Homemade AirCompressor

Step 2 The Compressor

An air compressor has three main parts, a pump, a motor, and a tank. To get these you can go to you local scrap yard, they usually have a few scrapped compressors that can give you a pump and sometime a usable tank, if not with a bit of work you can use a AC compressor from a car, if either of these is unavailable harbor freight tools sells compressor pumps. For a motor you can get one from you local motor repair shop or from a scrapped washing machine, electric lawnmotor, or even a gasoline engine(this one would require a pneumatic clutch). And as for a tank you can use one from a old compressor, but I like propane tanks, you can get from walmart or ameri-gas(amerigas usually have old tanks that have the valves removed I bought my tank for $3)

Comments

[simonkoenig911]

 nice. would it be possible to use a gokart engine, remove all the gasoline parts and use that as a pump? because down here a gas motor is cheap and i can't find a pump anywhere. and anyone can buy a new compressor. any ideas?

[berekleonard]

It's been a year since you posted this question, but I hope it helps someone.

Yes. It is possible to convert an engine into a compressor pump. They are both piston machines working off of the same principles. It is about the same relationship that DC motors and PM generators have. For instance, there are people who convert antique pumps into hit and miss engines.

On the other hand, people have also converted 4-cylinder engines into a pump/motor, "monoblock" combination by making 2 cylinders air pumps and the other 2 cylinders are left to run normally (with ignition mods, etc...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me6h4SNEhBk

[NATIVEBOY]

 could you modify this so you can pressurize wood-gas?

[wak166]

yes, there is an intake on all air compressord . you need to find it and pipe your synth gas into that . you could use a smaller propane tank and a propane converson kit for you car/truck and fill propane bottles with synth gas. let me know if you do this please .

[NATIVEBOY]

ty

[Bender is great]

can the motor come from an old air conditioner and how much horse power do you need.

[Derin]

Just for your information:
1HP=~768W

[treekids]

Very interesting. Thanks! Would be cool to use something like this on a bike-like vehicle to store up energy at a stoplight so you can get up to cruising speed quickly. It's inefficient, I know, to store up energy pneumatically, but it's not like I would have done anything else with the potential while I'm just standing there, and I might as well get a little more fit. And besides, the quick cooling from the takeoff would give one a nice source of air conditioning as a reward when the light does go green (assuming the tank is mounted ahead of the rider or you have a fan)

[kraken1988]

Excelent. This seems pretty dangerous at first, but hell, I'd try it if I had the parts. I want to make a smaller one for an air cannon, like a spud gun on crack. I won't sleep until I put a hole through 3/4 in plywood with an avocado.