Clamp-on compressed air connector

[John]

I have an air compressor and a separate air tank. The tank has a standard gauge and a filler which is like a tire air valve, with a valve stem. You fill the air tank with a standard air nozzle or a clamp-type nozzle that has a pin in the middle so that it pushes down the valve stem to let the air in.

The trouble is, the stationary pin in the clamp-type air nozzle that supplies the air sits too low in the nozzle and doesn't push the valve stem down. Thus, it doesn't allow air to go through where the valve stem is.

I need a clamp-type nozzle because I am using it to fill an air tank, which has the standard tire valve-stem to fill the tank. It takes too long to fill it by holding the nozzle, so you need to do it with the clamp-type. Sorry to go into so much detail, but the bottom of this kind of nozzle is the same as the regular non-clamp-type nozzle, but when you add the clamp, it adds too much space between the stationary pin and the valve stem. I have bought clamp-type nozzles from Wal-Mart and two auto supply stores in my area.

I did have one that worked, but somehow I lost it and am trying to replace it.

Any ideas?

[Stormin Mormon]

You write: I have bought clamp-type nozzles from Wal-Mart and two auto supply stores in my area.

and then ask us for ideas. Are you daft, boy?

[Dave Martindale]

I have a tank like that. It probably also has a short rubber hose that connects to the tank, right? Do what I did:

• Remove the hose from the fitting on the tank.

• Install a female quick-connect coupler (Type M is most common) on the tank in its place.

• Install a male quick-connect fitting on the hose you removed.

At this point, you can use the tank to fill tires with the hose like before, but you can also connect longer hoses, small air tools, etc.

There's probably already a quick-connect coupler on your air compressor. If not, install one there too.

Now all you need is a short piece of hose with a male quick-connect fitting on both ends. (Or you can use a standard male to female quick-connect hose, plus a short double-male quick-connect). This allows you to connect the air compressor to the air tank via its "output" quick connect. Air flows "backwards" just fine through a normal type M female quick connect coupler.

This way, you ignore the tiny Shrader tire valve, and fill the tank through a decent-sized fitting.

Dave

[John]

Thank you. This is exactly the kind of response I am looking for. I'm going to print this out and see if I can put it all together. Thanks.

John

[John]

OK, I did it. It works perfectly, especially the fact that I now have a decent sized fitting to fill the tank from my compressor.

I hadn't thought of filling it from the output side. That was really ingenious.

John