Car A/C compressor used as an air compressor

[bixxjs]

Hi All
Just watched a few YouTube videos on converting car air conditioning compressors to run as compressed air compressors.Theyre driven by fairly large electric motors,usually 1 HP plus,are fitted with a pressure switch and feed a tank in the normal way.Im interested in building one,just to see if it works.

 

[disston]

I've heard it doesn't work all that well. But maybe it will meet your needs. I think the volume of output is too small. If anybody has actually tried and built one you should find them here.

 

[bixxjs]

I've already got a large 200 litre twin pump compressor,I just want to build one to see if it can be done.In theory it should but let's see if it can drive my old IR air hammer.

 

[malibu101]

I really don't know so I'm asking this question for people that do know.

Oil is carried by the refrigerant through the system. If an A/C compressor were to be used for this would it have a lack of lube prohibiting a long lifespan?

 

[6768rogues]

A car compressor like an old York used on AMCs, Fords, etc. are piston positive displacement pumps with a sump containing oil. They will work as an air compressor. Newer swash plate type compressors or rotary compressors circulate oil and are not as good as an air compressor.

 

[md21722]

A car compressor like an old York used on AMCs, Fords, etc. are piston positive displacement pumps with a sump containing oil. They will work as an air compressor. Newer swash plate type compressors or rotary compressors circulate oil and are not as good as an air compressor.

This. You see it more as a source of on-board air in an off-road rig than in a shop however.

 

[Super Mech]

I did the York setup when I was 15 years old. Pulled it out of an abandoned AMC. Found a empty propane tank from a forklift and a 1hp motor in a dumpster. Took about six months to accumulate the main parts. The only thing I paid for was the pressure switch. Made the frame work out of plywood and 2x4s. That was 36 years ago. Had it for years and it had no problem running an old Rodac 1/2" impact wrench. Gave it to a cousin when I moved out of my parents house at 22.

 

[38 Dodge Coupe]

My dad built one over 50 years ago using a 220 volt motor and york ac compressor and old water pressure tank . It worked ok- as I recall there was a lot of moisture in the tank daily- much more than I have ever had with my IR compressor and it took forever to get up to pressure. I have no doubt you can make one. In my opinion if you are going to use it for painting or driving tools there are much better options available to you for the time,money and effort you will invest.

 

[Angelfire]

I have a York OBA (on board air) in my Jeep. Installed it many years ago. Works great.....always get a surprised look on people's faces when I fire up air tools out in the middle of no where!

 

[38Chevy454]

A car compressor like an old York used on AMCs, Fords, etc. are piston positive displacement pumps with a sump containing oil. They will work as an air compressor. Newer swash plate type compressors or rotary compressors circulate oil and are not as good as an air compressor.

X2, any newer style compressor will seize up without some oil in the intake. The old York are popular for the off-road guys for on-board air, being engine driven and having a lot higher capacity than the small 12v electric compressors.

 

[rjacobs]

yea the newer compressors seize up. My buddy is lucky to get one season out of his, but he grabs em from the junk yard whenever he sees them and can swap em quickly. Another buddy has packed grease into certain parts of his and pulls it apart periodically and re-greases it. I think he is on year 2 with his and no issues. Obviously has an air/oil separator on the line.

So it can be done, but be prepared to have it seize up. Its not a problem as the clutch disengages. Just dont convert an expensive compressor.

 

[Tim C]

I tried a modern style ac compressor as on board air on a wheeling truck because it was already on the engine. It kept seizing up, even with an in line oiler on the intake. After the third seizure, I switched to the York style compressor mentioned above. It has a built in oil sump and resembles a small Briggs and Stratton. It's been working since 2007. It fills a 11 gallon air tank on the frame in less than two minutes at engine idle speed, faster if I'm driving and the rpms are up. The ac clutch is controlled by a regular square d pressure switch just like my home compressor, and I added a toggle switch on the dash to control the whole system.

I have air operated differential lockers on my rockcrawler truck, so that's the primary use. It will run air tools such as an impact gun or fill 42" tires quickly. It's great for using an air blower to knock the dust off you and the interior after a long day on the trail. It's not so good for a die grinder or other high consumption air tool though that could be the smaller tank.

It loses 2oz of oil each day I wheel the truck. I have an oil/water separator in the line between the pump and tank. The York's are supposed to have an internal oil passage to allow oil to circulate through the ac system, it can be blocked off with disassembly but I've never done it, I just dump the oil water mix into my used oil drum and top off the compressor with motor oil after every weekend trip. I've never seen oil or water in my tank when I drained it, but I still wouldn't want to paint with it LOL.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[kbs2244]

No experience with the swash types.
But I ran one for 30 years made from a V-2 pump out of a 67 Plymouth.
Old, fiber glass, water softener tank.
I kept it below 100 PSI
It filled a lot of tires.

 

[Milton Shaw]

When I was in high school (back in the dark ages), I made a compressor set up from a air brake compressor off a 18 wheeler. That pump is heavy duty and made to run forever. It even had water cooling hose connections and modulated the pressure with an unloader that did a compression release valve.

 

[redmondjp]

No experience with the swash types.
But I ran one for 30 years made from a V-2 pump out of a 67 Plymouth.
Old, fiber glass, water softener tank.
I kept it below 100 PSI
It filled a lot of tires.

Heh heh, those were bulletproof compressors that Mopar used! I used to maintain a 1966 Dodge Polara that an elderly widow friend of my mom owned. She was the original owner and still was driving it in the early 1990s and the original A/C system still worked! I put one can of R12 into it at the beginning of every summer.

They don't make 'em like that anymore, that's for sure.

 

[brownbagg]

a lot of 4wd people will use an old a/c compressor for off road air, there was one model that was favorive because it had its own crankcase oil reserved.

 

[log man]

Still running one of the old ford/York/amc's for my "wheel around" 1HP 7 gallon compressor. Has 35 yrs of occasional use on it and still going.

 

[billspit]

We once had a York mounted on a farmall cub to produce pressure for a spray rig. It was fine for that.

 

[Angelfire]

a lot of 4wd people will use an old a/c compressor for off road air, there was one model that was favorive because it had its own crankcase oil reserved.

The York 210 is generally the preferred model that I have seen used by us offroaders given it has the largest displacement.

 

[prostreetamx]

Had a friend that used a york to supply his whole shop air. The problem was that he did not use a safety valve and the compressor was still attached to the car. He would just idle the car and manually shut it off when the huge tank was full. The first time I saw his setup I told him that his storage tank did not seem to be up to the task. He left it running later that day to run an errand and his mom forgot about it. Shortly after she did remember, she shut off the car and went back into the house. A few minutes later the tank blew up, taking out the car and part of his garage. They never did find all of the tank parts but one end cap landed in the neighbors yard across the street. They work great but whatever you use you really need a safety valve.

 

[redmondjp]

Had a friend that used a york to supply his whole shop air. The problem was that he did not use a safety valve and the compressor was still attached to the car. He would just idle the car and manually shut it off when the huge tank was full. The first time I saw his setup I told him that his storage tank did not seem to be up to the task. He left it running later that day to run an errand and his mom forgot about it. Shortly after she did remember, she shut off the car and went back into the house. A few minutes later the tank blew up, taking out the car and part of his garage. They never did find all of the tank parts but one end cap landed in the neighbors yard across the street. They work great but whatever you use you really need a safety valve.

Yup. [quick pressure relief valve side trip here] Same for water heaters. At a strip mall north of Seattle, they had a small tank heater (10-15 gallon) mounted above a bathroom in the back of a business. The tank had no pressure relief valve. Somebody was working on the plumbing so they turned off the water, but forgot to turn off the power to the water heater. With no water pressure and likely some water siphoned out of the tank, steam built up inside the tank.

Finally, the tank shot out of the building like a rocket, straight up through the roof, and landed in a parking lot several hundred feet away, still intact (so pipe connection must have failed and acted as a nozzle jet). Miraculously, nobody was seriously injured.

They put those pressure relief valves on there for a darn good reason, folks!

 

[mtnkrake]

I built one out of a Chrysler RV2 a long time ago. I rebuilt it for fun recently. It worked ok for small stuff but not as good as my Jenny/EMglo

 

[verbalkint99]

this is a popular mod among those in the Jeep community. a lot of info can be had on cherokee based forums, including step by step how to's

 

[kelpaso1]

I have a York OBA (on board air) in my Jeep. Installed it many years ago. Works great.....always get a surprised look on people's faces when I fire up air tools out in the middle of no where!

Same happens here. I also had an on board welder using an older 130 amp GM alternator. Welding my buddy's fan clutch (free wheeling and not cooling) on the ground on the side of the trail with booster cables, a rod, and a welding glass shade. People who stopped by to watch thought we were geniuses

 

[fourjeepin]

This. You see it more as a source of on-board air in an off-road rig than in a shop however.

Yep, I have been running a York. Pulled it and the AMC 360 from a Matador wagon back in 1999. Great power. I only have a one gallon tank, so it cycles quite a bit when running a die grinder or cutting wheel.