ARB Air Compressors

Submitted: Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:23
ThreadID: 40924 Views:7768 Replies:9 FollowUps:7
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Greetings all and a happy new year!
I havnt been on too much so the following question im sure has allready been asked!

Myself and a mate have both just purchased ARB's "RDCKA" Air Compressor and "PUKT" hose kit.

Mine has mounted beautifully in front of the batteries of my Troopie, and his has been mounted in the rear of his Surf.
At this stage i have only pumped up small tyres etc around the house....Wheelbarrow tyres etc, and havent pumped any of my vehicle tyres to this stage.
My buddie on the other hand has pumped his double air matress up and was not overly pleased with its performance, seems it took approx 20 mins to inflate from empty!

So i ask you all, do you have/use this comp and how long should i expect a LT235/85R16 on my Troopie or 31x10.50R15 on my mates Surf to inflate from flat?

Thanx. :)

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Reply By: Kev M (NSW) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:29

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:29
From memory to reseat the bead and to inflate to around 35PSI on my 31x10.5R15 BFG AT it takes about 5 mins there abouts. I have never really timed the inflation as I'm never in that much of a hurry. If I'm with others that are impatient then so be it.

Cheers Kev
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Reply By: Member - Boo Boo (NSW) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:32

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:32
troopmaster

I'm not sure but I recall years ago that I tried to do the same with a compressor, got the same result ie it took ages to inflate a blow up matress.

Later I was told that some compressors are not suitable for air matress's and others are. Hopefully one of the more learned explorers may be able to help out and agree, or not. Regards Bob
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Reply By: Member - Matt M (ACT) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:38

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:38
The thing to remember is that compressors of this type were never designed to blow up air matresses, etc because they pump low volume/high pressure. I have the RDCKA compressor fitted with my Lokka and have had no problems with tyres (285/75/16) with a couple of munites from 16 psi to 40psi per tyre. The ARB compressors aren't the quickest around (several Blue Tongue owners reckon they are great), but unless you are using them for competition stuff, it doesn't really matter too much.

As for the air mattress, buy a cheapy from a camping store which will be much faster as they are high volume/low pressure.

Matt
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Follow Up By: Member - Banjo (WA) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:38

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:38
Matt is right. I pumped a double air mattress up the other day with the cheap Coleman type ie high volume - low pressure, in about 2 minutes.

The low volume - high pressure of the ARB pump is the right choice for tyres, while the other is the best for mattresses, inflatable toys etc.

Banjo (WA)
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Follow Up By: Member - Matt M (ACT) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:09

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:09
What kind of inflatable toys????
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Follow Up By: Pajman Pete (SA) - Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 11:25

Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 11:25
Hey Matt - you made it back!

How is getting back to work after 6 months on th etrack?

Cheers

Pete
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Follow Up By: Member - Coyote (SA) - Monday, Jan 08, 2007 at 09:15

Monday, Jan 08, 2007 at 09:15
Right on.. the ARB compressors are for low volume high pressure (tryes and lockers).. you can buy a coleman12v pump that plugs into your cigarette lighter for about $20 at any camping shop.. it fills and deflates my air matress in minutes..
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Reply By: srowlandson - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:48

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:48
the ARB compressor is the best for lockers, not bad for tyres, but hopeless for air matteresses. As others have said, buy a coleman pump, $20, it will get an air matteress up in about 2 mins.

Make sure you give the compressor an annual service and change the seals / filter every 24 months, and it will never let you down.

A small air tank and a tyre inflator that stops (like an Air Chuck) in between tyres can speed the process up. I used a 9 Litre water fire extinghuisher on my Prado with the ARB Compressor and made my own tyre inflator



i also made a hose that went from the spare to the rear tyres to 'equalise' them and give the compressor a head start. Spare would sit comfortable at around 55-60psi (it placarded maximum)





Steve
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Reply By: troopmaster - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:44

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:44
Thanx to all who replied!!

My question anwsered, looks like ill keep the Kmart special compressor for the matress!!

Cheers! :)
AnswerID: 213619

Reply By: Crackles - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:26

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:26
The ARB compressor is a good quality unit but fairly ordinary at pumping up tyres & air mats. Despite an inflation kit being available they are no really suited to that purpose IMHO, particually for large size tyres. Some of the inflation time estimates above are fairly generous. In reality an ARB compressor would struggle to reseat a bead at all and from my observations take around 5 to 8 minutes per tyre to inflate from 15 to 40 PSI (1/2 an hour). Now this for many is more than acceptable but if you are one that likes to adjust preasures regually a higher capacity unit may be advantagous.
Cheers Craig...............
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncs - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 18:45

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 18:45
Crackles,

I have succesfuly reseated the bead on my tyres using an ARB Compressor. I have made up my own pump up kit using high pressure hose and good quality high flow rate fittings. My hose is long and this adds to the resvoir size and the high flow fittings get the air through nice and quick, plenty of the wifes dishwashing liquid and all is good.

To re-inflate tyres it takes me 3 min from 20psi to 32psi. I cna drive on 32 for a good while without any problems, at least until Ieither get home to the big 240 volt jobbie or to the nearest servo where for the price of a couple of icecreams I finish the job using the nice big compressor they supply. If I am a long way from 240v power and want the tyres to 40psi I will do it while in camp that night. It only takes another 3 min per tyre.

Duncs
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Reply By: Darian (SA) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 18:04

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 18:04
Hell and tarnation - you blokes want a compressor to fit every possible situation ? :-0) .... as mentioned above, the ARB is designed for small volume work (tiny piston) and higher pressures - for mattresses and pool toys etc you need one of those Caribee manually operated camping pumps - huge piston - low pressure work.
AnswerID: 213672

Reply By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 10:36

Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 10:36
You can't be serious ....as McEnroe would say to expect that pump to perform as fast as the RDCPA ARB pump RDCKA was designed to activate diff locks, .check the website
The RDCKA is a vehicle mounted compressor originally designed to activate Air Locker diff locks. When equipped with hose and fittings, this model can also be used for inflation.
Another way is to carry some extra air in your spares and have a connecting air hose but read the tyre manufacturers maximum pressure and don't exceed it

www.outback4wd.com.au/outback_4wd_067.htm
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 10:42

Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 10:42
I wonder how long an ARB compressor would take to inflate one of the tyres on the vehicle next to mine
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Follow Up By: troopmaster - Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 11:03

Sunday, Jan 07, 2007 at 11:03
Hi Doug. :)

Just for interest, (as told by ARB salesman), the difference between the RDCKA and the RDCPA is simply the wiring......the supplied wiring for the RDCKA is more heavier duty, (apparently). :)
Oh......and the plastic box of course ;)

(just for interest), i have just inflated one of my Cooper Discoverer S/T LT235/85R16 on my Troopie from 18psi to 50psi in approx 7 minutes.

The specs i have for both the above mentioned compressors are pretty well identical, apart from unit weight and load protection in the wiring, (specs i have are from the 2007 ARB Catalog).

Doug, im not having a "dig" here toward you, i put a fair amount of consideration into the product in which i bought, and am happy. :)

Enjoy!!
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Reply By: Member - Bradley- Thursday, Jan 18, 2007 at 01:39

Thursday, Jan 18, 2007 at 01:39
as above re- low vol / high press....

as for air beds etc. yep the kmart $ 12 approx hair dryer style is the go. remove the end nozzle and just hold her in there. My old setup was a queen air bed and one of these pumps - the time from dead empty to full - 38 seconds :-))
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