RE: [alfa] Compressor for impact wenches

["RC Hiatt" <richard.hiatt@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A very effective air compressor can be built for under $10.00. I used one of
these for many years with air tools.

Go to a plumbing store and ask for a take out old water heater. These are
commonly sent to the landfill making this nearly free project an ecological
plus. Strip the metal cover from it and make a simple stand to hold the tank
upright. Buy brass or iron plugs for the water connections on the side of
the tank and brass fittings for the top in order to attach air in and out
connections. Use any of several gasket compounds to make fittings air tight.

Old working Refrigerators are easy to find for free around these parts and
the compressor makes a dandy electric air pump. Affix it to a board mounted
on top of the water heater tank and connect one air hose to the top of the
water heater fitting. Then run an air hose from the tank to power your
tools. A pressure gauge can be found used and inexpensively to monitor the
pressure and manually turn off the pump before a hose blows off from over
pressure, and one can also add a pressure switch, but the cost is starting
to rise at this point. One can also improve on the longevity of tools by
adding a water filter in the line, as inexpensive parts are located at swap
meets and salvage stores. A home built project like this requires extra care
to ensure the safety of the user, which is the recently popular statement of
the obvious.

Richard
85 Spider and 81 GTV6
Portland


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided] On Behalf Of
Bennett, George J
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 7:57 AM
To: alfa@domain.elided
Cc: anthony.white@domain.elided
Subject: [alfa] Breaker bar vs. impact wrench

One of my best tool purchases when I was starting out was a small
air tank meant for filling tires. Sure makes it easy to keep the
kid's bike tires pumped up, or add the couple psi the car tires
needed each month.

With a simple modification, that little air tank can also run an
impact wrench. At least long enough to break loose a crankshaft nut.

Buy a standard air hose coupling kit. Unscrew the short air hose
and install the coupling kit. Presto! You're in business.

Jeff
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