Portable CO2 tire Inflator, CHEAP!

In my search through the vast world of off-roading dumbassery (read, expensive useless items), I stumbled upon a portable CO2 tire inflator made by some company called "PowerTank"

I then noticed their obscene pricing.


I have played paintball approximately half my life. A remote CO2 system should not cost *anything* above $100.


So i put my mind to work and made a simple, easy, light, space saving, tire inflator.


Materials needed:
20oz CO2 tank (paintball) (~$20)
Paintball remote line (~$20)
1/8NPT Female to 1/4NPT Male Adapter (~$6)
Tire Chuck (~$5)

Total Cost. $51

Granted, its not a 10lbs cylinder, but its still plenty of CO2 to inflate your tires if you are low, or re-inflate them if you ran them through sand. Also, the hose itself is vastly beefier than typical air hosing (designed not to crack with liquid CO2)

Best part. Dicks/Sports Authority/Napa/Cabelas/Bass Pro/ect will fill CO2 cylinders. To fill this, it costs about $4.

Its not Fancy, but hell its 50 bucks, and it isnt some "prone to dieing" on-board electric compressor.

 

huh, interesting idea. how much volume do you really get out of one of those cylinders?

 

i was planning on getting a 5lb tank and doing the same thing. nice idea with the 20 oz for emergencies and such

 

What about an Wrapped N2 tank? Do you think that would work?

 

i dont think an n2 tank would work with co2

 

Well, CO2 is stored in a compressed liquid state at approximately 850 PSI.

There's way more volume of gas, its just compressed into a liquid state.

I still have my Ninja 45/4500 tank, and it would work, but CO2 is cheaper, and holds more volume in a smaller space than a compressed air cylinder.

 

I know but air is air in tires.

CO2 holds more volume? I always assumed N2 did... Man I'm rusty with paintballing...

 

side by side, in a gaseous state, CO2 and N2 are fairly similar. The reason the CO2 is the victor, is that its stored in a compressed liquid state. It expands further, and changes from liquid to gas before being expelled.

Plus, its dirt cheap, so why bother with a N2 tank (plus, dinging carbon fiber is a big no-no. You can fail a hydro test very fast because of compromises in the outer CF husk.

Also, you have to be relative with cylinder size. A 70/4500 psi tank is going to hold more air than a 20oz CO2 tank. But ounce for ounce and dollar for dollar, CO2 is the clear winner.

 

Forgive me if this is a stupid question... Wouldn't the N2 hold more if it is compressed at 3500 and 4500? I seem to remember being able to shoot longer with an N2 tank then a CO2

 

thats why i added the caveat of relative cylinder size.

 

where is the regulator for this setup? how much PSI are you seeing at the tire filler?

 

Ah, I missed that part.

 

I did something similar. I managed to find a 20lb food grade Co2 tank on craigslist from a local deli. Paid $20 for it and its been great! Love how fast Co2 fills!

 

I always thought it was a no-no to store CO2 bottles in vehicles.

 

Here's a write-up I did many years ago....
http://www.lieblweb.com/liquidco2.html

 

what bracket is that off ??? i need to find a cheap bracket for mine

 

Its actually just a couple of pieces of angle iron that I made a frame out of and attached some quickfist clamps to. It works pretty good!

 

I like this idea. How fast does it fill a tire?

 

This is a MUCH better solution. Same thing I've got on mine. That little 20 oz wouldn't fill a full set of tires after a trail run.

I have this one


and this one

 

time to do a 5lb setup!!