Also around the fuel filler cap before one opens it. It is frightening how much dust collects here. The compressors have had a multitude of uses. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

mikehzz wrote:

You need to use your compressor to blow out the air filter every couple of days. That red dust gets into everything except the engine hopefully. The rest of the world is too civilized now and 4wd's are getting softer as a result. Most people in Europe sizegenetics https://www.virtualpalomarwest.org/sizegenetics-review/ would be absolutely astonished at how much is spent on addons to 4wd's here. It's pretty normal to buy something like a Triton, L200 in the UK, for around $40k, then spend another $20k on accessories to make it capable enough to handle the conditions. Things like suspension lift, bullbar, towbar, snorkel, radio, driving lights, winch, bash plates, diff locks, off road tyres, compressor, canopy, drawers, fridge slide, rock slider side steps, roof racks....blah blah. You can't drive 5 minutes without seeing a fully kitted out 4wd here. I can drive a month in Europe and barely see a real 4wd.

Just one decent one will do.

With a LOT of emphasis on quality!

The retailers & most packaging do not mention anything about duty cycle.

The PSI stated on most compressors, lets say 200PSI is basically for zero air flow, & the litres per minute is for free air flow, in other words one atmosphere. & the first atmosphere you need to deduct from any equation as you have zero pressure for the first atmosphere. Neither PSI or CFM are useful figures for pumping up 4 tyres, let alone a single tyre!

What should be stated is SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute) for the task the compressor is supposedly designed for. Typically up to 45 PSI for cars or 65 PSI for trucks & 90 PSI for tools. 90 PSI is the industry standard. How many litres or cubic feet per minute do you get at 90 PSI at 21°C ?????

Also as a very rough guide deduct 1% of the compressors capacity for every metre of air hose, air connector & right angle elbow fitting. Also deduct 1% for every metre of electrical cable, clamp & connector. Then you will be within ballpark of what the compressor is capable of doing.

My very expensive compressors only have a duty cycle of 50%. So for every 15 minutes you can only run them for 7.5 minutes at an ambient temperature of 21°C.

So imagine the outback, +45°C, stinking hot car, 10 million flies, other cars racing past creating walls of dust. The last thing you need is a "supermarket" compressor with an unknown duty cycle (probably 10% if you are lucky), mounted under the bonnet with plastic hose connected directly to it & the compressor running at 140°C.

So to improve the pumping capacity of my compressor I have added larger air hoses, would still like larger but it is a lot better than standard. Increased power cable size, now have only 7% current loss. Added internal & external heat sinks & cooling fans, so air leaving the compressor is already a lot cooler. The cooler the air the less moisture the air can carry so less moisture in your tyres. A small air tank also helps a bit in drying the air due to condensation & gets you a bit of reserve between actual pumping. Additionally a moisture trap. 3 compressors are faster than one & there is redundancy if one fails. 2 of my compressors are cooled from the car's air conditioning so they start cool & also have drier air in their vicinity.

I'm not pushing the ARB compressors but at least the company is one of the few companies that actually publish meaningful figures. So if you have top quality air & electrical connections you will have a reasonable idea of how long it take to pump up your tyres to get off your knees out of the heat, flies & dust, & on your way as quick as possible.

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The video this post started with sums up why I have had so much Landrovers.
If I could have afforded them earlier in life I'd have had more. Owning & working on various other marques over the years you can tell LR were a better build - my Series 3 was built like a tank!

Having said that, I don't think the newer models are going to last as long. My wifes DS is just 2 years old but the spare wheel was starting to rust so badly and make the whole rear end look tatty as you can see it clearly. Ended up taking a wire wheel to it then repainting and while I was under there I noticed the chassis has probably as much deterioration as my 9 year old Freelander. Such a shame!!!  09 FL2 GS TD4e Current
16 DS HSE Black Current
13 FL2 GS TD4
11 FL2 GS TD4
10 FL2 XS TD4
56 FL1 TD4
72 S3, 6cyl 109 Truck Cab

I saw it when it was on television
I also have it on a VHS tape somewhere

The filming of this influenced Quentin Wilson to buy a (Jave Green) Stage 1 pick-up, I still have the copy of 'LRO' that it featured in