I read Dan’s VIAIR FAQ thread and noted that if you have two compressors, they should be run to their own port on the tank which gives up to a 20% increase in performance.
Ok, that sounds good, but doesn’t mean a whole lot to me so I’m looking for feedback.
I have dual 400C’s mounted in my truck’s tool box that will be feeding a 10+ gallon tank mounted on the frame rail. Because of the porting layout and preference to not run two air lines, I would like to tee the leader hoses in the bed of the truck and feed a single line to the tank.
What do you think? Anybody went this route and been happy with it?
whats up 350 this
is just mine op i
am in the proses of
buying a air kit from
curtisL witch is a
viair 480c singel
compresser with a
8.5 air tank 175psi
with extras i think
try it and see what
happends still kinda
new to the compresser thing lol.
Its really simple, run one port, lose air. There is nothing else to figure out beside using a T on something else. There is no magical fix, no matter what you do you will lose air unless you run 2 lines.
I don’t really understand that. Maybe I’m a little too logical, but it takes minutes to fill your tank. It takes seconds to drain it through a single line… So why is it such a no-no to hook them together. The I.D. of the fitting on the leader hose is only 1/4" - and that’s on a 1/2" leader hose.
Can’t argue with test results, and I’m sure this has been well established. So what causes this? Does it have something to do with the pulses of the compressors messing with each other? Both check valves are open and there’s no tank to act as a buffer because the lines are hooked to each other… IDK
That’s exactly where I’m at on this, don’t really know the theory behind this. Though your speculation on tank acting as a buffer sounds pretty good. Running two lines isn’t a huge deal - just looking for input from anyone who’s tried both (single/dual lines).
THANKS
So if it’s based on volume and the check valves on the VIAIR leader hoses are 1/4", could you simply use a 1/2" line between the Tee at the output of the checks and the tank?
Not trying to re-invent the wheel, just wondering.
What’s the orifice diameter inside the fitting on that 1/4" leader hose?
Run a 1/2" line after the tee & presto. It can’t be the line sizes. It has to be the turbulance/friction where the air merges in the tee.
Yeah I don’t want to re-invent the wheel either, and I respect those who say it increases fill times. I’m running separate lines so this is only curiosity for me.
We need Lance/Dan/??? to explain the reasoning behing this.
If two compressors are feeding through a common port, you may have a reduction in flow, but it will not likely be enough of a reduction in flow to make a huge difference in fill times. On a bench, where you’re testing even minute differences - it may prove to be more pronounced than it is in real world use.
Sorry - but you’re both knowledgible and sell great products so without personnally knowing you, you’re interchangeable when it comes to technical help.
So it would seem from Lance’s (got it right that time) response, using a single line / port doesn’t have much impact on fill time. Based on this it seems like a single line would work.
Absolutely!
I’ve got a good 15+ years of professional experience dealing with air management in some capacity, be it by magazine editing or working with manufacturers. Most of my answers come from my own experiences whether they were good, bad, or by an important lesson learned.
More questions. My dual 400Cs are in my tool box which will be 6-8 feet (as the line runs) from my tank. Is there much flow loss in an air system due to the length of the line?
Does VIAIR publish any guidance on line length vs recommended line size?
Lance can help you better than I since you only need one of our compressors.
I do have a customer running 2 compressors on a commercial vehicle for spraying chemicals and they said it works great but it’s proprietary to their application so I don’t know if the compressors run at the same time or in tandem
