Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Hi

What is a nice compressor size to use? Is the 160l/min the better option or do I look at a smaller double piston compressor? I am looking at acquiring a compressor for off-road use.

Marinus, What size tyres do you have?

I suppose it also depends on how fast you want to inflate and the amount of Randelas you want to spend. You can get anything from the 160l Midas jobbies right through to the Warn & Fini compressors.

I got what seems like a very nice quality 160lpm compressor at Outdoor Warehouse recently, I think it was around R1400.
I've tested it and really performs. I would not go smaller than that!
See link - http://www.outdoorwarehouse.co.za/motoq ... essor.html

I had a look at all the 4x4 shops in Bloem. Safari Center will sell me a Motoquip 160l/m compressor for R1245. I had a look at 4x4Megaworld R1380 for the T-Max 160l/m. Safari 4x4 is smoking something, R2200 for the Ironman 160 l/m. Aderdorffs has a 160l/m compressor for R885. All of the compressors looks the same in design. I am looking strongly at the Motoquip one from Safari Center.

Thanks for the input.

It all depends on how impatient you are. The less patience you have, the more money you need to spend.

I would not buy a compressor from Adandorff's.But probably there are thousands who have and are happy with it.

Ok this is my opinion the 160l/min from midas, adendorf, ironman , t max etc are all the same thing with different name stickers on. Mine R950 from midas looks exactly the same as a friend of mines R2000 one.

I agree with Ink.... I have a Midas 160L/min compressor that came in a bag with nice detachable hose. I got mine about 5 years ago for I think around R500. It has pumped up my Patrols 33" muddies and my SANI's 31" on many many occasions without any problems. The only thing I don't like is the inline gauge it comes with. It isn't accurate for me, so I pump to a certain point on the gauge and double check with my tyre pressure gauge.

Filling the 33" muddies from 1.2 bar when in Moz to 2.5 bar takes about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per tyre, then 1 minute to find a rag so as not to burn my hand on the metal hose connector that clicks into the compressor when packing the thing back into its bag.

And it looks EXACTLY the same as the fancy ones.... just different paint job. Even the reset button and switch is the same and in the same position.

I like the money saved on this, and have spent the saving happily for that last ice cold 2M beer at the border before crossing back into SA from Moz....

Dont go adendorf, its like a ford as soon as you put the badge/sticker on it it would leak/break........

Ink wrote:Ok this is my opinion the 160l/min from midas, adendorf, ironman , t max etc are all the same thing with different name stickers on. Mine R950 from midas looks exactly the same as a friend of mines R2000 one.

INK & Rixta said it
BUT before these 150 and 160 l/minute big compressors came to market, for many years we were happy with 72 l/minute Volacano from Nidas [the 4x4 shops did not even stock compressors way back then .. it is of late whwre they can mark up 100 or 200 % and make it worth their while to carry the stock.

I have a big as possible compressor [actually - I have TWO .. BUT - most times when I take groups into Afroca on Outreach, most of the guys joining us dont have any equipment - and inflating 6 of 4x4 vehicles tyres after a sand section with a small pump is just NOT on ..\

For just your own vehicle, and you dont pump more tha 6 times A YEAR .. get the 72 l/minute Tornado [uses half the space, less weight, and at 400 mula .. not a bad buy

RICTSERRRRRRRRRRRRRR !!!!! sies jou pharq !! I mean pump his WHEELS no more than 6 times a year ... eisjjjjjj WAHT were yu thinking there ???

I have a 160lpm Tmax compressor which is about 5 years old now....don't think the brand is relevant since they are probably all from the same factory in China.

Mine has worked harder than most, because I had it permanently mounted in my previous bakkie for two years and during that time it permanently kept a 20 litre tank at 8 bar. My set-up was in Weg/Drive-out as well a few years ago.

Here's the article that was in Weg...even though I'm Afrikaans, the original article I wrote in English, so even to me, some of the words used are quite odd. http://weg.co.za/toerusting-en-diy/werk ... erste-lug/

Due to the hard life it had, I've had a few issues with my compressor.
-On top of the "cylinder head" there are two one-way valves which work with o-rings and a piece of spring steel. The one spring steel plate broke, so it could not build up any pressure. I fixed it with a piece of an old feeler gauge and some new o-rings as they tend to go hard and brittle due to the heat.
-The switch melted, so I bypassed the switch and relay. Now I connect directly to the battery with crocodile clamps.
-The "Big End Bearing", which is a cheap Chinese ball bearing, disintegrated. I then replaced it with a new Koyo bearing, which took a bit of fiddling as the bearing is crimped onto the shaft and into the conrod, so it was not designed to be replaced.

Currently it is not mounted in my Patrol because I usually have more than one 4x4 and need to use the same compressor in the other vehicle as well. I mounted the pressure switch arrangement from the tank set-up to the side of the compressor, so it pumps until the pipe is at 8 bar and then the compressor shuts off. This gives me the ability to use my impact gun, because that small burst of 8 bar air is enough to knock a wheel nut loose, or just let is run for a few seconds and the pipe is back up to 8 bar and ready for another blow.

I have also replaced the crappy standard pipe, with a proper pneumatic hose to better handle the higher pressure and the heat.

For inflation, I have a garage style gauge with a clip-on valve chuck. With this type of gauge you can see the actual pressure inside the tyre when you let go of the trigger. The problem with the inline gauge is that it shows the pressure in the pipe and not the tyre while the pump is running.

A friend of mine went a different route with a garage door remote to swith the pump on and off. When wants to check the tyre pressure, he stops the compressor with the remote while he's at the tyre being pumped, checks the gauge once it settles, and then switch it on again via the remote if he needs to inflate more.