Friday, Dec 13, 2002 at 01:00
Adam, stop it! the head swell is killing me LOL!
Having said that, I do know a bit about compressors. Obviously an A/C compressor is the best if you can get one mounted. It is a bitch of a job and very fiddly. I most definitely do not recommend Endless Air as I have a very close friend that fitted one and I was there for the disaster.
He had to butcher his lifting rings to gain access and when he eventually fitted it, to gain access to his fan belts was a MAJOR JOB. The alignment left a great deal to be desired and to top it off, one of the brackets
broke within 2 weeks.
Now to 12 Volt compressors. I have had a Blue Tongue and now an ARB.
I do not subscribe to the common theory that you can get away with a cheaper brand by buying from
places other than 4WD out lets. In this case I firmly believe that you only get what you pay for. If you want longevity in a compressor, pay the price. If you don't mind replacing it regularly and have the patience to sit and wait, then go cheaper.
Having said that, the cheaper ones compared to the dearer ones to blow from 15psi to 30psi is not all that great I would say not much more than 5 minutes.
What I think you really have to ask yourself and here is think to the future. What will I be asking my compressor to do in say 3-4 years down the track.
I had a Blue Tongue and it served me
well and I would recommend it to any one if that was all that he wanted to do, blow up tyres.
Why? Because it is open and fan cooled and it will ruin all day without over heating and cutting out. It's strength is also it's weakness. Dust and dirt can get in so it must but kept in a clean environment, either in a metal box that you cart around or mounted inside the cab.
I now run an ARB because I need it to work my Diff locker. I could have used the Blue Tongue but then I would have to mount a Cylinder to store the air, plus make a few more modifications. It just was not worth the effort. The ARB can be used to blow up tyres without any problems at all, except that it will over heat and cut out after about 6-8 tyres. It is however fully sealed and can be mounted anywhere.
Both very good and recommended.
Having said that, I have a Troopie and have an A/C compressor mounted in a fashion which I copied from another club member.
It was an absolutely mongrel of a job building the mounts but now that it is mounted, I am over the moon.
Long winded answer isn't it. But now here is you answer.
I also have split rims and thereby is you strength. Most any compressor, including your mentioned Big Red (falls into the ARB class) will do the job very satisfactorily. Where problems would be encountered would be if you had tubeless tyres, (can't be fitted to split rims). However that can even be overcome by wrapping a strap or rope around the circumference of the tyre, and then twisting or tensioning the device forcing the bead onto the rim and then just waiting until you have enough air in it to pop it.
In this situation I would strongly advocate that the tyre/wheel was off the vehicle so that you can apply even pressure all around the tyre as opposed to the weight of the vehicle weighing down on the bottom of the tyre.
An there you have it. Who said that I could not write a novel? :-)
Regards
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