Air compressor.

Wheatfarmer · Feb 4, 2015

Have any of your taken the air conditioner pump on a truck and converted it to an air compressor. I heard of a guy that did it for small air tools. would like to have any info or drawing.

DeltaRed · Feb 4, 2015

Yes.A good friend did that .Worked great,had lots of 'capacity'.Thing is,the AC compressor woud not last very long.Hooked a pressure switch to the accelerator. 'Gased' it when air pressure got low,idled it down when pressure was reached.Awsome setup,worked perfect.Compressor had plenty of capasity It just didnt last.

Steve@Advance · Feb 4, 2015

I'm sure it's been done, and it would work... The problem would be keeping the oil in the crankcase and out of the air flow. Then sizing the motor and pulley ratio...

But unless you just happen to have access to all the necessary components, it would be real easy to spend more than just going and buying a plug and go compressor.

dpendzic · Feb 4, 2015

my friends and I who all drove on the beach with beach buggys used the AC compressor for air to inflate the tires. we used a switch to energize the AC clutch and had a pressure relief valve to limit the pressure. We piped the AC out put to an air coupling and could hook up an air hose for the tires.
I am still using that setup on my suv up in the mountains

old · Feb 4, 2015

Yep did it many many years ago. Have the old fold type up right A/C compressor on my Chev truck wit ha tank on the bed. Used a Gas water heater tank for the tank with the pop off valve and has aired up many car/truck/tractor tires and also ran an impact gun with it. 2nd truck it has been on. Simple on/off switch on the dash and your good to go

jimg.allentown · Feb 5, 2015

The main obstacle to using an A/C compressor this way is the lubrication issue. In an A/C system, the oil circulates with the refrigerant. Some of the rotary compressors do have a small sump, but there is no easy way to contain the oil. Might work OK with a Mopar V-twin compressor. I _think_ they have a separate oil sump. Also, some of the aftermarket York compressors may have a separate oil sump.

Bob · Feb 5, 2015

Those compressor oil sumps are typically ported to the intake area, and oil that gets slopped around enters the compressor and exits with the compressed air making for oily air and the need to often check and replenish the oil in the sump.

jimg.allentown · Feb 5, 2015

That is about what I expected. Been a long time, but I seem to remember on one of the way older cars, there was actually a dipstick on the A/C compressor. Been a LONG time, and I could well be mistaken.

JF in MI · Feb 5, 2015

This is a portable one I made. Found that the old York compressors are best. All the responses are correct in that the air will be very oily. I once had one I built into a '76 Ford van for using air tools at the track that worked nice. Used an old truck air brake tank slung under the chassis with a pressure control switch.

Jim

PJH · Feb 5, 2015

Jim - I've seen those rigged up on farm pickups, but they always used the AC clutch to cycle the pump. It looks like yours has a regular pulley on it. How do you cycle it?

I've thought about making one like yours, but was planning to use a pressure switch to cycle the clutch, and get the necessary 12 volts off of the tractor or pickup battery. I always do things the hard/expensive way, and wondered how you did it.

Paul

JF in MI · Feb 5, 2015

I used a pressure switch but replaced the electric part with a pneumatic switch. When the air pressure drops enough the switch turns on and operates a small air piston that kicks the throttle open on the engine (got the pneumatic parts at Grainger I think). The engine has a centrifugal clutch, like a mini bike, that runs the compressor. This particular one doesn't work that well because the junk engine I used was meant to always operate at high speed off a governor and has no adjustable idle circuit so when it tries to idle it often stalls.

PJH · Feb 5, 2015

Thanks Jim - I understand it now.

tmg50 · Feb 5, 2015

I converted an old York many years ago and found the oil problem could be helped by removing the hesd snd plugging the oil passage to the intake chamber, if I remember correctly I tapped the hole and used a set screw as a plug
steve

Russ from MN · Feb 5, 2015

I built a few of them, the V's off a Chrysler seem to be a little bigger than a York, but they all work well.
The V's have a directional oil pump so you have to run them the right direction. I use my biggest one for everything, including blowing out a sprinkler system with 1500 ft of water lines. It takes awhile, but I run the pressure tanks, both water and air up to 75 psi and then open 1 zone valve. They do get kind of hot as there are no cooling fins. If I was home I would post some pictures.

Russ from MN · Feb 5, 2015

I have some running that have been used for 35 years, I don't remember how, but I figured out some way to keep the oil in the crankcase from from foaming and getting sucked into the intake, I put dipstick tubes on them so I can watch the oil level.

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 5, 2015

Supposed to be able to use a rotary one and use grease instead of oil.

Air compressor.

Wheatfarmer

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DeltaRed

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Steve@Advance

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dpendzic

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old

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jimg.allentown

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Bob

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jimg.allentown

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JF in MI

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PJH

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JF in MI

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PJH

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tmg50

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Russ from MN

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Russ from MN

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Ken Macfarlane

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