Can i use a AL80 tank to run air tools?? if so, how?

[wedivebc]

Can i use a 3,000psi AL80 tank to run air tools?? if so, how?

how much air does a impact wrench use? i like to work on my truck quite often and many times bolts, etc.. needed an impact wrench to help out taking it out... so i was thinking if its possible to use my AL80 to "assist" me in my wrenching...

If you are using it for emergency repairs and such a scuba tank will work just fine. I had a tire that had a slow leak. I was too lazy to fix it so I just carried a pony bottle (My car is always full of dive gear anyway) and an air chuck that hooked to a bcd inflator of a standard reg. I have a repair shop and a big yard full of old cars. If I need an air impact to loosen a wheel it is somtimes much easier to carry an AL80 than to string several hundred feet of air line. I have also used a scuba tank to run a pnumatic cut-off wheel and it did the job with air to spare.
I use an old conshelf reg. I use an over-pressure valve to prevent hose bursting so I can't jack up the IP too much.

 

[mike_s]

Others here have said it will work, but it's not really cost effective for what air fills costs, etc.

Do a google serach though and you'll find all kinds of stuff where people have done this and made a web page about it.

 

[riverdiver]

Can i use a 3,000psi AL80 tank to run air tools?? if so, how?

how much air does a impact wrench use? i like to work on my truck quite often and many times bolts, etc.. needed an impact wrench to help out taking it out... so i was thinking if its possible to use my AL80 to "assist" me in my wrenching...

Yes you can use it, DO NOT USE NITROX, it works great been doing it for years, hook it up to your LP hose- regulator is $20.00 at Home depot and you can adjust the pressure - +, framming nail gun is around 90psi air sander @ 40psi, have heard that you can paint a car on a 3000 psi al 80. Works best inside like a basement, where a compressor is loud,and running all day. It would be cheaper than running a gas compressor. I run mine off a dry suit inflator with 1/4" npt fitting to regular 300 psi airhose.
Ed

 

[wedivebc]

I just tried to remove an axle nut 1 3/16" using a 1/2 CP impact and I can honestly say my conshelf reg did not have the poop to move it very fast. It did work.
Now we need to go into the DIR forum and find out what the best mix and proper hose routing should be for this setup

 

[Tom Winters]

I used a bank of 14 aluminum 80's to paint boats in Hawaii. I cou;dn't get enough amps for a compressor, and the gas powered ones I borrowed were too finicky to keep running. I wrenched in an LP reg to fine-tune my working pressure on a scuba regulator and ran a 75' airline to keep the tanks from getting any overspray. I was spraying epoxies and some Interlux urethanes and got great results.

 

[Nemrod]

"Point well taken, Nemrod. But the question put forth was, "Can i use a 3,000psi AL80 tank to run air tools??"

Devillbis spray gun, production type, 15 to 25 cfm
Sharpe HVLP spray gun, up to 20 cfm
My Impact driver--10cfm
Cutoff wheel--approx 10cfm
Mini palm drill--6 cfm
Standard 3/8 inch air drill--10 to 15 cfm

Since I work with air tools everyday as a professional mechanic I don't think I would get very far with 80cfm and neither will anyone else. Maybe if you have some minature toy tools. Perhaps in an emergency but what sort of emergency, about the time the work began the 80cf would be gone. Also, 3,000 psi applied to most air lines and tools I know would result in shrapnel. If you took an old 1st stage, approx 120 psi, then it might work for a few minutes, the higher the pressure the faster the air would be used. No, it is not practical to do but go right ahead, be my guest and go to any expense to save a dollar, lol. N

 

[DA Aquamaster]

No, you cannot. You would need to step the pressure down to approx 90 psi. Most air tools consume approx 5 to 15 cfm at 90 psi. An 80 cf tank would not last very long. At 10 cfm then about 8 minutes--max. Not very practical. Buy an air compressor intended for running tools, avoid the oiless types, they are noisy, inefficient and don't last long when used hard. N

Stepping the pressure down is not normally a problem with any reg with an adjustable spring pad. And you are correct, 80 cu ft is only going to run a 10 cfm tool continuously for 8 minutes...but 8 minutes of continuous use on an impact wrench is a fair amount of nuts and bolts and is enough time to rotate your tires unless your lug nuts are really rusty.

The same applies with using a scuba tank/reg with an an air brush or paint gun. As long as the pressure is properly regulated it works well with the extra benefit that the air is already very dry and no moisture trap is needed.

 

[bob1dp]

I used to do a lot of boat repairs in the water. I’d install through hulls, trim tabs, and swim steps. I ran pneumatic tools off of scuba tanks with a long line and they worked great! I used drills primarily and they lasted a long time. I want to say 20 minutes of full drilling. I always had tanks available and could fill them free at my shop so it was a good solution. It was much easier then carting a compressor down to the docks. Just be sure to flush your tools with fresh water and, once away from the sea a little WD40.

 

[dannobee]

Sure, you can do it. Most shop air compressors (the ones at professional shops, NOT the home kind) run air pressures of around 150 psi. Scuba 1st stages drop the pressure down to about 130 ish, so yeah, the pressure is about right. But the volume of air going through the regulator(actually it's probably the restriction in the valve itself, not the regulator) probably won't be enough to power most air tools for very long-the tool will slow down after initially running ok.

You could also get a 244(?) cu ft nitrogen tank from the welding supply company and buy the right regulator-just like they use in Nascar (they don't allow compressors on pit road). These regulators (and the tank valves) were made for the higher flow rate, and a 244 cu ft tank lasts me at least the whole night, changing at least 16 tires, filling up tires, running air ratchets, etc.

 

[Nemrod]

I think it has been touched on but to make sure someone does not get hurt, do not use a scuba regulator to step air down from a 3,000 psi tank to a tool intended for approx 90 psi average. The scuba regulator is intended for low volume intermitent flow. Tools reqquire a high volume of air continuously. Air has mass and it's movement can cause metal erosion. The regulator 1st stage will rapidly fail then supplying potentialy 3,000 psi air to a tool/hose/system intended for a tiney fraction of that. The results could be lethal.
Shop compressers run at pressures of 150 to 300 psi. If the shop air regulator fails the tools will not see a destructive pressure.
I once saw a Padi Instructor attempt to plug a high pressure port with a LP hose---back when they had the same thread! The hose exploded with tremedous force--kkaaaaabooooooooom-- sending rubber bits flying with enough force to put out an eye or even worse, raising whelps on me and a few others 20 feet away. Imagine 3,000 psi applied to a tool!!!! Y'all do what you want but I just want you to know the downside is a serious and expensive injury. I will say no more on this--good luck--best wishes. N