Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

As the hose is the same size, I agree that any difference would be small enough that I'd go with whichever config lines up better. Just my unscientific thought

I hadn't thought of that approach. We will see how the hoses line up. Thanks!

[Bruce moose4x4]

Thanks, Bruce. Does that valve stay open until the pressure bleeds off and then closes? Or, what causes it to close?

I have a ball valve that goes in the fitting on the bottom for draining the tank. I'm thinking of using a 90 and aiming the valve under the truck. That will keep the valve better protected by the tubes, and it will keep the water coming out of the tank from spraying me.

Sorry for the late reply, I took off last Friday to go to Miami OK for the monster truck show Friday and Sat.

Gary the valve is spring loaded, It will drain as long as you pull on the cable, closes when you release.

[grumpin]

Thanks, Scott! I appreciate the encouragement. It helps a lot.

Question for y'all: The tank has two openings - one is 1/2" and one 1/4" NPT. The 1/2 was originally the inlet and the 1/4" the outlet. But I'm thinking of switching them. Both will have NPT to 3/8" hose barb fittings in them, and while I think the difference will be small, I think the 1/2" fitting will flow more than the 1/4" fitting. So why not have as much ability to move the stored air as is possible? Thoughts?

As for what I did this afternoon, I got the AC cable run from the cab into the toolbox. It comes out the right rear corner of the cab and through an existing hole in the bed and then up the inside of the bed's fender. At the top it makes a left and goes through the openings on both sides of the stake pocket and then inside the bed it turns up again, going through the wing of the toolbox and into the interior.

I hope to get the wiring in the toolbox done tomorrow so we have power to the compressor, and will show you a pic of that - assuming that it happens. But here's a pic of the behind-the-fender part of the wiring:

My thought is since it’s a small tank you might lose too much pressure to push the volume. Always worth a try though.

And I may be way off base!

[Gary Lewis]

My thought is since it’s a small tank you might lose too much pressure to push the volume. Always worth a try though.

And I may be way off base!

Bruce - Thanks for the answer. I've decided to use the original ball valve as it fits nicely under the protective angle I welded on.

Dane - Compared to most tanks installed on vehicles, this one is big. The "big boy" of ARB's onboard air systems is their MAXIMUM OUTPUT ON-BOARD COMPRESSOR. Its tank is a whopping 1 gallon vs the 4 gallons on mine.

The ARB puts out 6 CFM, but at only 29 PSI. Mine puts out 4 CFM at 90 PSI. Sounds like the ARB wins, right? Using Boyle’s Law I find that at 29 PSI mine should put out 12 CFM, although that isn't a rating shown on the spec sheet.

And to complete the comparison, the ARB maxes out at 150 PSI vs 200 PSI on mine. In other words, mine will have 33% more energy stored in the same volume, and when you include the differing tank sizes mine will have 5.33 times the energy in the tank at full charge. And if you are trying to reseat a bead on a tire, that's a huge difference. So that's why I'm thinking about using the larger opening on the tank as the outlet as that might give a teeny bit more power through the hose.

[grumpin]

Bruce - Thanks for the answer. I've decided to use the original ball valve as it fits nicely under the protective angle I welded on.

Dane - Compared to most tanks installed on vehicles, this one is big. The "big boy" of ARB's onboard air systems is their MAXIMUM OUTPUT ON-BOARD COMPRESSOR. Its tank is a whopping 1 gallon vs the 4 gallons on mine.

The ARB puts out 6 CFM, but at only 29 PSI. Mine puts out 4 CFM at 90 PSI. Sounds like the ARB wins, right? Using Boyle’s Law I find that at 29 PSI mine should put out 12 CFM, although that isn't a rating shown on the spec sheet.

And to complete the comparison, the ARB maxes out at 150 PSI vs 200 PSI on mine. In other words, mine will have 33% more energy stored in the same volume, and when you include the differing tank sizes mine will have 5.33 times the energy in the tank at full charge. And if you are trying to reseat a bead on a tire, that's a huge difference. So that's why I'm thinking about using the larger opening on the tank as the outlet as that might give a teeny bit more power through the hose.

Wow! I did not realize that was a 4 gallon tank. I’m interested to see how it works for you.

[Gary Lewis]

Wow! I did not realize that was a 4 gallon tank. I’m interested to see how it works for you.

Yep, it is a pretty decent system. I think it is going to work out very well, but time will tell.

Anyway, we now have power to the compressor. Here you can see it coming out of the "wing" of the toolbox after coming up the fender and through the front stake pocket. Then it hides in the fold of the divider, makes the turn and runs out to the compressor. Reach in and turn the aux power switch in Mission Control on, hit the compressor switch, and it springs to life!

Now I need the fittings and grommets to run the hoses as well as the rubber isolators to mount the cooler and it'll all come together. But some of the bits won't be in for another week.

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, it is a pretty decent system. I think it is going to work out very well, but time will tell.

Anyway, we now have power to the compressor. Here you can see it coming out of the "wing" of the toolbox after coming up the fender and through the front stake pocket. Then it hides in the fold of the divider, makes the turn and runs out to the compressor. Reach in and turn the aux power switch in Mission Control on, hit the compressor switch, and it springs to life!

Now I need the fittings and grommets to run the hoses as well as the rubber isolators to mount the cooler and it'll all come together. But some of the bits won't be in for another week.

The rubber mounts for the cooler came in this afternoon, so I had to mount the cooler. There's about 1/16" of clearance, but it doesn't touch the shroud on the compressor, so the fan on the compressor should do a good job of cooling the air. (Yes, it'll be warm then, but it should help significantly.)

[Gary Lewis]

The rubber mounts for the cooler came in this afternoon, so I had to mount the cooler. There's about 1/16" of clearance, but it doesn't touch the shroud on the compressor, so the fan on the compressor should do a good job of cooling the air. (Yes, it'll be warm then, but it should help significantly.)

The grommets came in so I got the hoses run to/from the tank. Sure wish I had the fittings as this thing would be wrapped up pretty quickly.

Here are the hoses in the toolbox. I'll put mount points on the front wall to hold the hoses in place once I get the fittings and get everything in place.

And here's where they come through the bed, ready to be connected to the tank. And, btw, the "in" hose from the compressor lines up with the 1/4" NPT fitting, and the "out" hose lines up with the 1/2" NPT fitting.

[Gary Lewis]

The grommets came in so I got the hoses run to/from the tank. Sure wish I had the fittings as this thing would be wrapped up pretty quickly.

Here are the hoses in the toolbox. I'll put mount points on the front wall to hold the hoses in place once I get the fittings and get everything in place.

And here's where they come through the bed, ready to be connected to the tank. And, btw, the "in" hose from the compressor lines up with the 1/4" NPT fitting, and the "out" hose lines up with the 1/2" NPT fitting.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I decided to install the vacuum-controlled shut off valve in the heater hose. I'd taken my own advice from the HVAC Systems page and ordered a valve for an 1984/85 Tempo/Topaz. Supposedly that takes an E4FZ 18495-A, which to Four Seasons is a 74614.

But when I pulled it out of the box I realized it is closed with no vacuum! Sure enough, looking at the Four Seasons website a 74614 is normally closed and opens with vacuum. But a 74612 is normally open and closes with vacuum, so that is now on order and the other is going back.

Once I get this figured out for sure I'll update that web page. But I'm going to include how I plumb it in 'cause it is pretty easy. The fitting on the recirculate motor is 1/8", so I will use a 1/8" x 3 tee, put the truck's fitting on one side and use 1/8" vacuum hose to go to the recirculate motor and to the valve.

But the new valve won't be in until Monday, so this project will have to wait.

[kramttocs]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I decided to install the vacuum-controlled shut off valve in the heater hose. I'd taken my own advice from the HVAC Systems page and ordered a valve for an 1984/85 Tempo/Topaz. Supposedly that takes an E4FZ 18495-A, which to Four Seasons is a 74614.

But when I pulled it out of the box I realized it is closed with no vacuum! Sure enough, looking at the Four Seasons website a 74614 is normally closed and opens with vacuum. But a 74612 is normally open and closes with vacuum, so that is now on order and the other is going back.

Once I get this figured out for sure I'll update that web page. But I'm going to include how I plumb it in 'cause it is pretty easy. The fitting on the recirculate motor is 1/8", so I will use a 1/8" x 3 tee, put the truck's fitting on one side and use 1/8" vacuum hose to go to the recirculate motor and to the valve.

But the new valve won't be in until Monday, so this project will have to wait.

Glad to hear the hose arrangement worked out the 'right' way

You may already have a tee but Dorman 47415 works well for this.