A/C to OBA completed

[BrentNClemson]

The A/C never really worked that well in my Jeep, so I decided to ditch it...and hook up an on board air system to the stock Sanden compressor. I'll eventually do some kind of write-up w/ more detail, but here are a few pictures...enjoy!

On the output side of the compressor I ran air hose to a water/oil separator, 150 psi pop-off safety valve, quick connect, and then pressure switch. The pressure switch cuts off at 125 psi, on at 95 psi, and activates the compressor clutch.

On the intake side I cut the stock hoses and put a t-fitting and an inline air filter. The T is for squirting oil in before I use it each time and the inline air filter was cheap and is temporary. Eventually I'll get an air filter/oiler on the intake side.

I'm definitely happy w/ the set-up so far, but I'll be doing several other things to it. Right now, obviously, I don't have a tank. The compressor does fine pumping up the tires on it's own, but a small tank in the back would help a lot. Right now it takes a little more than a minute to go from 10-30 psi. With an air tank I could also run air tools on the trail.

I'd also like to have some quick connects at the front and rear bumpers and I need to wire in an in-dash switch to the pressure switch so it doesn't get left on accidentally. Once I get a small air tank I'll probably have a little over $100 in the set-up.

I got most of the info on how to do this from this board...thanks for the help!

 

[JLane99XJ]

looks good

 

[*xj-man*]

i want to do that to mine but i cant find a write up on how to do it

 

[BrentNClemson]

Do a search for "oba", "Sanden", or "air" on here and you'll get a bunch of stuff. Here are a couple sites...check out the links at the bottom of some of these sites also.

http://www.off-road.com/jeep/cherokee/2001/05_may/onboard-air/onboardair1.html

http://www.jedi.com/obiwan/jeep/yorkair.html

http://www.huv.com/jon/jeep/Air/index.html

Some of these use York air compressors but a lot of the information is still useful. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[HodgePodge]

Ah yes.. the elusive OBA writeup...


http://www.kilbyenterprises.com/faq.htm That should help you figure it out a bit..

 

[massxj]

i did almost the same thing on a Buddy's tj and we had trouble with the hose getting to hot ( after a long use ten min or so ) and bursting had to use copper tube in a coil about the size of a coffee can from the compressor to the tank

 

[BrettM]

i did almost the same thing on a Buddy's tj and we had trouble with the hose getting to hot ( after a long use ten min or so ) and bursting had to use copper tube in a coil about the size of a coffee can from the compressor to the tank

my hose coming right off the compressor sometimes gets too hot as well, seems to be only when I fill up other people's tires after filling my own. It never bursts, it just starts leaking right next to the barbed fitting, so I cut an inch of the hose off and cinch it back down on the barbed fitting. maybe one day i'll come up with a more permanent fix, but this works fine for now.

 

[bbaker80]

You might want to try a Goodyear hose whip. The have a swivel fitting on one end (what would be the tool end) and crimped fittings that don't blow off at both ends. I used the swivel at the compressor end to keep vibration and engine movement from loosening the fittings, and the hose has held up great. I've actually had hoses further into the system blow off from heat/pressure, but the Goodyear is still going strong.

 

[BrentNClemson]

Well, the first time I used my oba on the trail the hose blew on me. I had the engine revved up a bit and I guess it was a little much for the hose...I'm surprised it burst w/ less than 125 psi though (my pressure switch setting. My engine was running hot on the trail all day, so that probably had a lot to do w/ it. Has anyone else figured out a good fix for this? Or maybe a source for high temp air hose?

 

[warwagon98xj]

could you run the air through the condenser to act as a cooler?