How a car motor be used to make a air compressor?

Question

I would like 80 cfm. at 150 - 175 psi. Will a 8 cyl.engne run on 6 cyl. and have 2 cyl. to make air? I have a good engine and a air tank. What else will I need?

Answer 1

Of course you will need hoses & a regulator but thats only the half of it,,how do you intend on mounting the engine, what about the exhaust and noise, how are you going to remove the miss in your engine??? It would just as cheap and a WHOLE LOT QUIETER to just go to Harbour Freight or Sears and buy a air compressor for about $150.

Answer 2

If you look next time you pass a large highway construction project where air hammers and such are being used, or a commercial building project, etc. The gas driven air compressors that you see on trailers with a metal cab or cover over them are often automotive v-8 or 6 cylinder engines that have half the cylinders disabled. One of the more popular ones used to be the CHryserl 440 engine but I have even seen 6 cylinders as well. They use a different intake and camshaft that modifies the firing order for the side that is "engine" as the other side is compressor only. . The other cylinders run as normal. These things can put out TONS of air easily. You can do this yourself by rigging your engine in such a fashion as to disable every other cylinder from getting fuel and using that exhaust for pressure. The factory made ones often though simply use one side of the motor with special distributor and firing order and the other side does not use a regular auto engine head. It is a special cylinder head with valves that let air in and out as needed. Short of that drastic of modifications, there are "air compressor kits" that you can buy to screw into the spark plug hole is a cylinder to use for emergency air to air up your tires, or whatever. Makes the engine run rough with one plug out and the air has gas fumes in it, but still works to get you out of a jam. Lots of the "rental" places that rent all sorts of equipment have some of these for rent and you can stop by and look at how they are made. Neat idea that really works well. Nowdays the really big ones are special "scroll" compressors turning at high speeds for massive amounts of air. What you described though is well under what some of the ones I described above can put out.

Answer 3

Actually, you will be making a bomb, unless it's port injected. If it carbureted or throttle body injected, the two compressor cylinders will still be pulling an air/fuel mixture in from the intake manifold. You'll have a nice high pressure explosive tank. What fun. If it's port injected, it would work, and has been done on military engines. I think 150 psi is pretty ambitious unless you have a high performance engine though.

Answer 4

You will be making a CO compressor unless you disconnect those cylinders from the exhaust manifold. the exhaust valve of those cylinders will be sucking the fumes from the other cylinders and pump it out.

CO is an odorless gas and highly poisonous.

Answer 5

a hose with a fitting the same thread as your spark plug. a cut off vavle on your tank.one cylinder will work fine. your pressure will only be as high as the compression produced by that cylinder.

Answer 6

wood tick is right 30 wt oil is too heavy for a car, on start up, but could be used in a pinch, but use it in the a-comp instead

Answer 7

A brain

Answer 8

A REGULATOR