Replacing portable compressor

[Ocean_Ranger]

I have decided to replace my portable air compressor. It is pretty slow and only a has a 33% duty cycle.

I have 33” tires. I am looking at either the twin ARB (onboard) or a Power Tank. For speed and reliability, the Power Tank wins. Clearly the downside is that it has to be refilled.

I have mixed feelings about the reliability of the ARB mounted under the hood, it that is the best spot on my T4R.

Does anyone have experience and advice with these two solutions?

 

[Ubiety]

I have a single ARB mounted under the hood and was a bit worried because it gets toasty from engine heat alone. It has held up well and airs up my 35s as fast as anybody that I am with and they usually have smaller tires. Very happy with it.

 

[lhoffm4]

I had an 86 bronco a few years back that I had an air tank mounted under the chassis, next to the gas tank. The compressor was under the hood with lines going to the tank and a gauge/switch under the dash in the cab. I had air chucks mounted just inside the driver and passenger doors. It worked great! No issues of heat bothering it or the air lines. Could switch it on/off from the cab. Ran off an aux battery with an isolator so it would charge independently from the starting battery. Old Broncos had lots of room in the engine compartment. Tank hid next to fuel tank so was protected by it's shield. I miss that old Bronco...

 

[AT71]

I have decided to replace my portable air compressor. It is pretty slow and only a has a 33% duty cycle.

I have 33” tires. I am looking at either the twin ARB (onboard) or a Power Tank. For speed and reliability, the Power Tank wins. Clearly the downside is that it has to be refilled.

I have mixed feelings about the reliability of the ARB mounted under the hood, it that is the best spot on my T4R.

Does anyone have experience and advice with these two solutions?

I have a Superflow MV-89G twin cylinder compressor/ not fancy but it just works & it's fast. I don't have it mounted but eventually will mount it in the rear of my Grand Cherokee. good luck in whatever you choose

 

[smritte]

I am looking at either the twin ARB (onboard) or a Power Tank.

I never liked my compressor under the hood but most people run them there without issue. Even though I don't run an ARB, most of my friends do. Over the years ARB has proven reliable under the hood. I run a Viair 400 (I think) mounted inside behind a panel. The one I currently have is over ten years old and has been flawless. If it ever burns out, I will replace it with an ARB mostly due to the ARB shape.

As much as I also like power tanks, they take up too much room for me and none of the shops near me will fill one. I have watched people use those for years. I also prefer nitrogen to CO2. The original power tanks were nitrogen but over the years, most of the welding shops stopped filling nitrogen and went to a "swap" only. Your nice shiney aluminum power tank is now replaced with a nasty painted steel one. A couple of the shops in my area will fill CO2 but after Covid, I would have to find one because the two local ones wont fill your tank anymore, just exchange it. Someone had suggested a party rental store to refill but the three near me wont.

 

[OTH Overland]

Like the idea of a power tank, would be fine for local trips where I know I can fill it easily, but here lots of storys of it hard to find fill locations on trips. I also use compressed air to blow dust of my rig before opening up the rear doors and hatch when I get to a lunch spot or camp. I have a portable ARB single for our WJ (will mount it permantly in the spare tire space once I get around to building a tire carrier. It works great, except for a pia to get it out, hook it up to the battery every time, then it gets super hot during use so I have to set it the back of rig open till it cools before packing back up, permanent mount will fix that. On the Ram I have a waterproof Viair mounted under the cab with a 5 gallon air tank which runs my air bags, and is plumbed to a quick connect in the bed. has been in use for five years so far with no issues. On the JK build we just installed a ARB twin, installed it inside on the side of my drawer system with quick connects to just inside each rear door with two hoses to reduce air up times, have yet to see how well this works. I am always surprised how often the built in air systems get used and will allways have one on whatever rigs I have. The easier and faster air down/up gets the more often I am likely to do it on the shorter trails.

 

[Ubiety]

I also use compressed air to blow dust of my rig before opening up the rear doors and hatch when I get to a lunch spot or camp.
I am always surprised how often the built in air systems get used and will allways have one on whatever rigs I have. The easier and faster air down/up gets the more often I am likely to do it on the shorter trails.

I keep meaning to get an air blower attachment for my truck's compressor; suppose I could grab the one in the shop to see how it works... I usually carry a leaf blower if I am going to be in a high dust environment; doubles as a fire starter helper. And I completely agree with your comment on built in air compressor, I will never go back.

 

[smritte]

Like the idea of a power tank, would be fine for local trips where I know I can fill it easily, but here lots of storys of it hard to find fill locations on trips.

30 years ago, all the major welding shops near me would fill nitrogen, CO2 and helium. Now none of them near me will. Make me wonder if it is easier/cheaper/less hassle to just exchange.

I am always surprised how often the built in air systems get used and will always have one on whatever rigs I have. The easier and faster air down/up gets the more often I am likely to do it on the shorter trails.

And I completely agree with your comment on built in air compressor, I will never go back.

I carried my Viair in an ammo can forever. It out lived two of my Jeeps and now that its permanent in my Cruiser I sort of wish I did that sooner. Way easier to just hit a switch and plug in an air hose.
One day "IF" I build out my Tacoma, I will most likely mount an ARB in it. The overall shape is easier to find a spot for.

 

[OTH Overland]

I keep meaning to get an air blower attachment for my truck's compressor; suppose I could grab the one in the shop to see how it works... I usually carry a leaf blower if I am going to be in a high dust environment; doubles as a fire starter helper. And I completely agree with your comment on built in air compressor, I will never go back.

With the single ARB I get short burst of enough air to move dust, CFM is not enough for continuous blowing. Going to install a small 1 Gal tank inline when I mount it permantly that will give me plenty for an airgun. Will find out this weekend when I test the ARB Twin on the JK how well it blows....lol

 

[Ubiety]

With the single ARB I get short burst of enough air to move dust, CFM is not enough for continuous blowing. Going to install a small 1 Gal tank inline when I mount it permantly that will give me plenty for an airgun. Will find out this weekend when I test the ARB Twin on the JK how well it blows....lol

Let me know how the double works with air nozzle. I have the single.

 

[OTH Overland]

Let me know how the double works with air nozzle. I have the single.

Well the WABDR provided a sufficient amount of dust to test out the new ARB twin and a blow gun, big improvment over the single, but still would benifit from a small 1 gallon tank, both for blowing off the rear of the Jeep prior to setting up camp, and for improved performance when blowing out air filters. Totally impressed on improvement on inflating the tires. Have the compressor set up inside the rig, with air lines plumbed to each rear door. with an air hose on each side, and not dealing with the hooking up the portable unit, I figure I saved 70 percent timewise and a lot less messing around.

 

[shansonpac]

I did a DIY "powertank" with parts from Amazon. 20 pound system. pressure reduction, quick connects, 25' hose, blow gun for dust, tire fill, all for far less than half the cost of an equivalent Powertank system. I did break down and buy the roll bar mount from Powertank as it is just the coolest solution for mounting the CO2 cylinder up and out of the way. The tank lasts a long time, because after attending the Overland Expo session on tire pressures, I don't air down as much (PSI) as I used too as one size does not fit all. The tare weight is stamped right on the cylinder, and I weigh it every time I go out so I know exactly how much CO2 I have. No moving parts. Nothing to overheat (it does get REALLY cold). You can run air tools with this setup if you are so inclined. Easy to fill in my neck of the woods.

i

 

[North American Sojourner]

I had a smittybuilt compressor and a 2.5 gal tank that worked great on the Toyota. I have switched it to the F250 now and got rid of the tank because of space.
Still a good compressor.
Zim