So I've had this 4"X6' piece of aluminum conduit hanging around for over 20 years and I've always thought it would look cool if it was all polished up and mounted on the side of the roof rack as an air tank. It's 1/4" thick. A couple of people have told me its a dumb idea, as they don't think it wouldn't be safe. I'm not a welder and it would need caps welded on the ends. I've scoured the internet and I can't find any screw on caps or any domed caps that could be welded on. I'm pretty sure the conduit could handle the air pressure, it's the welding that might not hold up. I'm told any reputable welding shop probably won't want to have their name attached to anything that is going to be used to hold air pressure. I'm thinking it would probably just be cheaper to buy an air tank and mount it where the muffler used to be, than to try and find a shop to weld on ends and brackets to mount it to the roof rack. So the questions are whether its worth pursing turning the conduit into an air tank or if there's something else clever I might use it for?

 

No, not worth it. It's not even worth it to mount an actual manufactured air tank IMO. To go through so much trouble to make something into an air tank is going to be futile in both time and money. If you could fabricate and weld it yourself, maybe it would be fun to do just to have a project, but small air tanks like that just don't add enough capacity to be anything more than a fart in the wind.

 

I have a small air tank and yeah, the only benefit is giving the compressor a rest when I'm doing small air (non) intensive tasks. I'll fill the tank and then cut off the compressor so I can fill my ATV tires without the motor running but I can't say I'd pay extra for it. My brother bought an ARB twin and I'd say he can air up just as quickly as I can. The tanks just aren't big enough to make a difference in larger tires.

 

Just the safety concerns alone would be enough to say "this is a bad idea"
I'll stick with my little air compressor...