My new tyre inflator

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:18 am

I think my Chinese compressor stopped pumping properly last time I used it (haven't bothered to check it yet) but I've been trying to work out an easier way than taking it out of the box, opening bonnet, connecting to the battery then lugging it from tyre to tyre and I've come up with this, it's untested as of yet because we could only get 130psi out of his compressor and it'll safely hold 220psi.

Anyhow I spotted it in the Quokka a few weeks ago for $50, it'd been in there for ages but I rang and it was still available so offered $40 over the phone and he accepted so I drove 5min up the road & grabbed it.......a near new 4kg extinguisher.

I took it to Seagulls place tonight and he had all the bits needed to sort it out so here it is

As you can see by the condition it's perfect, the gauge shows low with 130psi.

We added a metal tyre valve for filling.

I had an old nozzle from my Landcruiser days and with a fitting Neil had it screwed straight onto the end of the original hose, it's no more bulky than the old compressor box and I'm going to ring a guy that re-conditions them to see how much air they will take safely but I'm hoping that with 220psi it should get me back up to at least 35psi in each tyre, no use for long trips but great for a day on the beach, I'll also keep 60psi in the spare so I can equalise the extinguisher to get a bit more pressure if needed, it works great using the original trigger and weighs bugger all. we went out to an industrial area before we started tonight and emptied it out the window as we were going along, some truckies must have thought I'd blown a piston lol. I'll grab a gauge to fit before the nozzel soon to make life easier.

purp · Post by **purp** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:54 am

I've got an old water extinguisher I've been thinking of using as an air tank for a while. It already has a "tyre valve" at the head so filling is easy...

Looks good, I eagerly await your results.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:57 am

'knexcellent super soaker challenger these things filled with water

exactly what i used to clear my Brumby metal fuel lines a few years back - '98 '99, with air of course 'borrowed' from the servo compressor.

Don't expect yours to be able to safely match what spec you are told these will hold now you've drilled a hole in it to fit the tubeless tit. No valve on the side of it ?

The latest trend with these is bulk grafitti application to some great heights !!

thunder039 · Post by **thunder039** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:07 am

good idea i have never though if doing it like that. how many tires do you think you could pump up with it full?

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:07 pm

They have a standard working capacity of 217psi and I'm sure they could easily take 4-500 but I'm not going to get any normal comp to go over 200 so it's pretty safe, the tit has a rubber then shaped metal then nut on the inside, should be fine.

I'll cover it with sticker wrap so nobody tries to fan the flames if I'm on fire but the nozzle will only release air if it's on a valve so a double safety feature too.

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:55 pm

d_generate wrote:the tit has a rubber then shaped metal then nut on the inside, should be fine.

How on earth did you get a nut inside the bottle let alone tighten it up?

I like the idea, nice thinking

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:22 pm

unscrewed the bigger hole at the top ??

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Fri Apr 13, 2012 8:48 pm

Yeah just a big O ring on top so we spun it off, removed the pick up tube then pushed the valve in, stuck washer on tip of finger and slipped it over then a bit of tape doubled over tape on the finger then got it in place and tightened from the outside, funny thing is when the spout was taken off I must have emptied well over a kilo of unused powder, seems like such a waste.

Battlewagon · Post by **Battlewagon** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 9:42 am

Since it's not an extinguisher anymore, paint it blue. Clearly mark it AIR.
Or you could throw a NOS sticker on it.......
I'd be looking for a mounting bracket too, for the "hey that's cool" effect

Subyroo · Post by **Subyroo** » Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:18 am

I dumped one of these at the local tip last week.

http://media.supercheapauto.com.au/sca/ ... 223419.jpg

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:11 am

I've got a bigger NXS bottle sitting here which would probably hold a tonne more pressure but didn't want to destroy it even though it's been sitting in the spare room for close to 6yrs lol, I never got past mounting everything as I did a big end the day before it was booked to get final fitment at the tuners.

I probably should have used it but I figure the kit is worth at least $400 with all the nozzles etc and the extinguisher has a much better trigger system, yes It'll be getting a colour change but not till I've made sure it works well enough.........Still too lazy.

EDIT....... Just remembered I bought a brand new gauge for the Nitrous bottle, found it and it goes up to 1,500psi............SHIT!!!! I should have used it, but probably impossible to get someone to fill it to anywhere near that pressure anyhow, I'm still to get over 130psi in the extinguisher from 3 different compressors so far.

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:21 pm

FORGET IT FORGET IT FORGET IT FORGET IT FORGET IT FORGET IT FORGET IT FORGET IT

Absolute waste of time, I put 120psi in it with my compressor which is pretty much the best I'll be able to do as the local workshop only has 110psi, Iwould have been lucky to get 5psi in 3 tyres, just not enough volume so after altering hoses, letting tyres up-down etc etc I decided to throw it in the garden and shove 70psi in my spare and make a transfer hose, it was getting too dark so I'll test it in Lancelin tomorrow, pretty sure I'll get an extra 10psi in each tyre out of it.

My China spec tyre inflator has definately died, still runs great but I can put my finger over the outlet and it's acting like an airless gun.....no back pressure but still blowing air so I'd say a blown O ring somewhere inside, I'll rip it apart and have a look.................One day.

D3V1L · Post by **D3V1L** » Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:52 pm

old dive tank, with a regulator works awesome. done and proved. pumps up 35" tyres many times before running out

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 1:37 am

Yeah I knew that years ago but they weigh a tonne, you need a dive license to fill them and to buy one in service usually sets you back around the $400 mark with freight, this was a $40 exercise that failed but was worth a shot.

I've got a couple of compressors so figured if I could fill it at home it might be handy...Oh well.

Only problem now is to work out what to do with a fire extinguisher with a valve stuck in it, any suggestions? I guess it would be ok as a reservoir for a small permanently mounted set up like Guys.

B00sting · Post by **B00sting** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:21 pm

I'd probably just spend 290 and get a quality unit (like arb ckma12), hardmount it and forget about it.

thunder039 · Post by **thunder039** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 7:25 pm

pitty it didnt work would of been a real money saver

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 12:16 am

Yeah I'll head down that track, just see if mine is a quick fix first as it sounds perfect, just blowing air without pressure.

It was more for convenience than anything............sort of grab, blow and go.

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Wed May 09, 2012 11:14 pm

For room and weight just stick with a tyre pump.. stop trying to complicate it. Surely you can spare 10 minutes to pump up those low profile tyre

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Thu May 10, 2012 12:15 am

Yeah Paul but my China spec pump has shit itself and the carry case is quite bulky, apparently there are a couple of reed valves that bend or something in the pumps so figured this might work or even get me over 20lb in each tyre to get me to a servo but no go lol.

I'm going to live in Thailand in a few months and can't see the point in spending on something that "might" get used once a year, I really should get rid of one of my cars, just not sure which one, love them both.

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Thu May 10, 2012 3:59 am

d_generate wrote:Yeah Paul but my China spec pump has shit itself and the carry case is quite bulky, apparently there are a couple of reed valves that bend or something in the pumps so figured this might work or even get me over 20lb in each tyre to get me to a servo but no go lol.

I'm going to live in Thailand in a few months and can't see the point in spending on something that "might" get used once a year, I really should get rid of one of my cars, just not sure which one, love them both.

Yep.. those cheaper ones use the flat reed valve thingy that gets over heated and bends out of shape.. redering them useless

Ok.. I've got the solution.. leave me the Lib