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gas powered air compressor

16033 Views 27 Replies 14 Participants Last post by  biscuit
it's funny. the other day i was thinking i would like to build a gas powered air compressor. i figured i could use any electric one with a belt. and low and behold i found one on the side of the road. i figured the elec motor was bad. i brought it home, plugged it in and it works fine. went thru about 4 cycles of filling it with air and using a blow gun to empty it. it's a sears/craftsman 1hp. but i already have an elec one. so i am gonna sacrifice this one to build a gas one. now the search is on for a sideshaft engine. does anyone have any suggestions on what equipment i might find that has one? i live in the northeast. so we have all kinds of equipment kicking around at times.
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This is very simple. Use the pressure switch to cycle an electric clutch on and off. It will work. I used an AC pump on my Jeep to fill a custom bumper to 150 psi. The the presure switch opened and the AC clutch went to neutral. Pressure dropped to 90 psi and it kicked back on.

On your engine you'll need to use power from the magneto to the pressure switch then wire the pressure switch to the clutch. Even better would be to add a small 12v battery. I found a small one at advanced auto for my ultralight that weighs 3 lbs intended for a personal water craft.

Tie into the same power wire to the clutch to run an auto lock solenoid to control the throtle. A trunk lid release solenoid is one way and would work great. clutch on/throttle on.

I ran my AC pump as an air compressor for many years. I only had an on/off switch on the dash. The first year it ran and used the pressure release valve to regulate the max psi in the bumper(150). Then I found a large junk compressor at the scrap yard and took the pressure regulator off that. It was factory set at 90/150. Impact gun loved it :thThumbsU

You could also use an AC from an early dodge van(1980's). They had a nice small vtwin cylinder with an oil filled crankcase. These are capable of building in excess of 400 PSI so be careful and make certain there's a relief valve.
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