12V Ebay Compressor

[Ridgie]

Hi lads,

I have the T-Max Taipan that I got through a 4WD Action subscription deal probably about 12 months ago.

Have only used it a few of times and can't say I was overly impressed but it did what needed to be done.

The last two times it has actually let air out rather than inflate. I have checked all the fittings - everything is tight etc.

So I assume there is an issue with the connector - but who knows.

Any thoughts?

 

[justdrinkbeer]

it got hot straight away. motor would be cool as, heads warm but the connection socket would near on burn your hand. trouble is the heat stuffs up those cheap flexi hose it comes with.
the reason for it is because inside the T join it has a very small hole, probably all of 2mm. massive restriction which is why it was so hot.

ideally i would pull the whole thing to bits and run new lines from both heads.
but i fitted an adapter, which is normal truck compressed air connector, the smallest you can get! then drill it out as much as i dared. then added the coil of pipe to help get rid of the heat and bit of flexi pipe to isolate the hot pipe from the connection.
difference is it never gets hot even after pumping up all 4 tires (20psi to 40psi). it feels like its a bit faster to.

speed wise they do about the same as ARB (fraction slower) despite being rated double what ARB is.

Where would i buy the truck compressed air hose connector? Thinking of buying one and mounting it on the underside of my tray & running it back in copper to an air outlet, in the hope that will dissipate some heat.
Also, will it work if I mount it upside down? or does it hold oil that will leak out or something?

 

[Eug]

where do you guys mount the compressor?

 

[tweak'e]

where do you guys mount the compressor?

behind the seat. keeps it dry, mud free and cool.

Where would i buy the truck compressed air hose connector? Thinking of buying one and mounting it on the underside of my tray & running it back in copper to an air outlet, in the hope that will dissipate some heat.
Also, will it work if I mount it upside down? or does it hold oil that will leak out or something?

they can work up side down but not really recommended because of the way the cooling air moves around it. tho a fan would fix that.
no oil in them as they are oil-less compressors.

i only fitted the adapter because the stock hose connection had a very small hole in it and that was causing it to get extremely hot.
its that first foot of pipe that cops the heat which is hy i added the bit of cooper pipe.

i have toyed with the idea of making hose outlets at each end of the vechile. its a real pain to have to have door open in the wind and rain while you blow the tires up. and rear one comes in handy for blowing up trailer tires. only think to watch is the hose through the can wall/floor.

if your going to do all that you might as well do the new hose straight from each of the cylinders.

 

[raywise]

Ahhh ok, behind the seat is a good idea. Is that bolted down permanentley, and then have you got extended wiring running thru to the battery?

 

[tweak'e]

wired permanently. wired direct to battery (with big wire and fuse, not the crap they come with). however if i do anything more to it i will remove the stock switch, fit a relay and fit a switch on the dash for it.

by the time you have modded the compressor, redone the wiring, the cost is not far off an ARB which comes with wiring etc.

what would be good is if a manufacture offered a cheaper "bare" compressor. no hoses, wiring etc.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

Cool, i'm going to do it, i'll permanently mount it under the tray in a little alloy box, connected to second battery with switch, probably do the relay switch too.
I'm thinking of running two air outlets, one on either side of the tray, question being to tweak'e, what is the connector thingo called that you swapped in, and what size copper did you use? I have a mate thats a plumber so i'll get him to knock me up a tee & pipe accross both sides.

 

[tweak'e]

if your going to fit it in a box you will need to make sure it can get air flow, even if you have to add a fan in there.

i can't remember the size of the pipes but its all standard USA truck air connectors fitted to standard compressed air line. the one that fitted into the handle part is the same size as what they use for the gauges ! thats how small the exit hole of the compressor was ! !! ! if your going to change all that i would fit hose direct from each head (like in pic)

don't forget if your fitting outlets on the ute you will need to change the hose to standard air compressor fittings. need female fittings on the truck and hose with male fitting. also need to use a pressure switch to shut off the compressor.

 

[justdrinkbeer]

thanks for that, will have a look for the gizmo's to make it work, will be another weekend project for the future

 

[KraftyPg]

Never did get off my arse and do anything about buying a compressor. How is the ebay special going for you a few months after purchase raywise, is it still going?

 

[raywise]

It is , no problems at all. I've only used it twice so far to do all 4 tyres,(haven't been out much), but it works fine. Not the quickest by any stretch, but I knew that already,

 

[KraftyPg]

Thanks Ray, I might have to get off my arse and do something about one of these soon and it's good to hear yours is still going.

 

[gshannon]

I have one of these, only used it a few times but it works great, paid 180 + 20 postage from his ebay store

Compressors 12V

 

[KraftyPg]

Mine arrived last week Ray...thanks for the info. So far I haven't used mine to pump up a flat tyre but I have been playing around with it on a few things and have no problems with it. My only gripe was that the filters they put in were crushed because they managed to stick two where there ought only be one.

I ignored the suggestion in the all so brief manual that the engine should be running while using it and ran it on and off for about 30 mins from the second battery and it never missed a beat. Second battery didn't either but then I doubt I put the max draw of 40AMP that these things claim in the manual on the battery for the use I gave it and my battery would run it for nearly 5 hours based on that kind of amperage anyway.

Overall despite the bad press I read on other forums about these guys I'm happy enough with the purchase. When it came down to it there was another mob (well they had a different name) on ebay selling the same pump for the same price but their history wasn't as good so I risked it with this mob and so far that risk has paid off.

 

[scottybobcat]

I bought one aswell and the bloody thing didnt work but the little asian that built the bloody thing didnt wire the switch up did he.Its all good now though,I wired the switch and it works

 

[gshannon]

Used my sidewinder today to pump up 8 tyres (32s and 33s) from 15 to 40 psi, took little over 3 minutes each tyre, pretty happy with that and it didnt overheat at all

 

[KraftyPg]

If you'd brought one of these and were pumping up a car tyre you could have done them in 8 times zero thats how efficient these things are. I haven't tested out the zero time quote from their ad because I don't have any car tyres handy.

 

[DVR]

I'm looking at these things atm. Either the same one as the OP or this one Brand NEW 150L 12V SUPER HEAVY DUTY AIR COMPRESSOR - eBay 4x4 Accessories, Exterior, Car, Truck Parts, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 07-Nov-10 14:17:22 AEDST)

I like the case this one comes in over the bag of the others. Does anyone know if this would fit behind the back seat?

 

[KraftyPg]

I looked at those too and to be honest the only differences when I brought was the case (as opposed to the bag you mention) and the ebay feedback. The one you're looking at didn't have anything that bad in their feedback but they didn't has as much but that doesn't automatically mean they are bad. As near as I could tell the pumps are the same, and a few months ago there was also a third seller that was offering what looked like the same for about $30 dearer.

I did however find on another forum a 4 page thread about how bad the mob in the OP is, apart from the stuff up with the filters I can't fault them but it does show that bad news will travel faster than good news because in 4 pages there was only 3 happy posts all by first time posters which as you can image attracted the "company plant" type response from those in the dislike camp.

 

[DVR]

Krafty, do you think the case woulf fit behind the back seat? I figure as you have one of these things you know how big thy are so your guess is probably better than most.