Tractor-Mounted Air Compressor Used In Custom Baling Business

Tractor-Mounted Air Compressor Used In Custom Baling Business TRACTORS Accessories 22-2-32 Franklin Pacey, Miltonvale, Kan.: Franklin uses a handy tractor-mounted air compressor to blow dirt off radiator fins and air up low tires in his custom-baling business. "We built the first one out of odds and ends five years ago and it worked so slick, we've put them on two more of our tractors by this time," Franklin says. "We started with a single-piston air compressor we got out of a junked Ford car. We mounted it on a bracket we made out of scrap iron and bolted it to the tractor frame near the alternator so the compressor could be belt driven off an existing extra pulley on our Massey tractors. We mounted a 7-gal. air tank off the air brake system from an old semi tractor/trailer on front of the tractor and plumbed the intake side, which is fitted with a small filter, underneath the hood and the pressure side to the tank with hydraulic hose. We installed a 1/4-in. dia. ball valve just before the pressure hose to prevent air leaking out loose chucks. We installed a pressure gauge on one end of the tank so we can see from the cab the amount of pressure in the tank. We in-stalled an electronic automatic pressure switch on top, which connects with a switch in the cab we use to turn the unit off and on. "Works great for blowing dirt off radiators to keep them from getting hot and for filling low tires. Out-of-pocket expense wasn't more than $30 per unit. Incidentally, any size air tank will do, including 10-gal. oxygen sup-ply tanks used in airplanes. You can buy them cheaply at any Army surplus store."

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