AC compressor to compress air?

[IDIoit]

im thinking about trying to use my AC compressor to compress air into a 10 gallon tank, a pressure switch in the tank.
id like to have some on board air for tire pressure, and an air horn.

has anyone done this?

 

[79jasper]

Think people were recommending the older York style compressors.
Something about the newer pumps won't work right.

Sent from my SM-T537R4 using Tapatalk

 

[nic55kel]

I have done this a few times. Ran one unit for several years just fine. Two problems - the compressors are designed to pump oil and it circulates back to the compressor in the a/c system so you will have to keep topping up oil. I am sure some are better than others - I found the old cast iron V twin found on older chryslers to not pump that much and it could run a few hours between topping up. The other problem is heat. The compressors are designed to be cooled by the returning refrigerant - I am sure you have seen the icy suction line on working a/c. For short runs you should be fine - for longer runs ???

 

[89Laredo]

I use the ac compressor on my jeep. I had to put a chunk of hydraulic hose on the outlet instead of regular air hose, the air gets so hot that it was melting and blowing holes in my air line.

 

[icanfixall]

Reason the return line will frost up on any auto ac unit is the system has too much freon in it. What your seeing is the freon is still drawing heat out of the hose that returns to the ac pump. Not a good thing either. This was a common issue with the R12 freon when shops overfill because they did not fix the leak. so an overfilled system kept you running longer between recharges. Bad idea really. Some shops even went to using propane as freon and it works great. But now days not one shop will work on a system that has been contaminated with "other freons". They can't remove it without ruining their recovery tanks. Thats a big reason they will take a test sample of whats in your system before removing it.

 

[Clb]

There is a thread on pirate 4x4 that you should check out!
The tech is there' the 20 questions not like here( read do your homework or its a flamefest)!

 

[sublime8396]

I pulled out my ac pump and put in a york style pump then mounted a 5gallon tank under the driver side of my bed with a quick connect air fitting. I havent had money to get a pressure switch yet so its just run off a toggle switch but it do have a 125psi pop off valve if i let it get that high. Its been great for tires or running inpact gun. I even ran a toggle to the high idle solenoid so i can make air alittle faster when needed

 

[IDIoit]

did either of you using something like this, run a air filter, and or an oiler in the intake side?

 

[chris142]

A York,sanden or vtwin has its own oil sump.our fs6 and what not do not have an oil sump.

BTW a properly charged automotive system will have a frost line back to the compressor. If its not cold all the way back then its undercharged and also not bringing the correct amount of oil back to the compressor.

 

[sublime8396]

Ive done 4 of these now on random trucks and never had a problem. They are internal oiled so some kind of air filter and your good

 

[dunk]

A York,sanden or vtwin has its own oil sump.our fs6 and what not do not have an oil sump.

^ This. It only lubricates the bottom end so it's still a good idea to put a little oil through the intake from time to time. There is a mod to plug an oil transfer port to reduce oil leakage into the air side so you can run more oil in it. http://www.jedi.com/obiwan/jeep/york_oilmod.html

The most difficult part of this is mounting and drive belt arrangement. May have to make a bracket and idler. Not sure if anything off the shelf will work for an IDI, and doubtful if you still want to keep air conditioning working. I used to have a York on another truck when it had a 351w but it was a non AC truck so easy to just swap a compressor and bracketry on it and call it a day.

 

[nj_m715]

I ran one for years back in my jeep days. I used the "bad" ford compressor from a mustang because it was free. A buddy was hot rodding his car and pulled out the a/c. I ran the intake hose to the engine's air filter so it draw dust free air.
The oil issue is real, but overrated imo. I just gave it a shot of wd-40 or a few drops of engine oil basically whatever was onhand before I used it for extended runs. I had hundreds of hours on it before it died. I used it to run a small sand blaster to clean up a rolling chassis and paint a couple jeeps so that thing got a workout.
I say build it. You will not waste time or money. Your tank, cutoff switch, blow off valve etc will work if you upgrade to the "good" compressor later. The ford compressor is already mounted on your motor with no hastles fabing up brackets or finding a belt. You already know it works so run that thing until it dies.
Is the york better? sure but do you have one? Will the one you do have work? Dam right it will.