Are there any that are worth getting? I'd rather have an air supply that won't run out and is free. CO2 seems costly. Anything out there that does the job in a reasonable time?

 

I have been looking for a small compressor and air tank for a train horn. The best prices that I've found are here;

http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/air...mpressors.html

I've also seen compressors on the 4X4 websites. Looks like they are much more expensive, so I'm assuming that they are much better quality...

 

Most 12 volt air compressors run from 50 to 400 bucks and take about 4 to 5 minutes per tire to air up from 15 to 35 lbs (some longer). On a nice sunny day it's not that big of a deal but if it's raining or cold it gets old fast...20 to 30 min. can seem like forever. I've made my own co2 tank...had small compressors and now have a powertank. Sure would have been cheaper to buy the powertank 1st. 30 seconds a tire and im gone...

if you offroad once every couple months it's not a big deal but If your going out a couple times a month a powertank will be money well spent.

These guys have some good quality stuff :

http://www.extremeoutback.com/index....ors&cart_id=35

 

Thanks for the info. Just what does it cost to fill a CO2 tank?

 

About 15 bucks....which will fill about 20 to 30 tires depending on the sizes and volume of air needed.

http://www.powertank.com/charts.specs

Click on the second graphic for the filling specs.

 

What's the benefit of putting C02 in your tires?

 

None really, it's just easy to carry around in a tank. And of course, it contributes to global warming, which will let us trail-ride 365 days a year, so that's good too!

-E

 

I saw a real nice compressor the other day at autozone made by slime, the company that makes that green, well, slime, that you put in your tires to seal a leak. It was fifty dollars and claimed to fill most tires in three minutes. I think i'm going to pick up one of those eventually, since i don't get to go wheeling nearly as much as i'd like

 

CO2 is used because, by volume, you get more "air" from the tank. It's not simply compressed air, like, say, you would get when you get your Scuba filled. It costs me less than $20 every time and I have a 20lb tank. That lasts for a good amount of time.

I also have 2 on-board air compressors. One that's stock and the other I mounted. Duty cycle of a compressor is what really makes them less desirable. You have to pay a fair amount to get a decent compressor with a longer duty cycle and then a 5 gallon air tank filled to 150psi really doesn't go very far, so the compressor is working very hard.

Also, due to the duty cycle, many times you can't run any air tools off of cheaper on-board air compressors and with CO2 you can.

If you shop around on things like Ebay, you can find 10, 15 and 20 lb aluminum CO2 tanks and then buy a high-flow regulator and other accessories and end up spending less than $200 and have truly portable air.

 

I've got one that I spent about 90 bucks for the tank and another 100 or so for a regulator and hose . The regulator freezes up and in the end it take as long as a stinkin 12 volt compressor. I switched from the homebrew tank to the 12 volt compressor and liked it much better becuase it was smaller and I didn't have to fill it up. The drawback was how hot that compressor got and the fact that with each tire I filled the slower the compressor worked. The bottom line is decide what your goal is and how much time your willing to spend filling tires as opposed to money your willing to spend.

I know there are lots of ways to skin a cat....but the power tank is just head and shoulders above all other Co2 systems that I've seen used (including the home brew...and Outback air ). Funny thing is that the powertank was my wife's idea...after helping me air up in the rain she was all for getting the powertank !

Good luck and hope that helps somebody out.