So in an attempt to A) build EAS redundancy and B) lengthen the life of the on-board compressor, I have come up with the idea of installing this 200 PSI 12v compressor by viair
I would wire it in, so that its relay would be activated by the same wire that closes the rovers relay, so the two would run in unison. Has anyone heard of this being done before? Any thoughts from someone with more Rover knowledge

Thanks,
Drew

 

So you are going to plumb the Viair into the air tank? ....air springs? I'm sure it's doable but probably more complicated than you have described above.

 

I will have the viair straight into the storage tank. There is a plug on the back of it that some have mounted a Schraeder valve to, so I will just get the appropriate adapter fittings and plumb the supplemental compressors outlet line into it. It's seems so simple that there has to be a reason I have not heard or seen this done before. The only technical hurdle I can see is you will have to have the software update dropping the operating pressure from 240 to 200 psi for the EAS to match the viair, but in my case that is already done

 

Well it seems interesting...although I have heard the AMK compressors are quite durable so they may not need the "help" from the Viair. Still good to mount it though, for supplemental air (like for airing up tires) and it would be good to have redundancy in the event of immediate failure on a trail.

I have air on-board but the compressor stays off unless I manually turn it on. I just use it for accessories.

 

Only the 2005-2006 LR3's have a 2nd unused port on the air reservoir tank. The factory compressor builds up to 344psi. THe bags dont need that much PSI, but this is to compensate up for the small tank and probably single the reason we have so many reliability issues.

It will prove difficult to source a compressor, lines, and fittings all in metric that can handle that high PSI. I wanted to run my ARB locker off the factory air, but couldn't find all the parts needed. There is a Air recovery kit available that might be a better solution.

 

I have an 06, so I guess I am lucky I have the port. My understanding is that the original spec was 244PSI, I had to search to confrim that, and found it here http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albu...escription.pdf I also read that there was a software upgrade that reduced that to 200PSI. Although I am having difficulty verifying that. Can anyone confirm that?

As for availiability of parts, I have the benefit of working in an industrial field and I use this company Hose & Fittings, Etc ? Parker hydraulics & pneumatics in CA & NV for air fittings and they either have or can get any part I need.

 

Your the closest without going over - the max is 258psi. I was thinking of the tank relief valve, which is about 344psi. This post by GAP team from Jan 2015 might be what you are looking for- it was very insightful:

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If you do this, you should also consider adding a air dryer to the Viair compressor.

 

250 PSI might be too much for that Viair compressor...its only rated for 200. The duty cycle should be very short I just question if the Viair can create 250 PSI. I guess the first order of business for me is to attach a pressure guage to the tank and see what real numbers I am working with.

 

We will be interested to hear what sort of pressures you see in your air tank.

I would anticipate closer to 210 psig than 258 as I think that was initially some sort of max ideal design number. The 210 or 200 number per the above post results from the software update that dropped the shutdown pressure in an attempt to extend the life of the Hitachi units.

That said, the number I was used to was 244 psig as noted in a previous post, but regardless of pressure, the real limitation is the air dryer. The theory of operation of the stock air dryer is that all air in passes thru it and all air out, exhausts back thru it as well.

The theory is that the water vapor the desiccant first soaks up is then expelled during the exhaust cycle.

If you introduce "wet" air via a secondary source downstream of the air dryer, then regardless of pressure, that will tend to frustrate the operation of the stock air dryer. At its best, the air dryer is far from overbuilt, hence wet air may turn that white power from broken down desiccant into mud in the block valves.

The reality is that installing an air dryer on the Viair unit is not unheard of and if probably a must in this situation. For the same reasons, using the LR compressor to fill ones tyres is not the best idea either.

 

My LR3 has the AMK compressor. Does that have a drier as well. It features prominently on the Hitachi compressor, but nothing jumps out at me as when I see photos of the AMK, and I just assumed it was removed due to it causing so much grief with the Hitachi. I installed an air drier on my home air system, and I certainly can set one up for the Viair

None of the pressure gauges I happen to have lying around are high enough to be used on this system, so once I get a new one and the requisite adapters/reducers I will report back with a pressure