Air Starter Tank Size

[rustydog]

I KNOW I'VE SEEN QUESTIONS ON THIS TOPIC BEFORE, BUT HERE GOES.....WHY ON B MODEL, IS AIR STARTER TANK SO BIG? DOING RESTORATION, AND WOULD LIKE TO DOWNSIZE AIR TANK. ANY AND ALL ADVICE IS WELCOME!!

RUSTY

[terry]

Bigger tankeans more volume, a small tank might not have enough air to start a engine. terry

[Mike]

Those older engines did not have glow plugs to give them quicker heat to the cylinders for them to startup quicker so, a big tank is needed for an older engine to have enough air capacity to get it to turn over longer. I hope I made that clearer than mud. So go with a large air tank to have plenty of air reserve.

mike

[Kav]

Mike, I agree with you on this point. When the "C" Motor and Maxidyne motors were fitted to the early R Models here in Australia, the air tanks seem to have been cut down in size to about half of what the 711 motors had. There is not a great deal of difference in the weights of the tanks as the heaviest part was the ends, however if you are short of space the shorter tank can sometimes help. On one truck I put a small Mack air start tank on it and converted the old big air tank to hold the hoist oil for the tipping trailer, without even moving it from where it was mounted. Best regards Michael.

[Mike]

Mike, I agree with you on this point. When the "C" Motor and Maxidyne motors were fitted to the early R Models here in Australia, the air tanks seem to have been cut down in size to about half of what the 711 motors had. There is not a great deal of difference in the weights of the tanks as the heaviest part was the ends, however if you are short of space the shorter tank can sometimes help. On one truck I put a small Mack air start tank on it and converted the old big air tank to hold the hoist oil for the tipping trailer, without even moving it from where it was mounted. Best regards Michael.

Michael,

That's scary cause usually no one agrees with me.... ....now i'll have to change my tactics again.

mike

[JerseyBoy77]

Dumb question...so thats the only reason for the air starts on the older models? Basically just taking the task of what glow plugs are to a diesel engine nowadays?

Edited November 27, 2009 by JerseyBoy77

[Rob]

Dumb question...so thats the only reason for the air starts on the older models? Basically just taking the task of what glow plugs are to a diesel engine nowadays?

Glow plugs are an electric starting aid used to preheat a combustion chamber on a diesel engine. They are not used with most direct injected engines. All Mack engines of the Thermodyne, and Maxidyne series are direct injected meaning the fuel spray from the injection nozzle is directly onto the piston crown. An indirect injection engine contains a precombustion chamber within the head that the fuel is injected into. Since this is basically a two step process to the ignition of the injected fuel spray, a glow plug is used to allow the atomized fuel to ignite easily when cold. Usually this setup is quieter and results in less fuel knock of fuel ignition, so it is favorable in smaller diesels such as used in passenger vehicles and lawn equipment, etc.

A larger air receiver will give you longer engine cranking time availability in this application. On a hot day a very small receiver will suffice as engine cranking need will be minimal. A cold start without the engine being warmed by external means will result in the need for a large receiver as a lot of engine cranking has to take place to build heat within the engine to ignite the fuel spray.

Rob

[HK Trucking]

The precombustion Cat engines used glow plugs, and Cummins used a setup that had a small fuel sprayer and a spark plug that actually created a small fire in the intake manifold to warm the intake air.

Some of the later model Cat engines used in heavy equipment, such as the 3116 and 3126 have an electric heating element in the intake manifold to pre heat the air.

.

[other dog]

Those older engines did not have glow plugs to give them quicker heat to the cylinders for them to startup quicker so, a big tank is needed for an older engine to have enough air capacity to get it to turn over longer. I hope I made that clearer than mud. So go with a large air tank to have plenty of air reserve.

mike

so, in other words, what we're hearing you say is- regardless of what our gf's say- size really does matter, especially when we get older. Understood.

[Rob]

so, in other words, what we're hearing you say is- regardless of what our gf's say- size really does matter, especially when we get older. Understood.

It's that "heat of the meat", and "angle of the dangle" thing too.

Rob

[other dog]

It's that "heat of the meat", and "angle of the dangle" thing too.

Rob

I see...I did some research on the subject, and this is what I found.

[HK Trucking]

That's why Bill Clintoon liked Monica.

She was big enough to have extra capacity, if you catch my drift.

.

[other dog]

That's why Bill Clintoon liked Monica.

She was big enough to have extra capacity, if you catch my drift.

.

I did some research on the subject and this is what I found-

[Rob]

That's why Bill Clintoon liked Monica.

She was big enough to have extra capacity, if you catch my drift.

.

But she didn't have a tight seal and leaked, or was just a bad catch.

Rob

[rustydog]

But she didn't have a tight seal and leaked, or was just a bad catch.

Rob

Thanks guys for all the input...........I always seem to learn a little more than necessary!!! angle of the dangle.........at my age I'm envious of a stiff wind!!!

[rustydog]

I see...I did some research on the subject, and this is what I found.

Hey,........you have BOTH them angles right on your mixer......maybe I could use your water tank for air.......then I'll have plenty when I drive up to Anchorage to see Sarah's next photo shoot!!