Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I'm looking at a portable compressed air system and remember the Air Up system, which to me looks like an aluminium scuba tank and a custom made regulator. Instead of CO2 I'm looking at using normal air. I think I'll only use for it tyres, possibly automotive-related air tools (ie not paint spraying, nailers etc).

Instead of paying $800 for an Air Up I'm thinking about making my own. Has anyone made their own? I don't need 200 psi, only 100-150(?) psi.

Is it as easy as getting a rated air tank (scuba tank maybe), fittings and a regulator? The Air Up system claim they have a custom regulator that has both high flow and high pressure. Are they that special?

What else would I need?

Thanks.

Go to a truck wreckers. They have a heap of air tanks there in perfect condition and often with reg's, valves etc fitted.

You need

Tank (new these are $80-100 on ebay from a wrecker they are $20-30.)
Pressure Guage
Pressure reg
Airline fittings (quick clip ones)
a compressor capable of 150psi
Drain valve


There are kits on ebay with a nice screw-in manifold with all fittings attached.

An example
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TIGERZ11-ON-BOAR ... 45f366f93e" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just need a compressor to fill it.

Is there anything illegal about using air tanks from the wreckers - do they have useby dates like LPG tanks (10 years or something like that)? I would've thought most tanks at the wreckers would be out of date????

Is there anything special about the Air Up regulator - high flow & high pressure?

Air-up is using a SCUBA style cylinder. I have NFI the pressure in an Air-up cylinder, but when I was diving, most SCUBA tanks were filled to 240 atmospheres - that's over 3500 psi. When all that air is released, and used to inflate tyres to (say) 35psi, you've got approximately 100 times the volume of the original tank.

What's a truck tank rated at? 150psi? To fill four tyres to 35psi, the tank will need to be approximately the volume of one tyre. Won't work for an "Air-up" style system.

Also, what are the standard fittings sizes? I have a car-mounted ARB compressor which I think uses 1/4 NPT fittings. I think Bunnings sell a lot of 10mm fittings/hoses.

buy a scuba tank, biggest one you can afford - any paintball field or scuba store can fill it to 4500psi.... that should get you a fair few fills =)

one of the larger chain stores either auto or hardware, kmart was doing a deal wile ago.
compressor and portable tank.

The difference is the AirUp system uses Co2 that is stored in the cylinder as a liquid, the pressure comes from the Co2 vapour (I think it is a vapour) so the stored pressure's and the total usable volume of the two tanks (Co2 and compressed air) are vastly different while looking identical on the outside.

The trick with the AirUp reg, is it can handle the high volumes with out freezing up.

I liken the AirUp to a diff lock, if you can afford it you get an Air Locker, if not, you suffer with a lesser product.

Make sure you look at the safety aspect of the 2 systems,
AirUp, low stored pressure, relatively safe.
Compressed air, massive stored pressure, potential bomb in your car if not handled and stored correctly.
Peter.

droopypete wrote:The difference is the AirUp system uses Co2 that is stored in the cylinder as a liquid, the pressure comes from the Co2 vapour (I think it is a vapour) so the stored pressure's and the total usable volume of the two tanks (Co2 and compressed air) are vastly different while looking identical on the outside.

The trick with the AirUp reg, is it can handle the high volumes with out freezing up.

I liken the AirUp to a diff lock, if you can afford it you get an Air Locker, if not, you suffer with a lesser product.

Make sure you look at the safety aspect of the 2 systems,
AirUp, low stored pressure, relatively safe.
Compressed air, massive stored pressure, potential bomb in your car if not handled and stored correctly.
Peter.

this is spot on Pete.

and yes the regs are that special, they don't freeze up when flowing massive volumes at high speed.

If you can afford to get the propper gear get it. You get what you pay for.