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On board air - tank location


henk

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In the 110 TD5 hardtop, I am working on my on-board air and have an about 60cm long viair tank (2,5 gallon or so) with 5 exists so easy to connect gear. However due to the long size difficult to find a good place out of the way as I also have a 200 liter extra tank in the rear with on top 6 batterycells of 2 volt from a forklift

I also have a compact 6 liter alu tank found at Newbury that could fit very nice below the passenger seat (I moved the ecu). However this one has only one exit/entrance. Eventually there is also space for the compressor.

Any pro or contra's for a tank with just one entrance? I could work with a kind of manifold.

What about putting the compressor also under the passengers seat? I could have left the ecu there then as well

Where have you put your tank?

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There's no problem with a single entry tank, if anything I think it makes a neater install.

I have a 5 port Vlair air tank on my competition motor and although I originally used all the ports I now only use one with the tank mounted under the floor behind the seats. I don't use a manifold as such but simply use metal "T" connectors screwed together in a chain to provide all the outputs I need. If I need another output I can simply add another T piece. It's important that you have a blow off valve somewhere in the system but it doesn't need to be on the tank, the ARB compressors and the T-Max compressors are supplied with them but if you're using an a/c compressor you'll need to add one in.

On our overland motor, with the experience of installing and reinstalling the air system on the competition motor, I went for a much simpler and MUCH cheaper option which, in hindsight, I wish I'd done with the competition motor and saved a lot of money and grief ! The disposable CO2 gas canisters used for hobby MIG welders are rated way higher than you'll ever use with an air system (around 1200PSI IIRC) and they use a male 1/8 NTPF connector on the top. If you drill through the valve of an empty cylinder you can put an air fitting straight onto the top. They are small and it's easy to conceal as many of them as you want around the vehicle either under the seats, under the floor or anywhere you want really.

I use 6mm push fit connectors for the installation and you can buy all the fittings you need from a pneumatic control supplier.

This is one of the cylinders, I eventually ended up using a female to female 1/8NTP fitting with a 90 degree, rotating, push in connector rather than the straight push in connector on this one.

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This is the installation of the compressor and "manifold" on the overland 90...

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This is one of the two "manifolds" on my competition motor...

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Just below the pressure gauge you can see the one way valve that sits between the compressor and the rest of the air system, you need this if you're using an a/c compressor or a T-Max style compressor.

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Remember when designing the system that you can tag additional single port cylinders on anywhere you like in the system. If you're not using an a/c compressor though beware that too large a capacity can lead to the compressor running beyond it's duty cycle.

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Dave W:

What do you do about draining water out of the vessels?

On the odd occasion that I drain them I just disconnect the pipe(one of the advantages of push fittings) and tip the cylinder upside down, after all, without a pipe pushed in it's just a hole in the end of the tank so any water will drain out.

I haven't seen much water in them though, certainly nothing compared to my garage compressor. Maybe it's to do with the pipe layout or position of the tanks.

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@Steve: yes, I looked at your setup but I do not like the idea of having the tank under the car although very easy to drain.

I also thought about a kind of shelf just under the roof where I could mount the tank and the compressor on and where I could store other stuff like jackets etc or another option was to hang it vertical just behind the drivers seat but it always comes back to fix it it in a save way

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Hi Henk

If you are concerned about damage off road, there was no issue with mine. It saw plenty of use on rocks etc. and it never had an issue. Naturally, it's not impossible, but where it sat, so tucked away between the suspension mounts and high up, it didn't come into contact with anything, even when scraping along the chassis rails and side sills.

cheers, Steve

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Have you considered mounting under the vehicle in the void around the rear prop shaft?

For reservoirs, my favorite is just to use plastic coke bottles. At first glance, this sounds daft! However, they will hold 500psi before exploding and are safe at 150psi / 10Bar. Even when they do explode, apart from the loud bang, the plastic fragments weigh so little and slow down so quick that it's unlikely to injure you even if you're sitting on it!

You can fit a screw type tyre valve or air fitting with a nut in the top.

Si

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I used a ca. 30 cm long piece of 100 x 100mm box with 2 ends welded on as an air tank. I drilled it for a push-fit fitting before welding the ends on so there was no swarf in the tank. It sits in the void above the exhaust back box botled to the floor, with the compressor in the cubby hole directly above it. All the extra manifolds and take off points are in the cubby box with the compressor rather than under the floor.

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