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Air Ride Suspensions \  Compressors or bottle fed?

Compressors or bottle fed?

Air Ride Suspensions Q & A
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replies 10
following 7
 
truk2low4u   +1y
What does everyone use compressors or bottle for there airand what's the up and down sides of each? Can't decide which I want to go with on my new project.
bukfidy   +1y
I run 2 viair 480 compressors daily and never have any problems, with 2 7 gallon tanks. I also have a nitrogen bottle but i usually only fill it for shows, it can last 2 weeks by just lifting up to drive and occasionaly hitting switches or i can run through the whole bottle in 15-20 minutes at a show.
Uncle Fester   +1y
Always have a comp for a back up if you use the bottle. Sucks to run out of juice and no where to go :LOL: I look at it as bottle for play, comps to drive daily.
truk2low4u   +1y
yeah thats what i was thinking 1 compressor and small tank for when i run out of the bottle. probably just going to use c02 last a little longer imo
maztang (ryan)   +1y
I was running only a bottle on my 83 Mazda, until I got tired of going to fill it every 2 or 3 days. So I put the VIAIR 480s on it and I run the 444s on my F150, gonna put a small bottle on the F150 soon, just for shows.
DeepSouthS10   +1y
Fester hit it on the head. I used to only run the bottle and it only took one time of almost running out of air for me to go get a back up compressor lol. The pros and cons of bottles vs compressors is pretty simple. Pro for bottle is it is a quick, constant supply of nitrogen. However you have a limited supply and you also have a big ugly bulky bottle in your bed. More often then not, you have to swap your bottles out, so usually having a painted bottle is kinda out of the question unless you find a place that will fill it on the spot. I suppose you could get a bottle cover, but i have always thought they looked cheap. Maybe thats just me though. Also, on top of having to buy the 99 year lease on the bottle (not sure how much that costs now), you also have to pay everytime it gets filled, which can be pricey depending on how much you use it. Pro for the compressors is it is essentially an unlimited supply of air for a one time fee. Done correctly with water traps etc, you can run a compressor with zero problems for years. The con is that they are slow and obviously carry the possibility for mechanical failure. One way to alleviate the problem slower tank filling though is to go with an engine driven compressor. They can fill your your tank up to as much as 200 psi (or whatever your tank is rated for) in about a minute or less. It boils down to this, as mentioned above, if you are gonna use a bottle you need a back up compressor. If you run only a compressor, get an engine driven one. As a sidenote, I had access to my air tank so I put a screw in valve stem in one of the ports, so if my compressor crapped out i still had a way to put air in the tank and lift the truck to at least get where i am going. Just an idea, it came in handy a couple times and it only cost like 5 bucks.
dawgpimp   +1y
i use to run bottle only. on ball valves. small bottle behind my seat in my standard cab dawg. fill it on friday, play on saturday, and have enough for the week. now i have two thomas comps and switched to a smaller bottle. i switched to electric valves and have one on my regulator. if i need to clown on someone i don't have to mess with my bottle while driving. i use parker check valves so i don't get blow back thru my comps. nitro is better then co2 cuz it's dry. co2 can freeze up if your playing alot. nitro can lay flat and i believe co2 as to set at an angle.







98dakota20   +1y
this maybe a stupid question, but i thought co2 could become a liquid?
truk2low4u   +1y
I beleive co2 is liquid that turns to vapor. Not sure how. But I know that's why co2 bottles arnt supposed to be set flat. They are supposed to be angled do the liquid stays at the bottom. Don't quote me on that but I beleive it's sorta correct
truk2low4u   +1y
Anyone know where I can get some nice bottle brackets for co2 bottles they are 20 pounders