Power Tanks, On Board Air Systems...What Are You Using?

[RW81]

I use the best harbor freight one then I purchased the warranty or whatever so I could just swap it out. Thing gets insanely hot and takes some time with 33s but I’m usually checking the truck/getting ready for the drive home anyways so don’t mind the wait. Toss it in the bed. Gonna see how it does with 35s then probably get a better setup once it craps out

 

[96f-u250]

I have been thinking about this lately too and see a lot of setups people use for airbags.

Here is a knock off ARB with a 3 year warranty im going to eventually tryout. 150 psi, 100% duty cycle.

Twin Motor Air Compressor Kit | 12 Volt | 6.16 CFM

Twin Motor Air Compressor Kit | 12 Volt | 6.16 CFM

www.roughcountry.com

Wireless Air Bag Controller Kit

Wireless Air Bag Controller Kit

www.roughcountry.com

Then im going to find a standalone manifold with remote to control the airbags. Ill run another line to a tank, then tank to any accessories I need.

 

[Harry Johnson]

Here is a knock off ARB with a 3 year warranty im going to eventually tryout. 150 psi, 100% duty cycle.

https://www.roughcountry.com/produc...pXFI8d8k4mibhAvyrZ7rvsu4ETrJ0XGRoCxzYQAvD_BwE

Oooh, that one even looks slightly more reputable than the sketchy amazon one I found.

 

[dwphoto]

I thought i replied the other day but im guessing i ran out of service
Ive never really been a fan of the small portsble
Compressors because they are more of a one trick pony. Sure they will fill a tire or air mattress but that’s about the extent of it unless you mount an air tank. I carry around my Nitrogen tank and regulator for shock stuff but also for tire filling, with the regulator set to 200psi i can fill a 37” tire from flat to about 30psi in under a minute with a regular ball chuck. Plus i can run an impact or charge shocks as well. Im not saying everyone should go out and buy a nitrogen tank to mount on their truck, but having a large cylinder and long hose at camp is definitely handy and it only costs about $60 to refill at welding shops

I think a Nitrogen tank is solid if it is a base camp trip but at $60 buck a throw... you'd better off with a little 120v compressor and little generator. And whats air tool? you mean cordless power tools? haha



After many refills of the CO2 tank. It's quick unless it starts to freeze up.. I like the unlimited air option also if you don't hard mount it in your truck you can swap it from truck to truck or even throw it in my wife car on a long road trip pretty easily which is nice. On point to point trips... half the time there's at least one dude that's like "eyyyyyyyyyyyyy lemme use your air real quick?"

Also, I'm getting old now but what's the rush? The CO2 tank takes probably 8 mins to air up all said and done. If my compressor takes 10-12 mins? Cool..... usually saying goodbyes or babbling about how rad the adventure was with someone else also airing up. strapping something down, grabbing something out of the cooler, putting a light bar down, etc.

Both have pluses and minuses. Again for me personally the cost and inconvenience of the CO2 tank refill had me wanting to change it up.

E

 

[dwphoto]

I have been thinking about this lately too and see a lot of setups people use for airbags.

Here is a knock off ARB with a 3 year warranty im going to eventually tryout. 150 psi, 100% duty cycle.

Twin Motor Air Compressor Kit | 12 Volt | 6.16 CFM

Twin Motor Air Compressor Kit | 12 Volt | 6.16 CFM

www.roughcountry.com

Wireless Air Bag Controller Kit

Wireless Air Bag Controller Kit

www.roughcountry.com

Then im going to find a standalone manifold with remote to control the airbags. Ill run another line to a tank, then tank to any accessories I need.

dude that's a value! I wonder if it's just as good as the ARB

 

[96f-u250]

dude that's a value! I wonder if it's just as good as the ARB

I would guess its probably not, I havent sold or installed one yet. However, Rough Countrys quality has been getting a lot better.. But at that price ill be happy if it works and lasts 3 years!

 

[smokeysevin]

Another vote for the Tsunami 1050. I wish it was more powerful and I have a slow leak in my system somewhere but it works reasonably well other than being annoyingly slow. I also have a 3 gallon? Tank under the bed so I could prefil it before stopping but I forget 99% of the time. I probably shoukd just grab a threaded or locking chuck with a regulator on/near it so it is less annoying to fill.

Sean

 

[PowerTankOfficial]

I was asked by the mods to chime in on this conversation but looks like most of the main points have been covered.

You'll never hear us talk bad about compressors because they fill a need and have pros and cons that are different than Power Tanks and other CO2 systems. Buy the best air system you can afford that fits your needs.

Power Tank Pros:

• There's nothing faster, especially when paired with Monster Valves
• Reliable because of no moving parts, wear items, and they're backed by a lmtd lifetime warranty. Power Tanks routinely outlive the rigs they're mounted to and can be rebuilt, not replaced
• Easy install - No cables to hook up, wires and switches to run, or air lines to plumb. All necessary accessories are included in the package
• Portable - remove from the bracket and move from rig to rig or, like me, bring it inside to run new baseboards in your home
• Powerful - the fastest and safest way to reseat a tire is with a Power Tank. We've reseat a 46" tire on the trail and still have all our eyebrows
• We assemble everything in house so we have spare parts for everything and everything is designed to be rebuildable and serviceable
• Every purchase supports a small family business (as well as the local businesses we use for powdercoating, etc.) that gives back to the off-road industry and land use organizations to protect your right to off-road

Power Tank Cons:

• Fixed amount of use. Must learn to track # of tires or weigh tank before outings. Mitigated by having a rotation tank ready to swap in your rig
• Cost of CO2

Note: The cost of gasoline needed to run your engine while using a compressor is not zero nor is the cost to replace your compressor when it inevitably fails out of warranty

 

[dwphoto]

I was asked by the mods to chime in on this conversation but looks like most of the main points have been covered.

You'll never hear us talk bad about compressors because they fill a need and have pros and cons that are different than Power Tanks and other CO2 systems. Buy the best air system you can afford that fits your needs.

Power Tank Pros:

• There's nothing faster, especially when paired with Monster Valves
• Reliable because of no moving parts, wear items, and they're backed by a lmtd lifetime warranty. Power Tanks routinely outlive the rigs they're mounted to and can be rebuilt, not replaced
• Easy install - No cables to hook up, wires and switches to run, or air lines to plumb. All necessary accessories are included in the package
• Portable - remove from the bracket and move from rig to rig or, like me, bring it inside to run new baseboards in your home
• Powerful - the fastest and safest way to reseat a tire is with a Power Tank. We've reseat a 46" tire on the trail and still have all our eyebrows
• We assemble everything in house so we have spare parts for everything and everything is designed to be rebuildable and serviceable
• Every purchase supports a small family business (as well as the local businesses we use for powdercoating, etc.) that gives back to the off-road industry and land use organizations to protect your right to off-road

Power Tank Cons:

• Fixed amount of use. Must learn to track # of tires or weigh tank before outings. Mitigated by having a rotation tank ready to swap in your rig
• Cost of CO2

Note: The cost of gasoline needed to run your engine while using a compressor is not zero nor is the cost to replace your compressor when it inevitably fails out of warranty

Awesome info thanks for chiming in!

Obviously, it's going to vary by tire size, how low you are airing down from,how high you air up to but generally speaking....

How many tires ( say a 35inch tire ) can you fill up on a full 10 lb tank. Lets say "general" 15psi to 35psi

Elliott

 

[PowerTankOfficial]

Awesome info thanks for chiming in!

Obviously, it's going to vary by tire size, how low you are airing down from,how high you air up to but generally speaking....

How many tires ( say a 35inch tire ) can you fill up on a full 10 lb tank. Lets say "general" 15psi to 35psi

Elliott

You'll get easily four trips out of a 10 lb Power Tank which is the size we recommend for 35s. 16-18 tires adding 15-20 psi.

When we're someplace like Moab, we can go a full week on a 10 lb tank airing up 40s because we typically only add 7-10 psi for the short drive back to the condo from the trail. Last year we did four days of trails so four air ups and the last one was up to about 35 psi so we could drive the Jeep home. That used about 6.5 lbs of CO2 out of 10. And with our Monster Valves, each 40" tire took under 20 seconds to inflate or deflate.

Here's our tire air up chart: https://powertank.com/pages/tire-air-up-chart

 

[theycallmeWALLY]

You'll get easily four trips out of a 10 lb Power Tank which is the size we recommend for 35s. 16-18 tires adding 15-20 psi.

When we're someplace like Moab, we can go a full week on a 10 lb tank airing up 40s because we typically only add 7-10 psi for the short drive back to the condo from the trail. Last year we did four days of trails so four air ups and the last one was up to about 35 psi so we could drive the Jeep home. That used about 6.5 lbs of CO2 out of 10. And with our Monster Valves, each 40" tire took under 20 seconds to inflate or deflate.

Here's our tire air up chart: https://powertank.com/pages/tire-air-up-chart

Throw up a link to the monster valves you sell or recommend?

 

[DialedShockPrep]

I think a Nitrogen tank is solid if it is a base camp trip but at $60 buck a throw... you'd better off with a little 120v compressor and little generator. And whats air tool? you mean cordless power tools? haha

My nitrogen tank lasts me a solid 6+ months in the garage using it on shocks and occasionally tools and tires, I would assume an average joe would get likely a year of use out of it easily with filling tires, shocks, and maybe running an impact. (Yeah yeah, Milwaukee makes gangster M18 impacts and I have one... But hit me up when your battery is dead on it haha)

 

[dwphoto]

My nitrogen tank lasts me a solid 6+ months in the garage using it on shocks and occasionally tools and tires, I would assume an average joe would get likely a year of use out of it easily with filling tires, shocks, and maybe running an impact. (Yeah yeah, Milwaukee makes gangster M18 impacts and I have one... But hit me up when your battery is dead on it haha)

meet Kevin at dialed...

 

[PowerTankOfficial]

Throw up a link to the monster valves you sell or recommend?

They all work the same, just different mounting methods. https://powertank.com/collections/monster-valves

I recommend the TAP2. The TAP2s use a straight thread tap and rubber grommet, making it nearly foolproof, even if you've never tapped anything before. Plus, it's the only style that can be installed with the tire on the wheel. We previously used a tapered thread which worked well but even I would finish an install and the Monster Valve is a degree or two off from perpendicular.

Shameless plug for my personal wheel set up:

 

[GahnRacing]

I really enjoyed having a nitrogen tank on hand. I used one of @PowerTankOfficial ’s mounts, but bought a tank through our local welding supply company Barnes Welding Supply. Nitrogen is really quick to fill tires and doesn’t freeze like CO2. I think it’s $25 to fill my 41CI tank.

 

[4lowlance]

I’ve lived with multiple cheap clip on the battery setups and if you like simple and aren’t a gadget addict they are fine.

I keep going back to my M18 compressor.

I always air up “just enough” to drive home then top off with the shop compressor at home.

IMHO it’s silly to ask a cheap compressor to get your 33-40s up to 40+ psi.

I have a powertank setup I bough for work and have never taken it off roading.

On a long point to point trip with multiple road sections I’ll bring the powertank. Like a big Utah trip where you do 100miles of dirt, air up for a 50 mile pavement stint, then back to dirt 3-4x the powertank will be clutch. Otherwise it’s just too bulky for me.

The M18 is so damn handy day to day, I use it out in the driveway on the wife’s Subaru if I don’t want to stretch out the hose from the shop comp.

I used it in the desert yesterday to top off a low tire on the kids SxS.

I keep the m18 in my rig all the time and with a 6.0 battery it lasts a very long time.

I carry an M18 impact gun and usually a small work light/flood light so I always have 2-3 batteries with me anyway.

Best perk of the M18 is you set the desired psi and walk away. So you can easily do 1 tire at a time while you clean up camp.

IMHO anyone with Milwaukee tools won’t regret the m18 compressor. If you watch the deals they are affordable. My local plumbing supply house has a deal right now, buy 2x 6.0 batteries for $229 and get the m18 compressor for free.


FWIW my buddy professionally installs ARBs all the time and he swears these amazon ones come from the same factory.

 

[UCD BAJA]

I run a 20 lb. Co2 tank behind the rear seat in my cj-7, I can dial it down to 95'sh psi for my ARB's and wind it up to air up tires. It usually lasts me a year and I just swap it out w/ my refer guys at work for a meat trade. I like it for my ARB's because most of the time on the trail people with ARB locker issues its usually the compressor, the pneumatic switch was cheap and easy to plum to my console. Like mentioned it has froze up or gotten frosty a couple times if I am airing up a lot of tires so maybe I need to try nitrogen...

 

[JACKSONRALLYINC]

 

[UCD BAJA]

I have a couple of that same Viar compressor I keep in most vehicles, I found a pallet of them at an overstock store in Sacramento a couple years ago for 19.99 ea. and bought 8 or 9 of them. Gave them away as Christmas presents but now wish I had bought more. They work really well and have handled all the abuse I throw at them. Most are out of the bag under the back seat or just tossed into the cargo area and all still seam to work.

 

[Potter147]

Anyone using one of the Milwaukee air compressors? I've been a big fan of Milwaukee products, but hesitant to go battery powered for reliability reasons. Mostly concerned with how long a bettery lasts in one of these things.



I used to have a little portable Viair 88p that clamped onto the battery posts and I loved it. 10/10 would recommend.

But now that I'm in the market again