Where (and how) To Mount Air Tank On 8110

[WD Pro]

As per title – pictures would be really appreciated !

Cheers,

WD

[DLuders]

On his Flickr photoset, tripletschiee posted this picture of "...an Airtank, because the performance of the crane is much better. The place of the Airtank is not the best, but just to prove the concept it is OK."

[davidmull]

I must fit a tank to my own mog and that seems the best place really!

[Alasdair Ryan]

Could you fit a air tank under one of those seats ?

[zewy623]

I know i might be a lil late on this topic, but lets say i have 2 air tanks (well on order on LEGO Education with some other mod parts) and i have tons of extra "T" pieces, can you use a T piece to split the air going to both tanks and combine the tubes coming from the tanks into one line (ex. -|=8=|- im not sure if it the "diagram" works or not :l if it doesnt im sorry bout that) but im not sure if that is possible since ive never messed with pneumatics before and how would you connect them to the frame without adding too much bulkiness? im just now getting into technic and im ordering the unimog, air tanks, motors/rc parts ( im going to try to motorize it), and extra tubing somehow... ive studied the instructions trying to figure out the best possible way but the instructions only help so much with their point of view, so if anyone could help me with this, it would be appreciated. oh and how do i get extra tubing other than ebay (ebays mostly pay-pal, and i dont have a bank account yet :l) or bricklink (i dont know how bricklink works or not... so im going to try to learn before i buy) ?

and please excuse my foul grammar... and spelling...

[Cypr-21]

IMO, add an air-tank on Unimog #8110 is a very useless modification.

Compressor provides a constant pressure so pneumatic system doesn't need air tank.

[zewy623]

well im not sure how much air the tank holds, but i was just thinking that so that i dont wear down the motor and the pump.

[davidmull]

well im not sure how much air the tank holds, but i was just thinking that so that i dont wear down the motor and the pump.

I'm not sure it needs one ether,with the new pump it works quiet well and very realistic , but with a tank u build to much pressure and it's not very controllable then.

[zewy623]

@davidmull

oh ok, i dont really know anything about pneumatics, thanks for giving me a little bit more understanding about the tanks. its appreciated

[davidmull]

@davidmull

oh ok, i dont really know anything about pneumatics, thanks for giving me a little bit more understanding about the tanks. its appreciated

No problem,iv a new airtank myself that I might try on the unimog but I don't really think its needed,it would be more needed on the likes of 8455 that has a lot of cylinders and a hand pump!

Edited November 12, 2011 by davidmull

[zewy623]

@davidmull

so the air tanks were really only used for the hand pumps??? so now the unimog has a compresser (i think thats the correct term) is it basicly the same concept??? like hand pump-> tank-> functions, compared to, motor + pneumatic cylinder (when used)-> functions??? same concept kinda...? im starten to confuse myself thinking about it, maybe i should put this idea aside and research pneumatics :P

[Blakbird]

I'm not sure it needs one ether,with the new pump it works quiet well and very realistic , but with a tank u build to much pressure and it's not very controllable then.

The air tank doesn't add any pressure. The total system pressure is governed by the relief function of the compressor, so it (the maximum) stays the same no matter how many tanks you add. What the tanks do is add more capacity. For example, if you found that your cylinders worked too slowly because the compressor did not have enough capacity, then the tanks would make it work faster. But then you would also have to wait for the tanks to fill back up.

On the 8110, I doubt the tanks would make much difference.

[davidmull]

The air tank doesn't add any pressure. The total system pressure is governed by the relief function of the compressor, so it (the maximum) stays the same no matter how many tanks you add. What the tanks do is add more capacity. For example, if you found that your cylinders worked too slowly because the compressor did not have enough capacity, then the tanks would make it work faster. But then you would also have to wait for the tanks to fill back up.

On the 8110, I doubt the tanks would make much difference.

Would u put an air tank on 8455?

[Blakbird]

Would u put an air tank on 8455?

Personally, no. 8455 already has two pumps which produce plenty of air flow. I guess there is a reason that only a couple of models ever had air tanks. They are a cool concept, but they don't store enough air to make a really big difference. 8462 has two of them but that still only stores enough air to move the lift a couple of times. The one in the 8250 submarine actually seems to work the best because it is only operating one cylinder.

[zewy623]

hey Blackbird, if you had an unlimited number of air tanks, how many would it take on the unimog without running the motor constantly?

[Blakbird]

hey Blackbird, if you had an unlimited number of air tanks, how many would it take on the unimog without running the motor constantly?

There is no such number. It doesn't matter how many air tanks you have because the only thing filling up the air tanks is the same compressor. Sooner or later you would empty the tanks and then you'd have to wait a very long time for them to fill again. The only inlet is the compressor and the only outlet are the actuators, so the overall speed of operation over time does not change with air tanks. The only exception to this is if you are going to have natural gaps in operation. For example, if your normal operation is to use the crane for 10 seconds, wait 10 seconds, then use the plow for 10 seconds, then air tanks could use the middle time to recoup the air pressure and therefore apply a more continuous high volume flow. However, if you are going to be operating functions continously then the air tank doesn't change anything. If you simply want the motor to run less often, then you use lots of air tanks and 4-6 compressor cylinders. That way the air tanks fill fast but the motor can then stay off while you use up the air pressure.

My version of Grazi's tow truck uses two compressor cylinders and an air tank. It had enough stored volume to operate any of the functions once. Once you start, the compressor operates contiually until you stop and allow the tank to fill again.

Jennifer Clark's JS220 excavator uses four compressor cylinders and no tank. The compressor operates continuously whenever the excavator is in use and provides plenty of volume to move the functions quickly.

The difference between both of these and 8110 is that there is a pressure regulator which shuts off the motor when a certain pressure is reached. 8110 doesn't have that, but it could be added easily enough.

If you really want to test the concept, use a 2 liter soda bottle for storage, wait for the compressor to fill that up, and see how long you can operate the crane.

[davidmull]

There is no such number. It doesn't matter how many air tanks you have because the only thing filling up the air tanks is the same compressor. Sooner or later you would empty the tanks and then you'd have to wait a very long time for them to fill again. The only inlet is the compressor and the only outlet are the actuators, so the overall speed of operation over time does not change with air tanks. The only exception to this is if you are going to have natural gaps in operation. For example, if your normal operation is to use the crane for 10 seconds, wait 10 seconds, then use the plow for 10 seconds, then air tanks could use the middle time to recoup the air pressure and therefore apply a more continuous high volume flow. However, if you are going to be operating functions continously then the air tank doesn't change anything. If you simply want the motor to run less often, then you use lots of air tanks and 4-6 compressor cylinders. That way the air tanks fill fast but the motor can then stay off while you use up the air pressure.

My version of Grazi's tow truck uses two compressor cylinders and an air tank. It had enough stored volume to operate any of the functions once. Once you start, the compressor operates contiually until you stop and allow the tank to fill again.

Jennifer Clark's JS220 excavator uses four compressor cylinders and no tank. The compressor operates continuously whenever the excavator is in use and provides plenty of volume to move the functions quickly.

The difference between both of these and 8110 is that there is a pressure regulator which shuts off the motor when a certain pressure is reached. 8110 doesn't have that, but it could be added easily enough.

If you really want to test the concept, use a 2 liter soda bottle for storage, wait for the compressor to fill that up, and see how long you can operate the crane.

Have u any info on a pressure regulator and does Lego make such a part?a picture would suffice!

[Blakbird]

Have u any info on a pressure regulator and does Lego make such a part?a picture would suffice!

LEGO doesn't make a regulator, but you can make one out of a pole reverser, a pneumatic actuator, and a couple of rubber bands. The design has been around for along time. The rubber bands retract the actuator which moves the pole reverser to "on" position. When enough air pressure is present, the actuator extends the rubber bands, rotates the pole reverser, and shuts the motor off. You can change the air pressure by changing how many rubber bands you use.

The picture below is from Jennifer Clark's page.

[davidmull]

LEGO doesn't make a regulator, but you can make one out of a pole reverser, a pneumatic actuator, and a couple of rubber bands. The design has been around for along time. The rubber bands retract the actuator which moves the pole reverser to "on" position. When enough air pressure is present, the actuator extends the rubber bands, rotates the pole reverser, and shuts the motor off. You can change the air pressure by changing how many rubber bands you use.

The picture below is from Jennifer Clark's page.

Great idea thanks.