Tools You Wish You Had

Non-EMS Automotive related discussions and projects in here please.
ehb
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by ehb »

That's a very nice airtank, congrats! :)
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Fred
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by Fred »

Thanks! Not bad for the $, however yesterday I spent 115 more $ on the fittings to make it useful in the particular way that I want.

And I still don't have a cap for what appears to be M52x2.0 on the big hole. Might just weld that up if it's too expensive to cap.

There were a few iterations at the hydraulic place before I got where I needed to be. Updates:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 9975624704
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 6093491201
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1826595840
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 5603804160
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2940054528
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 7109047296
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 8797170688

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ToxicGumbo
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by ToxicGumbo »

That tank is the bee's knees. Out here in the Great Plains of Kansas, you occasionally see that style around farms for propane (and crystal meth production). I highly respect the acid treatment you're giving it and wish I had the time to go through all that with my 60 gallon compressor. What's the black sealant you're using on the various coupling threads? Any concerns about the primary compressor's motor's duty cycle? I've considering picking up a spare tank similar purposes.
ehb
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by ehb »

Hmm, can't help but wonder, why not T directly off the vertical outlet of the tank? Or do you want exactly this setup?
Edit: I'm thinking that's a lot of lever to rip it all off in a catastrophic fashion ;)

What appears to be M52x2.0 - could it not be Whitworth G2"? iirc my compressor tank has a similar plug on one end, I'll have to check though.
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Fred
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by Fred »

Jeff, your tank is already the same capacity as my compressor and this tank combined! :-D If I had that big of a tank (eg vertical style compressor) on my compressor, I likely wouldn't have been keen. I just felt like 70l was too small, even though it ran pretty well without the motor powered up for me. This will last 3x longer than before if powered down.

The other advantage is of course the portability, but I can't think of too many applications where a limited supply would be acceptable. Track day tyre pumping, maybe, but a 12v unit would be a lot more space/weight efficient.

As for the treatment, it was pretty grotty inside with fairly substantial flaking rust in the bottom. It's not pitted and it's mostly still there (near original thickness), so I'm not worried about it being weak.

No idea about the black sealant, original owner (before last) was the one that assembled it in this way.

Zero concerns about the 3 cylinder compressor. The same company makes a continuous rated version with the same pump and motor, just a clutch mechanism so the motor runs no-load when not needed, and is engaged when needed. The wear/tear is on start stop, and this will reduce on/off cycles by a factor of 3, again :-)

ehb, I realised that the thread on the elbow is the same, so I might ditch that and have the socket horizontal, and the filler hanging down on one side at an angle instead. I agree that it's quite long leverage wise, however it shouldn't have more on it than the hose pull, really. I'll be careful, I promise.

Re thread, 12.5 to 12.6 TPI, 51.8 OD. Anything like that aside from M52? Not sure. Doesn't matter as I'm going to MIG a bung in there with a bolt and copper washer for venting if desired. I can cut it out with a hole saw and clean up with a die grinder if desired later. Going to rinse, zinc coat, and lightly oil the interior before doing that, though. Speaking of which, today's mediocre efforts:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 6783630336
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 9429529601

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Also worth noting, the wheels aren't on parallel. One pair is true to the tank, the other is 5 or 10 degrees off. The only saving grace is the wheels are so loose on the shafts that it allows them to do what they need to to move fluidly :-D
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Fred
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by Fred »

Re Jeff's compressor, I originally wanted one like that, however suddenly this feels like a superior option. The horizontal on-wheels compressor is pretty easy to move around (JUST fits in my Stagea) and so is the tank, and combined they do about the same job as a stand up one :-)
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Fred
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by Fred »

Tonight's tool acquisitions and modifications/progress:

New 1/2" driver attachment for the impact driver.
Final side soak of acid for the tank.
Pieces cleaned up for welding into the top of the tank securely.

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 1389231104
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4735314944
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 4550464512
https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 9928949760

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Fred
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by Fred »

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FreeEMS dev diary and its comments thread and my turbo truck!
n00bs, do NOT PM or email tech questions! Use the forum!
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Fred
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by Fred »

All done bar final dry out, oiling, and draining of oil. DIY hydrostatic testing completed without a failure :-)

Behind on tweets and posts, but good progress being made.
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n00bs, do NOT PM or email tech questions! Use the forum!
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Fred
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Re: Tools You Wish You Had

Post by Fred »

Finished up with almost the last of the air from that tank tonight. Looks like it doesn't leak at all, which is good. Just fittings on the end of hoses seem to leak. Will try to integrate it into the garage and other compressor at some point this year. Until then, or a few minor tweaks, project done. Working 160 litre tank available as required.

New tools:

https://twitter.com/FredCookeNZ/status/ ... 2741194752

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DIYEFI.org - where Open Source means Open Source, and Free means Freedom
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