Thanks to a nice Black Friday sale I bought an under-hood-mounted air compressor for my ‘15 JKR. I installed it yesterday and am now wondering about an air tank. I don’t want to give up any of the already-limited space inside my Jeep. The only thing I’m finding as a bolt-in is the two gallon Viair tank with Synergy mount that tucks in by the rear end.

I’m only using the compressor for inflation at this time. I have E-lockers so no plan for air lockers. Someday if I get silly I may opt for an air horn, but I’m not really caring about that. I’m just looking at the possibilities.

So the question I have is if a tank is really necessary at all, and if so, will two-gallons even matter? I’m thinking inflation will drain it in just a few seconds. Maybe the only real use is to scare the neighborhood pets with a silly horn. Do any of you know of a larger tank that can be tucked into the underside of our rides? I do have a few friends who work for local fab shops and I could no doubt have something made, but if the off-the-shelf two gallon unit will do me, I’d rather not spend big bucks for something custom.

Thoughts?

 

What compressor did you get? I've got the Viair with the 2.5 gallon tank and it does help with inflating tires.....for about 3 seconds, then the compressor kicks back on. The volume of pressure ready to go is nice for a couple of hits from an impact gun, though it won't do what your home compressor will do.

I don't regret the tank, I just don't know that I'd necessarily think of it as the 'end all, be all' solution.

 

Thanks. I got the ARB twin. The BF deal included the under hood mount, ARB digital inflator, manifold, and hose kit. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t consider a 5 gallon that I can fab a quick-release mount for. That way I can bring it along when I want but not have to dedicate space for it full-time. Sounds like my suspicions about the 2 gallon are correct; not very useful.

 

If you have the twin then you should be just fine for inflating tires. Aren't they rated at 100% duty cycle? I have the smaller Viair single and the only time I hit the duty cycle was on a hot day, hood closed, setting beads and airing up 5 35" tires. The tank didn't provide much relief to the compressor. To avoid that now, I do one tire at a time and try to give the compressor a chance to rest for a minute between running it at full blast.

 

I've been thinking about this too. Grab a cheap 5 gallon portable tank that I can carry around to fill trailer/wagon/bike tires or use the blowgun attachment or whatever, then some type of quick disconnect to mount it to the rollbar. Also saw a cheap 7 gallon aluminum tank at harbor freight, a bit bigger but might be a better option than steel.

 

You don't need a tank. That is fine to inflate with since 100% duty cycle. A tank ain't gonna make a hill of beans either with pneumatic tools. That compressor is what it is. Save the space that you'd stick a tank in for tools, recovery gear, and spare parts or whatnot. I've had that compressor for ~5 years now and have been very happy with it. It's pricey as a tire inflator.....but it's nice to have when you've aired down in the middle of nowhere!

 

I never think about HF, but it sounds like one of their safer choices. I agree that aluminum is a better option. At this time I’m leaning away from the idea of a tank but if I wander back toward that direction I’ll definitely check out the HF one. Thank you.

 

Kind of thinking you’re right. And I agree that it’s pretty expensive for just inflating tires. But after buying a new JKR I’m not inclined to save a few $$$ on the things that only get touched occasionally. At my old age I don’t have time to wait on a cheap compressor. ;-)

 

What I don't understand in this equation is how this is any different than if you filled a tire, then gave the compressor a 2 min break before filling the next. It seems the compressor is running just as long regardless of if it's filling the tank which is then filling the tire, or filling the tire directly. Maybe I just think about it wrong.

In regards to tanks in general, it seems that a better use of space, other than a 5g tank, would be to carry bottle of CO2 so you really do have the best of both worlds. Anything that needs to be aired up like a bike or trailer tire, or a ball or raft....pull that junk right up by the jeep or vice-versa, and just use the compressor.

 

ARB has good customer support too. I will also add.....the buddy that gave me the most grief for spending money on my arb twin.....he bought the same thing about six months after me. . That should say something.