if needed to reach up the trail, etc. My pump is fairly large and heavy though, so, it was better, for me, to mount it under the hood and run it off a manifold to allow tank filling, air tools, tire filling, bead re-setting, air-lockers, air-horns, etc.

If I had a small compressor, such as the MV50, etc...which I used to use before the OBA, for decades actually, until I got tired of crouching for so long filling tires and manned up to a real system.

:tunes:

 

[robcarync]

I am still kinda torn, but I always appreciate the conversation to get others inputs. The hard-wired install with air hoses hidden in bumpers just has the "cool factor" and would be more fun to do. Man portable is easier and cheaper. The tank already has gauges and fittings and the pressure switch... It just seems too convenient to not use.

 

[TJTJ]

I am still kinda torn, but I always appreciate the conversation to get others inputs. The hard-wired install with air hoses hidden in bumpers just has the "cool factor" and would be more fun to do. Man portable is easier and cheaper. The tank already has gauges and fittings and the pressure switch... It just seems too convenient to not use.

If it were me, for THAT set-up you have, I'd leave it portable.

If you want BOTH, just make a mount for it with a QD and plug it into the QD for OBA, and unplug it for portable.

:kewl:

 

[KBC]

Do you set up camp in the rain much? Show up in the rain and set up your tarp over the picnic table and blow it dry after it's covered. Then you have a dry place to set your gear. Hard to do without a tank.

 

[TJTJ]

Do you set up camp in the rain much? Show up in the rain and set up your tarp over the picnic table and blow it dry after it's covered. Then you have a dry place to set your gear. Hard to do without a tank.

Aw pisshaw...you can also just grab a land rover guy and wipe off the table with him, as his microfiber outerwear is archetypically quite absorbent.

:kewl:

 

[KBC]

lol