While Dan was at a CAL4Wheel Convention he came across a vendor marketing High Output 12V Compressors under the name of MaxAir which is now sold under the name of "ExtremeAire". It's a small but powerful 3/4 horsepower fan cooled motor with 100% duty cycle, meaning it can be run full-time without overheating, something to consider if airing up multiple vehicles. He did not want to mess with the Engine or convert the AC compressor so this was exactly what he was looking for and way cheaper then a KILBY OBA system. There are several models being sold under various names such as ExtremeAire including a 1.5 horsepower unit which has 6 cfm flow rate, a Junior model, and a belt driven model for the ultimate in performance.
Technical Specs:
- Continuous duty cycle
- 3/4 horsepower motor
- 30-amp draw at 35psi
- 40-amp draw at 150psi
- 4 CFM free flow rate
- 150psi max working pressure
- Can be mounted upside down or sideways
- 14" long, 6" wide, 9", tall
At first Dan mounted it in the back of his 2002 TJ Sport with a 3-gallon air tank, but it took up too much valuable room and he could not put the rear seat in. While at Big Bear Forest Fest a few years ago we met a Jeeper who had mounted one nicely under the hood, so we asked if we could take a closer look. Being a Jeeper he was quite obliging and let us look under the hood telling us how he did it. So here are some pictures on how he mounted it.
First the horn and windshield washer bottle were removed and some stock wiring was rerouted to clear space on the drivers side inner fender for two of the mounting holes. The compressor can be rotated in it’s mount so the head is clocked 90 degrees pointing towards the engine. After putting the compressor in place and fiddling around a bit it was just were it neede to be two holes were marked off on the top of the inner fender for the two outboard legs. After drilling and de-burring the holes the compressor was bolted to the inner fender.
Two brackets were fabricated to mount the compressors two inboard feet to the inner fender. This provided a very solid 4-point mount that does not move at all.
The re-set switch was mounted right next to the compressor and the relay right on top of the reset switch bracket. Wiring was very simple with the schematic provided with the MaxAir compressor.
A hole was drilled in the front of the winch plate to mount a quick-release air fitting, and plumbed it back to the compressor. There is a high-pressure limit switch in the system that does not allow the compressor to over pressure.
He mounted the windshield washer bottle right against the firewall on the driver’s side. There is just enough room for it, making a clean installation that makes it look like it belongs there and using two homemade brackets to mount solidly to existing locations. Some of the wires had to be extended and re-routing the fluid line for the windshield washer.
Oh yeah…he put the horn back in it’s original location.
The installation took under 8 hours, which is not bad considering the fabrication of the brackets, wiring, and plumbing. I now have a switch on my dash and have on-board air with the flick of a finger.
Later I will fabricate and install air tanks under my rig. One of our club members made up some heavy-duty square tubing tanks for his rig that mount right up against the frame rail out of the way. It’s a clean installation that I want to copy.
So how does it work? we aired up a 33” tire from 10psi to 28psi in less than a minute. I like to run 26-28psi because it provides full-patch contact with the ground on the street. 32psi gives me better gas mileage, but only about 60% of the tread is touching the ground and will wear out the center of the tire faster. 31 and 32 inch tires air up even faster.
Recently I've been looking for High Capacity 12V Compressors rated at 100% duty cycle for my own Jeep and found the same units for much cheaper then ExtremeAire or MaxAir. (3/4HP) DC05, imported by AIM Industries in Arizona (and others) known variously as the DC2500, DC5000, DC7000, DC8000, DC9000, PacBrake, BlowJax, PUMA, and other versions using the same high output chassis for Diesel trucks, Air Rides, and commercial Industries. The 12V PUMA unit I found on Ebay is from Buzzardgulch and is very powerful with several upgraded components like the cylinder head and piston stroke. Finally I bought one on eBay as part of the Puma PD-1006 portable compressor from Buzzard Gulch Tools. This is the cheapest way to get this pump but also included the tank and all the required components. I will eventually mount the tank separately underneath but will try as is until I find time to hard mount each item.
A few sources for these compressors include;
http://www.airbagit.comhttp://www.buzzardgulch.comhttp://www.sierraexpeditions.comhttp://www.extremeoutback.comhttp://4by4connection.comhttp://www.4x4rockshop.comhttp://www.offroadtoystore.comHope you enjoy the article and the pictures.
Dan/Mark
