CO2 Systems
The first time I ever saw another M715 besides mine was at the 2004 National FE held on Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in northern Kentucky. There were stock trucks, small block trucks, big block trucks and some people just had framed pictures of their trucks. (Sorry DP, I couldn't resist.) There was also a truck with a 4BT/NV4500 with a 14 bolt rear and D60 front. That owner spared no expense in his build. He also had a yellow CO2 tank for filling tires and running air tools.
I had never seen such a thing. He aired down his XL Michelin tires each time at the trails and used the yellow tank to air back up each day. He used the yellow tank to run air tools while Ronner had to replace his front brake hoses on his '70 K5. He seated a bead on a full of mud Super Swamper in a driving thunderstorm with the yellow tank too. I wanted one.
I found out it was called a Powertank. Then I got sticker shock after looking at the web site. Here is the site so you can have sticker shock as well:
http://powertank.com/
I had the 396/NV4500 in my M715 less than a year after that FE. I then added a York compressor, some tubing and M35 air tanks under the bed. I had something better. My air didn't run out. I had maybe $100 in the system and a day of welding and fitting to make it all work. It worked good filing a normal sized tire up or running an impact to change a trailer tire.
I aired down my XZL Michelin's to 15 psi at the 2006 National FE held at Wheelin in the Country in Souther Tennessee. The last night I went to air them back up to 80 psi for the trip home. I had trailer lug/rim/tire issues on the way up and wanted the M715 highway ready just in case for the trip home. My OBA was taking about 15 minutes per tire to get up to 80 psi. About halfway though the last tire the compressor died and hoses melted. DP let me use his OBA to finish that tire. Thanks again DP.
I built another York compressor and added more copper tubing to keep the heat away from the plastic air hoses. I had another hose blow out a few months later while recovering the M35 Gassers. More copper tubing was added. Then I had 6 flats getting to and during the 2008 FE in Buena Vista, Colorado. My York clutch shorted out and I think the last tire filling had me holding wires, taking the shock and trying not to get caught in the drive belt as the tire got aired up. I rebuilt the clutch or replaced it. I don't remember. I used it every so often until the 396 died.
I had added a few more off road MV's to my collection and realized I needed an air source on all of them. I didn't wan't to keep the compressor on the 6.2 either. I was back to dreaming about the yellow tanks again.
The Powertank web site is very informative. They have a chart on there showing how fast you can air up a tire and how many fillings a tank of which size will do. I don't remember what size Lee had, but I am guessing it was a 20 pounder. That from Powertank is around $550 with hoses and a mount. I kept researching.
I had a training in Austin a month or so ago and had to pass by the 4 Wheel Parts store. I stopped in and asked about Power tanks. They said they cost too much and I should look at their system:
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Winches-W...t_pn=S%2fB2747
I did and liked it. I also liked the $250 price tag. However, it doesn't come with a mount and you can only get a 10 pound tank from them. Fine for 33 inch tires, but not bigger or 33's and running an impact to remove a tire or two.
I found a few post by myself and others here on the Zone about CO2 tanks from years ago. I also found information on other sites. This is probably the best write up out there:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/winching-rec...west-cost.html
(That same web site has some great 6.2 swap information for other vehicles if anybody cares.)
It all seems to come down to the regulator and the tank. Hoses matter, but not that much. You also need to secure the tank to your vehicle somehow. Regulator, tank and mount are things you have to spend money on.
The tanks can be bought new from fish aquarium supply houses of all places. Here is the best prices I could find:
http://www.aquariumplants.com/Alumin...isters_p/t.htm
It seems the tanks have to have a DOT inspection and stamping every 5 years. We have 1 place in town that will do CO2. They are part of a national chain called Airgas. I called and talked to them. Yes, I could bring in a tank and they could send it off to get filled and I would get it back in a week or two. Yes, they could exchange a tank for me anytime I walked in the door for $15.00.
Hmm, why pay the money for the Powertank or Smittybuilt system if I have to drive 60 miles to get my tank filled or to drop off my tank and hope I get it back in a few weeks? I don't care about fancy colors. Airgas matched the price of the above linked aquarium place on a 20 pound food grade tank.
I looked on Craigslist and found a few tanks for almost nothing to around $100. That 5 year DOT inspection spooks me though. I have the same worry about Powertank and Smittybuilt. Plus, in a small town it is all about who you know. Buying a tank from them will help out every tank exchange instead of me just coming in there and saying I need this tank you didn't sell me traded in for one of your inspected and legal ones. Airgas being just about all over the country also lets me get exchanges anywhere I might go.
That took care of the tank. Next I needed a regulator. Powertank says their regulators won't freeze up, ever. They also have a tank psi gauge and a line psi gauge on their regulators. Tank psi doesn't matter because it is always 800 PSI until it is empty. That is just something else to break in my opinion. I don't have ARB air lockers so line psi doesn't matter to me either. I found several places that have fixed regulators. These people had the most stuff at one stop:
http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/...p-1-c-753.html
However, their fixed regulator doesn't look all together in the picture and they want $15 per item to ship. They also don't claim anything about their regulator freezing up or not.
These people have cheap shipping, claim to have a no freeze fixed regulator that has a hose quick connect on it and it cost the same as the polyperformance unit:
http://wheelersoffroad.com/product/o...co2-regulator/
I got my regulator and tank mount from Wheelers. Looking at fire extinquisher places for mounts gave me sticker shock again. I expected a thin metal not so good mount, but I needed a mount. I got a 1/8" thick steel very solid piece of workmanship. The regulator seems good stuff too.
Between the OBA on the M715 and the built in air on the M35 trucks. I have hauled air hoses with me just about everywhere I go for years now. A regular shop 50 foot hose takes up a lot of space, is clumsy to work with and generally just get in the way until they are needed.
I have tried those cheap hardware store yellow coiled hoses and hate them more. I realized I needed something like them though and went looking because the M715 and M1009's just don't have that much space to store a full size hose. I ended back up at Powertank. They have a hose they claim is built the best, just about bullet proof, rated to at least 200 psi and has a customer satisfaction gaurentee. I found the best price on it from here:
http://www.quadratec.com/products/92042_9070.htm
You get what you pay for and this thing is stout.
I was able to mount it up to some holes drilled by the fire department in the M715 bed yesterday:
The hose reaches all the tires from where the tank is and the tank can be locked in or pulled in seconds. I have to go pick up a truck from a field for somebody later in the week. The air will be needed to get it on the trailer. If I haven't used it all up, I will deflate a XZL and time how long it takes to fill up for some performance numbers.
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