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Air Pressure Booster

VERY interesting device to making filling tires from motorhome tank a breeze.

Air-Pressure Booster

Good article on this thing I never heard of before.

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #1 –
Hi Barry,

Maybe not so fast to run out and buy it. I have one of these devices that has about a 5" x 12" tank and it takes a long time for it to build up pressure to double whatever you put into it. Therefore it may be a very slow process to fill RV tires. Great idea though.
Jim
Jim Frerichs
2002 U320 42'

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #2 –
I have posted on these devices before if you connect to the motor home's air supply they are incredibly fast and high pressure.  It depends on the volume of air in to the booster, the source of air and what the booster is set on.  It actually is a doubler on my unit so if set at 100 lbs you get 200lbs of pressure.  I can air up from 80lbs to 120 in less than a minute as long as the coach is on high idle and the governor is cycling.  In the picture your auxillary pump may have high pressure but limited flow rate. it will work much better of coach air.

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #3 –
I liked that post someone made about how it was better to use the coach air since it was filtered. I'd never thought about it!
1993 U-240 "La Villa Grande"..CAT 3116 w/ Pacbrake PRXB...Allison 3060 6-speed..
Previous: 1983 Airstream 310 turbo diesel, 1979 Airstream 280 turbo diesel
                                      Build # 4297
                                      PNW natives
                      Home base:  'Cactus Hug' (Ajo, Arizona)
                        DW Judy & Chet the wonder dog
                        Full-Timers 'Sailing the asphalt sea'

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #4 –
Quote from: mike leary –
I liked that post someone made about how it was better to use the coach air since it was filtered. I'd never thought about it!

It's also dried which is very good
1999 40 ft. U-320 wtfe build 5563 Chuck & Lynda's "Rollin' Inn"  2030 watts solar
prev. mh's 71 GMC 5 yrs. 73 Pace Setter 1 yr. 78 Vogue 5 yrs 81 FTX 40ft all electric 18 yrs. 1996 Monaco Signature 3 yrs.
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland
Dream as if you will live forever. Live as if you will die today.  James Dean

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #5 –
Quote from: craneman –
It's also dried which is very good

I first saw one at M&G in the owner's coach, when they installed my brake system.  Never understood how something so simple couple double anything.  Seemed like magic.  Was always wishing I could find something like that to double my money.

And let's remember it's also 78% nitrogen as well.  Just had to add that, for those like me that can settle for less than 100% nitrogen in our tires.
Dave Cobb
Buckhorn Lake Resort The Club, #6202, Kerrville TX
check the map.  I do rent it out when I am traveling!
2001, U320, 36' #5887, in Kerrville, FT Club #17006, (7/23 to present)
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Summit, white
EX: 98 U295, 36' #5219, (mid door), (4/13-10/23)
EX: 93 U225, 36' (4/11 to 4/13)

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #6 –
Nitrogen is for those who were not required to take chemistry OR physics and want to listen to OPINIONS instead of FACTS.

Both DRY air and N2 follow the ideal gas law (PSI change for a given temperature change).  Physics is physics.

Only real difference is WET air (like those coin op compressors at convenience stores).  No dryers.  No big surprise, but WATER does not follow the ideal gas law.  Said a different way, more PSI change for a given temperature change.
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #7 –
Brett,

Possible H2O content in air contribute to belt rust over time. The 8 year old Michelin that blew on my LF last year had incredibly rusted steel belts, which I surmise created tire failure
Tim Fiedler    2025 LTV Unity MBL on Order
2000 Chevy Tracker 2 Door Convertible 4WD Now lifted 4.5"
1985 Citroen 2CV6 Charleston
Murphy Rebel on wheels with 175HP Titan
Cessna P337
1980 48' Westport MY (!/4 Share)

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #8 –
Tim,

Totally agree.

But, if you use your on-coach air system, it is DRY air.
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #9 –
Brett,
My high school chem and physics were before the discovery of nitrogen. However, I seem to remember hearing that the molecular structure of nitrogen is a larger size than oxygen, making it harder to migrate through the structure of the tire. Is this all BS, and I should never had traded the cow for beans? :))
Len
Len and Deb Speiser
1999 U270 36'
2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
You're either on the bus, or you're off the bus!--Ken Kesey
If you're lucky enough to live in a bus, you're lucky enough!

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #10 –
Len,

Hopefully this link will work. It is from some of the material that Mike uses for one of his classes. http://www.getnitrogen.org/pdf/graham.pdf

Pamela & Mike
Pamela & Mike 97 U 320

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #11 –
So, barring a leak, how many lose air in their RV size tires (not smaller tires)?

Over the years, I find that I need to add air once or at most twice a year. 

Generally "refill" them during the first cold snap and they are (according to the TPMS) pretty steady through the summer. Then recheck first cold snap.  Yes, the warmer temperatures helps offset the very small loss.
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #12 –
Thanks Pam and Mike for the link. I think I got a headache reading it. I had heard about the difference between Nitrogen and "air", but sometimes what you are hearing is hype or misinformation.
My 350Z has a really touchy TPMS that seems to be set off after a cold front (low pressure zone) comes through. This may be dumb, but would the difference between the air pressure on the outside of the tire affect the effusion of the air inside the tire, or is it just the cold air in the tire has less pressure?
Hope I am not messing up this thread.
Thanks,
Len
Len and Deb Speiser
1999 U270 36'
2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
You're either on the bus, or you're off the bus!--Ken Kesey
If you're lucky enough to live in a bus, you're lucky enough!

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #13 –
That article compared nitrogen with oxygen, not nitrogen with air.  Physics is still physics.
Regards,
Brett

'99 42' Foretravel Xtreme
'14 Brown Motorsports Stacker
'05 Chevy SSR
'02 BMW R1150R

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #14 –
Quote from: lenspeiser –
would the difference between the air pressure on the outside of the tire affect the effusion of the air inside the tire, or is it just the cold air in the tire has less pressure?
My experience indicates that barometric pressure has a negligible effect on tire pressure. Ambient temperature has a large effect on tire pressure.

Try this little experiment. In the morning (before sunrise), set the pressure in the tires on a vehicle (car, truck, RV) to a pressure appropriate for the tire and vehicle. Check the pressure in the afternoon after the ambient temperature has reached the high for the day. You will see a significant rise in the pressure that you measure.

If you can, park the vehicle so that the afternoon sun shines on one side of the vehicle, while the other side is in the shade. You will probably find that the tires with direct sunlight shining on them will have higher pressures than the tires in the shade.

Also, measure tire pressures in "cold" tires, vs. "hot" tires. "Cold" means that the tires are at ambient temperatures and the vehicle hasn't been driven for several hours. It's easy to see these changes with a TPMS that provides pressure readings for each tire.

"Recommended pressures" apply to "cold" tires.
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #15 –
It's nearly 18 months between having to add air to my 275X80RX22.5 tires.  And that's with Pressure Pro's on all tires. I consider myself fortunate.  As Brett says, most often it will be just as wiinter begins to set in.
Don Hay
'92 Grandvilla, U-280
The Hayfever Express
Build #4055
'97 GEO Tracker
Life is like licking honey off a thorn.
 

Re: Air Pressure Booster

Reply #16 –
Just a couple of points to add to the discussion:

- Air - the stuff you will get from any air pump that is not fed a special diet is already 78%  molecular Nitrogen (N2)

- The process of oxidation is well-named.  We are all familiar with 2 common forms of oxidation - rust and fire.  The common active agent in an oxidation reaction is oxygen.  The degradation that occurs to substances exposed to the atmosphere - apart from damage caused directly by UV light - is mostly the result of oxidation.  That includes the degradation of rubber.  So any time  you can eliminate oxygen (and water) you will also reduce or eliminate oxidation.

So getting rid of moisture from the gas you put in your tire is definitely a good thing.  Getting rid of the oxygen is also a good thing.  Since the atmosphere is only 21% oxygen, how much difference it makes as a practical matter, I don't know (sorry).

Air Composition