Air Tank Ideas

[reggie 00]

Ok was looking at the counties action site and i found a couple of these:

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n74/reggiemiller00/001-3.jpg

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n74/reggiemiller00/002-2.jpg

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n74/reggiemiller00/003-3.jpg

I have two of them and the idea is to tap them for an in inlet and outlet and use them as storage tanks for the yet to be installed on board air compressor i have.

Anyone ever done this with this type of tank?

I am thinking a hole, a tap, and a threaded nipple sealed accordingly. Don't think i have to worry about a pressure switch on them since they are rated for 4500 psi.

Ideas?

[4x4mike]

Are you thinking about drilling a hole in it? If so I think it'll fall apart. Those are fiberglass kevlar tanks right? I'd build a manifold off the existing hole. Search online, people do the same with fire extinguishers.

[reggie 00]

Cool that's what i was looking for.

I didn't know if you could drill into it, or if i could just run it all thru the same opening.

Want to try it out i have two?

[Robinhood4x4]

Don't touch the tank at all. As soon as you put a hole in it, it's done. You'll want to adapt to the existing metal fittings which looks like it'll be fairly easy.

[slosurfer]

Paint it blue and write NOS on it, then put it in a bracket in the back of the 4runner. :laugh: Guaranteed horspower boost even if you just put air in it. :thumbup: :hillbill:

[4runnerchevy]

That tank is really small, no volume. Sure you can fill it to 120-140 PSI but I doubt its gonna help much. Your better off filling it with CO2 off of another bottle (laying on thier side of course), then using it for air.

[Crinale]

ya, that wouldnt hold much... what is it like 1.5-2 gallons? you would basically be running off the compressor anyway... unless of course you can somehow fill it to its 4500 psi working limit with a crazy regulator to regulate the flow coming out, then it may be worth it... otherwise i agree with 4runnerchevy, it would be better off as a co2 tank

[Robinhood4x4]

I don't know if there's any difference between a CO2 tank and an air tank, but I know enough about pressure vessels to not even try interchanging the two. Don't even think about puting CO2 in there. Plus, I doubt you'd find any shop that would fill a tank marked "Air Only" with CO2.

It's value as a low pressure tank, plumbed into the on board air system increases if it's used for small jobs like keeping pressure to ARB lockers. It keeps the air compressors from coming on every 5 minutes if there is a small leak. Also, if you pressurize the tank prior to filling up the tires, then it'll save a couple minutes of tire filling.

[4runnerchevy]

I agree with using a vessel for its designed purpose, but I doubt 800 PSI (max fill from a supplier) is gonna hurt a 4500 tank. The "air only" is so the tank doesn't get cross contaminated. A gas supplier would never fill it , but you could make a jumper hose (with HIGH PRESSURE FITTINGS) and fill off of another CO2 tank. Laying the tank down (CO2) would give you the liquid in the fill process.


Don't tap those tanks, adapt the fittings !

[Robinhood4x4]

It's not the pressure I'm worried about, it's the liquid and the extremely low temperatures it brings combined with a fiber wrapped tank that worries me. The tank is basically made out of plastic and plastics don't do well when cold.

[corax]

It's not the pressure I'm worried about, it's the liquid and the extremely low temperatures it brings combined with a fiber wrapped tank that worries me. The tank is basically made out of plastic and plastics don't do well when cold.


Could always ask the guy over at WabFab (http://www.wabfab.org/) . . . iirc, he's a certified pressure vessel inspector, but I might be wrong about that

[Robinhood4x4]

He is and I'm sure he'd say the same thing. He's very skiddish when it comes to pressure vessels as he doesn't even like using fire extinguishers as air tanks.

[mastacox]

If the tank says air only, it's air only. The fact that it's a composite tank might mean it can't put up with colder temperatures of vaporizing CO2, but in addition to that the internal intake might be incompatible with liquid gas, making it more likely to release liquid CO2 into your regulator or fill line.

As for using them as OBA tanks, well sure its possible (as long as you don't tap the tank, use the existing hardware) but it seems to me they would be much more useful in their intended role as high pressure tanks.

[Crinale]

i wonder how hard it would be to find someone willing to fill that tank to 4000psi... also, how hard it would be to find a regulator that could regulate 4000psi to a more usable 80-100 psi... lol...

[4runnerchevy]

i wonder how hard it would be to find someone willing to fill that tank to 4000psi... also, how hard it would be to find a regulator that could regulate 4000psi to a more usable 80-100 psi... lol...


Scuba shops

[mastacox]

i wonder how hard it would be to find someone willing to fill that tank to 4000psi... also, how hard it would be to find a regulator that could regulate 4000psi to a more usable 80-100 psi... lol...


Yup, probably scuba shops. I <think> those might be small SCUBA tanks looking at them, but it's hard to say. No one would fill then without up-to-date hydro tests though.

Regulating would probably end up being a 2-stage setup like SCUBA uses, where the first stage regulates down to 10 Bar, and the second stage would regulate to what you're looking for.

[reggie 00]

Wow,
Nothing like a good crazy project to get the juices flowing.

I'll probably do just like stated use the valving on them. I was just planning on using them as small tanks. Nothing i have would need that much volume anyway. Will probably use both now to get a little extra volume. The two will probably be the same size as the big red tank that i originally had set aside.

Thanks for all the good ideas and points.

[waskillywabbit]

For the record I am not a pressure vessel inspector, I actually design pressure vessels (and a lot of other stuff) for an industrial fabricator per the ASME VIII Div 1 and 2 code.

:guitar: