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smittybilt power tank or viair onboard air?

29K views 54 replies 24 participants last post by  DBoat 
#1 ·
so im sick of waiting for my little compressor tacking all day to fill my tires after a long day on the trail. or driving to the gas station and spending 5 bucks to fill my 35's. so I'm not that sure what way i should go? power tank or onboard air? anyone have any suggestions?
 
#3 ·
I was told it was $10-$20 to fill a tank and that a tank would last around 8 trips. I went with the ViAir and I'm very happy. Try Onboard-Air.com. Good prices and GREAT customer service!!!!
What size tires do you run? and how long does it take to get them from trail pressure back to street pressure?, say about 10psi to 25psi?
thanks
 
#6 ·
Little compressors just aren't worth the $$$. A C02 tank is about as fast as they come with the exception of a York belt-driven OBA compressor like I had in my previous TJ. With my present C02 tank, it's nearly as fast and I can refill four 35" tires from 6-8 psi to 25 psi in a little over five minutes total. It takes a BIG HONKING compressor, or a York, to get anywhere near that speed.

You can easily set up your own C02 tank rig for around half of what they sell for in a kit. I paid $80 for my 10 lb. C02 tank on the web, $60 for the regulator, and another $30 or so in misc. parts to finish it.
 
#7 ·
You can easily set up your own C02 tank rig for around half of what they sell for in a kit. I paid $80 for my 10 lb. C02 tank on the web, $60 for the regulator, and another $30 or so in misc. parts to finish it.
Deals can definitely be had, I paid even less by piecing together parts from different places. I ended up with a 20lb tank; it's a bit large for the Jeep, but it was very cheap so I can't complain. It costs a little under $20 to fill the 20lb tank up, and according to Powertank's charts a 15lb tank can add 10PSI to a 33x12.50 tire about 60 times. I think the 20lb will last me quite a while.

Plus like Jerry said, they fill tires up very fast. I'm almost always one of the first finished airing up simply because I don't have to fool with either hooking up some sort of compressor to the battery, or even just waiting for a tiny little compressor to fill up four large tires.

Eventually I want to fab up a bracket and get a York installed, but for now the CO2 setup was easy, quick, and cheap to get going.
 
#11 ·
I run a York On Board Air System with two 3 gal. tanks mounted underneath. I got the compressor from the junk yard, Google it and you will find diagrams on how to set it up. I have a continuous air pressure of 120, and can run two lines at a time, one out of the front and the rear. You can also check out Kilby Enterprises, they sell everything new. All I needed from them was a new pulley for the alternator, everything else was locally purchased.
 
#12 ·
Sounds like something 4 my trailer.
 
#13 ·
I have a VLAIR & if you go that route be sure to talk to Travis,On Board Air sponsor.He is really helpful & great customer service!
 
#17 ·
I currently have a 30 gallon 19cfm compressor in my garage that i rarely if ever use... I've been thinking about selling or trading it for something like that.
what I lose in performance I would gain in convenience... just a thought I've been tossing around
 
#23 ·
I run the Viair X'treme Duty - VIAIR Corporation - X'treme Duty OBA Part No. 10009

I have used this consistently since installing it in 2008 for all of my runs, filling tires, other Jeeps' tires, etc. This setup is Baja proven, having filled my tires when I was 50+ miles from the nearest full-service gasoline station (in Baja, Mexico):cool:

Filling up between Puertecitos and San Felipe - ~20 mi. from the nearest Pemex station.



Me standing next to my Jeep - fully loaded for Baja!:wavey:
My camping gear, plus my Viair X'treme Duty equipment all fits together without losing too much space.


No gas stations for miles, but my Viair filled my 33" tires (~5 min. each 11 p.s.i. to 32 p.s.i.) and took me from Laguna del Diablo to Ensenada without having to stop at a Pemex Station.

Looking north

Looking south
 
#27 ·
I run the Viair X'treme Duty - VIAIR Corporation - X'treme Duty OBA Part No. 10009

I have used this consistently since installing it in 2008 for all of my runs, filling tires, other Jeeps' tires, etc. This setup is Baja proven, having filled my tires when I was 50+ miles from the nearest full-service gasoline station (in Baja, Mexico):cool:

Filling up between Puertecitos and San Felipe - ~20 mi. from the nearest Pemex station.



Me standing next to my Jeep - fully loaded for Baja!:wavey:
My camping gear, plus my Viair X'treme Duty equipment all fits together without losing too much space.


No gas stations for miles, but my Viair filled my 33" tires (~5 min. each 11 p.s.i. to 32 p.s.i.) and took me from Laguna del Diablo to Ensenada without having to stop at a Pemex Station.

Looking north

Looking south
Nice! I'm jealous!
 
#29 ·
I'm going with a Power tank. Living in Denver we wheel at really high altitudes, which means less air to compress. It takes about 30-45 min to get one of my 35's from 12psi to 35 psi. I hate adding an hour and half or more to the end of the day airing up tires.
 
#32 ·
I considered the Y0RK - it's like mounting a lawn mower engine under your hood - too big!

I went with a Sanden - same as your AC compressor - small, round, fit's nice. It leaves room for a 2nd battery and other goodies - winch controls, inverter, battery shut-off switch etc..

York's put out slightly more CFM, - around 10 CFM.
The Sanden is about 9 CFM. 10% less.

The difference filling a 35 is about 15 seconds longer.

Junkyard Sanden's - $10 -- York $50-100
Mounting bracket is easy to make too.

With an air tank it will run an air tool, but I've never felt the need for one on the trail.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I considered the Y0RK - it's like mounting a lawn mower engine under your hood - too big!
My York fit in easily, just like it belonged there. The benefit to the York is it has a built-in oil sump so it doesn't require any extra work or jury-rigged oiling system to keep it lubricated like the OE Sanden rotary a/c compressor does.

The only reason I've gone to C02 now is because the TJ the York was installed in was stolen and I can't afford to install another York into my replacement TJ.
 

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#35 ·
geiman said:
CO2 is a good way to go, but you can save a lot of money putting something together yourself rather than paying for the Powertank name. CO2 is nice and fast though.
Yeah, I did some research & calling around & I'm able to get a new 10lbs tank, filled & regulator for $150 locally. Thats a way better deal than power tank.
 
#36 ·
I have both Viar Air Compressor and Smittybilt Co2 tank setup and the Co2 tank is the way to go. After one time of crouching over to fill the 35" tires while it was lightly snowing was enough to convinced myself to buy the tank, it took at least 5 minutes to fill each tire from 15 to 30lbs. For 200 you get the tank, house and bag. I did buy a nice digital gauge attachment.
 
#37 ·
Sahara707 said:
I have both Viar Air Compressor and Smittybilt Co2 tank setup and the Co2 tank is the way to go. After one time of crouching over to fill the 35" tires while it was lightly snowing was enough to convinced myself to buy the tank, it took at least 5 minutes to fill each tire from 15 to 30lbs. For 200 you get the tank, house and bag. I did buy a nice digital gauge attachment.
was that there power tank set up?
 
#43 ·
Ah that makes sense then. I won't go Smittybuilt, the shops here won't even fill them anymore since they have been being built in China. So it would be a big expensive paperweight.
 
#44 ·
I think you'll find the misconception that the Sanden does not have a separate oil sump like the York is just that - a misconception.

Since it's round it doesn't look like a conventional lawn mower engine. The end near the clutch is a separate chamber housing the main bearing, crankshaft and wobble plate. The pistons are lubed by splash, just like your engine.
That end is it's own oil sump - like others, you use a dipstick to check the oil level. There's a big plug on the side to put the dipstick in.

The other end has the reed valves - it too needs a little bit of oil, as does the external check valve. The 2 ends are connected only with a tiny vent hole to equalize pressure for the original AC application with pressures of up to 300 lbs. Oil is not shared between the 2 ends.

When I do an engine oil change, I let the air inlet suck in a few drops of Ester oil, then let it run until that oil is expelled.
Some folks hook up an elaborate system to catch oil - then they put way too much oil in with an oiler or just pour lots of it in.

Some even hook up an elaborate system to recycle the oil. Recycling puts the water back in the compressor - not good!

Take one apart, you'll see.

I've installed maybe a dozen or so, the only problem so far was one where the clutch self destructed - not an oiling problem.

A good source - sometimes a compressor gets replaced because it leaks a little - won't hold freon for a long period of time.
Shops replace the compressors rather than repairing them. (Repairing them seems to be a black art!)
But for an on-board air system it doesn't have to hold air for months at a time.

Most shops that do AC work have several cores laying around. Many will give you several for free! When thy buy rebuilts, they need the $5 core, but not for new ones.

As far as oil getting in your tires - the small amount of Ester Oil vapor for AC's does not hurt the rubber - if it did it would destroy all the seals and O rings in your AC system in short order.

The web has lots of diagrams and pictures of the Sanden and parts are relatively cheap.

Sometimes the core just won't pump at all - take off the end plate and clean the reed valves. A tiny piece of grit holds it open. Same like your shop compressor.
 
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