What Compressor for Car Lift Air Powered Locks

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What Compressor for Car Lift Air Powered Locks

This topic has 15 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 4 October 2018 at 17:19 by Clive Foster.

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3 October 2018 at 10:38 #374331
Clive Foster
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@clivefoster55965
Picked up a refurbished full height scissors type car lift a while back and finally getting into the heavy duty solitaire needed to install it. The beast has air powered safety locks needing, according to the book, 80 psi + to release them before it will go back down.

No figures for air consumption but I imagine its pretty much 3/8 th of nothing. Just enough to shift a small air cylinder. Seems wasteful to run up the big compressor just for that. Any ideas for something more appropriate and not too expensive. I have a 2 litre (ish) pressure vessel of ample rating and sufficient fittings in stock and wonder if one of the cheap 12 volt tyre inflator devices would do. Lift will probably only go up and down about 10 – 20 times year at most so it shouldn't need to do a lot of work.

Clive
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3 October 2018 at 10:38 #26218
Clive Foster
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@clivefoster55965
3 October 2018 at 10:44 #374332
martin perman 1
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@martinperman1
What powers the scissor jack, will it settle onto the safety pins which would possibly need more pressure to release them.

Martin P
3 October 2018 at 11:04 #374338
Clive Foster
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@clivefoster55965
Usual hydraulic cylinder type with a separate power pack. Toothed bar alongside the cylinders for the safety locks. I imagine there is some sort of spring device to engage the locks. I imagine disengagement is by pressurising the air actuator then momentarily lifting a touch to remove the load so the air acts like spring pushing the locks away from the bar.

Sounds about right as if pressure is lost the spring will automatically locks will automatically re-engage the locks. The manual is less than clear.

Clive.
3 October 2018 at 11:19 #374339
Ady1
Participant
@ady1
It looks like those hand held put-put things go up to 6 bar, 87psi, so no headroom

Even the big guy only does 8bar 116psi

Edited By Ady1 on 03/10/2018 11:21:28
3 October 2018 at 11:49 #374342
peak4
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@peak4
I wonder if a Rangerover air suspension compressor might do the job; about 120psi I think

Bill
3 October 2018 at 11:52 #374343
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Those cheap 12 volt tire inflators are kind of unreliable and short lived in many cases. I wouldn't mess with one for such an application. Small 240 volt compressors are so cheap these days that's the way I would go. If you have need for a car lift, you must be doing enough work to justify a compressor for other use as well, eg cleaning parts, air impact wrenches, pumping tires etc.
3 October 2018 at 12:15 #374344
Michael Gilligan
Participant
@michaelgilligan61133
Posted by Clive Foster on 03/10/2018 10:38:17:

… The beast has air powered safety locks needing, according to the book, 80 psi + to release them before it will go back down.

No figures for air consumption but I imagine its pretty much 3/8 th of nothing. Just enough to shift a small air cylinder. Seems wasteful to run up the big compressor just for that. Any ideas for something more appropriate and not too expensive. I have a 2 litre (ish) pressure vessel of ample rating and sufficient fittings in stock …

.

You have the beast, and you have a small pressure vessel …

Use a good old-fashioned foot pump to fill the pressure vessel; then test your assumption.

If it operates the locks, your assumption is valid, and you can then make an informed decision.

MichaelG.
3 October 2018 at 12:20 #374345
not done it yet
Participant
@notdoneityet
Only ten or twenty times a year? Run up the big compressor – the cost is peanuts compred to fixing up something else – even if it is several kW.
3 October 2018 at 12:31 #374348
Clive Foster
Participant
@clivefoster55965
Bill

My Range Rover P38 suspension runs at 140 psi. Did wonder about getting and rebuilding a spare compressor for mine and using that. But its £60 + by the time its been bought rebuilt and a power supply sorted so hardly cost effective. Especially as I've just rebuilt my compressor and other EAS gubbins so things will be good for 70,000 miles or so. Which will probably see me out.

Hopper

I have serious air when I need it. Hydrovane 502 for now, 504 waiting to replace it so minimum run time is 15 minutes to warm the oil. But for normal spannering I hardly ever need air so something smaller just for the ramp makes sense. Objectively I can't justify the lift but a P38 is a pain to jack for serious underneath work and the Bristol 603 project car / albatross is probably worse.

Ady1

Fall back is one of the small vertical cylinder breed SIP, Sealey et al when E-Bay comes up with the right price.

Back in the day when I was young and hirsute standard practice was to build one. Lorry air brake compressor, tank, 'leccy motor et al. Pulley sized by guess and by god. Enough lying around to do such but post the big 60 life is getting too short!.

Edited By Clive Foster on 03/10/2018 12:32:24
3 October 2018 at 12:35 #374349
Clive Foster
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@clivefoster55965
not done it yet

Logical but it just seems wrong.

Clive.
3 October 2018 at 13:12 #374356
John McNamara
Participant
@johnmcnamara74883
Hi Clive

I have been pondering.

Having just completed a certified engineered car lift design and build, actually a 5 ton hydraulic moving car access ramp I have become critically aware of the safety aspects. In this case the safety PLC and light curtain safety system cost as much as the mechanical components.

I hope the machine you have sourced is up to current safety code requirements. Does it have a fail safe interlocked safety system?

Is there any possibility of an untrained person operating it at their peril? A child for instance, or a person touching the controls while another person is under it? At the very least the controls should be under lock and key.

Moving heavy iron has to be treated with serious respect.

Regards
John

Edited By John McNamara on 03/10/2018 13:12:53
3 October 2018 at 13:32 #374359
FMES
Participant
@fmes
why not just get another receiver and charge it from the main compressor, if it is isolated properly you will get plenty of lock operations before it needs topping up again.

Regards
3 October 2018 at 15:44 #374372
HOWARDT
Participant
@howardt
Small air intensifier. Although there must be standard circuits for these things, including all the safety interlocks.
4 October 2018 at 07:23 #374446
Hopper
Participant
@hopper
Posted by Clive Foster on 03/10/2018 12:31:00:

Back in the day when I was young and hirsute standard practice was to build one. Lorry air brake compressor, tank, 'leccy motor et al. Pulley sized by guess and by god. Enough lying around to do such but post the big 60 life is getting too short!.

These days the option seems to be to use the sealed compressor unit out of an old fridge, hooked up to an old gas bottle etc for a receiver. But I hear you on the post-60 thing. You can spend what time is left mucking about saving a few pence by making something out of almost nothing, or you can spend your time actually doing what you like to do, eg fixing old cars / albatrosses.

Edited By Hopper on 04/10/2018 07:24:31
4 October 2018 at 17:19 #374526
Clive Foster
Participant
@clivefoster55965
Thanks for the discussion folks. Really helped clear my mind as to what made fiscal and engineering sense. Just scored one of the small SIP 1.5 hp Airmate compressors on a 25 litre vertical cylinder of E-Bay for £36 delivered. Will tuck in the corner OK and price is hard to beat without mega messing around.

Clive.
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