Interesting CL ad - air compressor from an engine

[Ryan Mooney]

Sadly there was no picture but the device was described thusly:

2) a air compresser from a small block ford. 4 cylinders fire 4 pump air. Propane ran. 125 cfm constant $225

Hmm fascinating. Not sure why I haven't run into this idea before (or if I did why I forgot it!!). Bears some thinking about maybe...

Some quick interwebs searching and we see that its not a unique idea by any stretch.

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-convert-a-v8-engine-into-an-air-compressor

From a brigs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDonfQPgR8Y

Possibly even more bizarre - this guy is using two cylinders to drive the engine and the other two as compressor pumps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96_8EvN5l6U

 

[Darren Wright]

My BIL is a heavy machinery mechanic, he's got one that is built from a 8 cylinder engine using two or four of the cylinders for compressing air. If I recall they used check valves in place of the spark plugs, was used for running a jack hammers or sand blasters.

 

[John Pollman]

Makes sense. When you look at it, overall an internal combustion engine is nothing but a big air pump.

 

[Randal Stevenson]

There were quite a few VW motors doing this over the years.

Good quantity of air/duty cycle: http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Volks-Aire-Air-Compressor-Kit-Standard-Model-DR3S-p/dr3s.htm

I remember reading an article somewhere on Samba I think, about some Kombi van's that were still used in Airports in Germany, with a motor/pump, in the Cargo area, that were finally retired. (think it was around 2008)

 

[Steve Kniffen]

When I was growing up on the farm, we had a spark plug pump that we used on the old Farmall tractor to air up the tires. Just remove one spark plug, screw in the pump, and crank (make sure you watched for kickback). Worked like a charm, but you wanted to make sure the block was pretty cool. Then you had to crank it again after you put the spark plug back in.

 

[Roger Tulk]

Years ago, Canadian Tire used to sell a hose which could be screwed into one of the spark plug sockets on any engine, then the engine could be started and the hose used to inflate a tire. It always made me wonder if it wasn't a little dangerous to put an explosive mixture of air and gasoline into a tire.

 

[Ryan Mooney]

Neat follow ups - thanks folks!

 

[Chuck Ellis]

Years ago, Canadian Tire used to sell a hose which could be screwed into one of the spark plug sockets on any engine, then the engine could be started and the hose used to inflate a tire. It always made me wonder if it wasn't a little dangerous to put an explosive mixture of air and gasoline into a tire.

I don't know about the air and gasoline in a tire, but when I worked at the airport in SF, we had a mechanic killed when an airplane tire exploded... it was filled with nitrogen.

 

[Steve Kniffen]

Airplane tires usually operate at very high pressures, anywhere from 50 to 250 psi. Of course the high pressure ones are 26-28 ply tires so they can handle it. Another hazard on most aviation tires is two-piece rims. When a tire is off the aircraft, it's supposed to be inside a tire cage for inflating. On the aircraft is a different story. It's possible to overinflate a tire or for a defect in the tire or rim to cause a blowout. At those pressures, a blowout is explosive. I had a friend who was killed because he wanted to try to help the tire shop change a tire faster and he started taking apart the rim before the tire was completely deflated. Even "flat", there was enough pressure to make the rim come apart catastrophically when he had enough of the bolts holding the rim parts together off. Tires are just one more pressure vessel that need to be respected.

Steve

 

[Ted Calver]

I used to hide off to the side whenever I put air in the front tires of my old Chevy one ton. Gas stations without a cage wouldn't touch those split rim tires.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3_PMhBa_-c

 

[John Pollman]

I was as "Tire Buster" back in high school. I have no idea of the actual number, but I've mounted, dismounted, and repaired MANY MANY tires. I used to hate it when the big truck tires would come in for repair. I hated working on those split-rims!!! We had a cage and it was ALWAYS used. On more than one occasion, I had a ring that looked like it was completely seated, but wasn't. When I aired it up and that sucker seats, you know it. Almost had to change my drawers a couple times.

 

[Alan Bienlein]

The last cabinet shop I worked in had a compressor that was a ford 302 with cylinder heads that had read valves. Only two cylinders would be pumping the others would cycle in two at a time as needed depending on the cfm needed. I think it was rated at 40 hp and 105 cfm.

 

[Chuck Ellis]

I used to hide off to the side whenever I put air in the front tires of my old Chevy one ton. Gas stations without a cage wouldn't touch those split rim tires.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3_PMhBa_-c

WOW....That is scary... I was at Discount Tire the other day having two new tires put on the Avalon... the car was in bay 1 and Dianne and I sat at the window watching... I may move across the store for the next time.

 

[Chuck Ellis]

The last cabinet shop I worked in had a compressor that was a ford 302 with cylinder heads that had read valves. Only two cylinders would be pumping the others would cycle in two at a time as needed depending on the cfm needed. I think it was rated at 40 hp and 105 cfm.
View attachment 88749

I worked at Santini Export Packing the last 10 years I worked.... they had a 15 acre yard, all concreted and 3 stationary compressors... about 60 to 100 gallon tanks (Never really looked to see) it was not unusual to have a hose stretched across the yard for about 100 yards from the compressor to the nail guns... they would sometimes be running 2 or 3 nail guns off one hose.... the primary compressor was in the crane bay about the middle of the yard and it wasn't unusual to see hoses going in 2 or 3 directions out to the work areas. As far as I know they were just standard electric compressors.