How about using an automotive A/C compressor to compress air? They are all over the junkyards, and they include a clutch so you could have a bunch connected and only turn on the ones you need.
Dayton
However, some old York compressors have the oil seperate from the air. Mid to late 70's US Fords, AMCs, Volvos (funny).
A google of 'York compressor Jeep' should give plenty of hits. Jeep guys use them as air compressors.
My idea is to run a fridge compressor (~80W at 1/2CFM?) as a pre-dump load with a 3 minute minimum timer. Quiet, simple, and a long life. My compressor supply dried up at the worst possible time. G-[ Parent ]
Easily taken care of with an oil separator:
http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/cn-rsp/product-detailCeunKqEJYgkD/China-Oil-Separators-with-St ore.html
Thurmond[ Parent ]
Sent you an e-mail.
You asked for an update.
I am not using compressed air in any significant way, and am not planning to do so at this time.
Our family has been living off the grid for just over 3 years now. We have 3 small solar panels and a battery bank of 4 T-105s that are wired for 12V. When we need more power I have a Changfa powered generator that I built, I got real tired of using high rpm gasoline generators and went all out on this generator. I have it installed in an enclosed trailer along with my welding equipment which allows me to do portable welding work. I hope to build a listeroid generator in the near future which will become the primary generator and relegate the noisy changfa to backup/portable duty.
Details on the generator can be found at http://stuffformyfriends.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html just scroll down a bit.
The solar panels provide more than enough power for everything except our Hughesnet satellite internet system and the washing machine. So when we run the generator to power the washer we also charge the battery bank to replace the power used by the satellite connection.[ Parent ]
