Well I have done a little searching and could not find anything on this one.....

I was looking into adding an onboard air system to my truck for horns, airing up the tires once and a while and maybe if I needed air tools for anything...well I already have an air tank so I was going to look at compressors but realized that my air tank (campbell and hausfeld portable 7 gallon tank) only has 1 inlet/outlet for the air, it also has a drain on the bottom, can I use a Viair compressor with this tank or should I find a tank with a separate in/out?

I was also looking at a Viair 275c
The main purpose for this would be horns and tires once and a while, air tools would be a plus but not as much of a factor if this compressor was not enough for them.

Thanks

 

I had a similer issue with my tank. It only had 3 additional outlets, and i needed one more. I added a T connector to one of them and it solved eveything.

 

I think the tank you have should be fine, as long as it's rated for the pressure. Put a "tee" in your port, and use one for the inlet and one for the outlet.

As for compressor choices, you may look at Air Zenith. They can be mounted in the elements (unlike Viair), and are also user rebuildable, and 100% continuous duty rated.

--Eric

 

Suggest any compressor you consider be one that can operate at 100% duty cycle. Even the Viair's give you a choice of duty cycle, so be careful.
Also suggest that you get a tank with multiple outlets and dedicate one for any horn you may add.
For my truck I purchased a Viair kit that came with everything I needed.
Don't forget that air tools consume large gops of air and the normal 2 or 3 gallon air tank filled by a small electric pump is not going to work for more than a minute. Even a large tire can easily empty one tank of air if it is completely flat.

 

The 275 compressor is what we use with out exhaust brakes we do not reconmend using a tank larger then 2.5 gal with this compressor as you will short live the compressor and also cause it to hit themal cut-out protection before it even finishes filling the tank.

 

I upgraded to the Kilby bracket and installed my own York etc after smoking several rather expensive electric air compressors and having one aircompressor melt it's own power lead. It was a few hundred more than i wanted to spend but after doing it i am pretty sure it was well worth the lack of headaches

With my pac brake and air bags I am very happy running the belt driven compressor especially when I need to inflate a flattened tire. Now inflating a tire takes less than 2 minutes to go from zero to 80 & go. It is quiet, always there and the pressure is consistent

I ran the pressure line from the compressor to a 3 port manifold and then out the other side down to the tank. the manifold is basically 1/2" t's mounted together.

When i tried running air tools or even inflating a tire the electric compressors just could never keep up. Even with my exhaust brake there are times when coming down long grades especially up in the moutain back roads that the compressor is running for 15-20 minutes at a time and getting very little time off in short spurts or try running it in stop and go traffic. Yikes they never seemed to hold up. The York i check the oil level once every 6 months. it has over 40k miles and i have yet to have any issues or needed to add fluid. i use the exhaust brake everyday in all driving conditions so the duty cycle is fairly high since ditching the electric compressors for the belt driven i no longer have to listen to the vibration and hum of the electric motor all the time.


https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ight=board+air

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ight=board+air

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ight=board+air

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ight=board+air

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ight=board+air

 

Thanks for all the input! Looks like I will rethink what I am going to do because a 12v pump to fill that tank is more then I wanted to spend on just a pump, maybe I will look into a kit with a new tank and everything you need. I also think running air tools will be out of the equation

 

You could look at our line of compressors and tanks, but being you want to run tools your going to need to look at the volume of air the tools require vs. the cfm the compressor is putting out, but for that basic's of what your looking to do our HP625 or 450 will work. If you need any further info let me know http://www.pacbrake.com/index.php?pa...ir-accessories

 

I definitely agree with not using the ViAir 275. I put mine on with the PacBrake about 30,000 miles (2 years) back and it burned out in about 18 months due to the high demand just taking care of the exhuast brake. I do use the exhaust brake all the time so if it is used only on highway trips or towing it would last longer. I replaced my 275 (25% duty cycle) with the 330 or 350 (don't recall which) that is a 100% duty cycle. I also got it out from under the hood.

 

Can those be adapted to fit ontop of the engine like the one for my exhaust brake Harold?

 

Would a Viair 380c work with a 7 gallon tank? It has a 100% duty cycle

 

At this time no, not under the hood. We are in the process of designing a bracket for it but right now we are mounting them on the pass side opposit the air tank location.