In this video I explain to you how to make your Harbor Freight portable air tank that is sold with low quality fittings into a top of the line portable air tank capable of accommodating many different types of tools
Followed your instruction, my Harbor Freight tank now loads faster than ever and I can easily reach 100psi. The only change I made was to put the quick connect fitting on the end of my hose. I used HF fittings and teflon tape and I have no leaks. Now I only use my tank to fill the never ending lawn tractor flats.
Thanks for the comment - Yeah I made this and gave it to my daughter to take to the barn down valley where she has a horse - They use it to inflate tires and tubes and I gave them a small blow gun to attach and she just brings it home for refilling with my large compressor - it is a modification im glad i made for sure
I happened to watch the video that you are commenting on just before yours. You misunderstood his reference to the size tolerance. He was talking about the 1/4" hose barb that he used to terminate the hose that he cut the HF factory tire fill valve off of, which he replaced with a quick disconnect. The size issue was that the hose spec stated that it was 1/4" ID and if you use a 1/4" barb, it is so loose that no amount of tightening on the hose clamp would suffice. He found that a 3/8" barb fit well. There's no mention of wrapping an undersized brass fitting with tape, which would have caused a barrage of RU-vid comments.
I see a major issue here... you removed the safety release valve and did not add it back to the new connections. It is possible to overcharge this tank beyond the max safe pressure (~125 lbs.).
I see your point and it can be easily added back in - but thank you and i did add it back after the modification but forgot to add it into the video - again thanks for pointing out the error
A PICTURE OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTS INSTEAD OF THE ASSEMBLED UNIT THAT HE KEPT GOING BACK TO IN THE VIDEO AS IF PPL THAT WERE ALREADY CONFUSED WOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW WHAT HE WAS REFERRING TO.
Hi do these tanks required to remove moisture that may accumulate in then from operation? If so how can the moisture be removed to maintain the tank, if the tanks do not come with a valve on the bottom like most compressors do...?
Lots of good information for a nice setup. These portable tanks rarely have drain valves, so how would you drain water from the tank with this setup? My inclination would be to just turn it upside down and open the ball valve, but I'd be afraid of getting water into the gauge.
+ Randal Holtzclaw, I have been looking through YT videos also trying to find a solution to this problem. How would you drain the water from these auxiliary air tanks after use? Would you have to drill in a tap in the center of the bottom of the tank and install a drain?
These cheap tanks don't come with condensate drains. You are instructed to turn the tank upside down,open the regulator valve and let condensat blow-out hose. A real pita. As far as welding in a fitting, I wouldn't unless you're a certified welder with experience with tank welding. Your better off buying a storage tank with a drain. (Lowe's has a nice 7gal. and Menards and Home D. have 10gals. with fitting,ball valves and drains). Yes, cost more but your basically ready to go.
I am hesistant to change the original manifold any way I would think it would work better if you use an adapter I mean I left the oringanl manifold and put a tee with shut off and qucik connect on the other side Its my understanding that those quick connects will only move air when the part is insert so my thinking is when I connect it use an air hose that has an air regulator I added a check valve on one side an a quarter turn valve on the other side of the check valve so hopefully it cant some how flow backwards thoughts ???
brass T is going to cost like 10-12 dollars, be all female ends that need gender changing, and be too big requiring reduction in size, so by the time you get all that bought, you've spent as much on adapters and fittings as you did on the tank. Best bet getting this done cheaply is look for an aluminum manifold at a store like home depot or true value, that goes straight to 1/4 NPT, probably will still have to adapt it to the 1/2" npt tank with a reducer or at least gender-changing nipple but those two parts are going to be about 10 - 12 and you're done! if you just re-use the gauge, and use 2x couplers for the other manifold openings, this way you can also use it as a regulator-side storage tank in tandem with your compressor when working at home, and don't need the ball/check valve. Just use a female plug connected straight to a male plug as an adapter when connecting to the compressor. Cheapest way I could figure out how to get it done, and I was lucky instead of $4 for the manifold it was on sale for $1.98.
this is great information and thank you for posting it - I had many of the parts laying in my shop so i never totaled it up like you did but this is a great alternative so thanks
@@TheHomeHandyman yeah having a good supply of fittings on hand can be very helpful it's always a rubik's cube combined with a treasure hunt to adapt one item to another.
Honestly I am a visual learner and even tho your illustration is accurate, I would much rather look at the real setup as you describe why harbor freight is satan.....lol
