# Pros and Cons



## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

So most of you know my system here, and most of you should have heard about how it is deadly quiet. I use that term quite literally here...deadly quiet. 

Most of you also know that i am pretty anal with things such as maintenance, so every 2 weeks i check the trunk, do a series of tests to make sure everything is working as it should. Today was one of those days.

Apparently the pro of having a silent compressor system is no noise. 

Apparently the con of having a silent compressor system is you can't hear when things are going wrong.

Turned on the compressors 1 at a time.....
1 - seemed completely fine and filled air at a great rate
2 - seemed completely fine and filled air at a great rate
3 - didn't seem completely fine and filled at about half it's regular rate. Not good.

*Testing*

So i took the manifold off that combines the three compressors so i could test them individually and hear the noise they make. 

1 - sounded normal
2 - sounded normal
3 - sounded like metal scraping on metal, a tin type sound

FML

As well the fan on top had lost a blade and was stopped from running so i just unplugged it. Next step is take the check valve out and test those.

Check valves are all the same, took them apart and cleaned them, installed them again and tested for a few seconds. Same results.

Remove check valves and test again

Same results. Can you see a pattern here??

Anyway it was easy to take the compressor out, 2 plugs and 4 bolts and it was out in under 2 minutes. Then i took it apart. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.















































Will, if you see this i will be contacting you shortly to see if you can perhaps order in a new head/piston/ring/diaphrams, having only 2 OB2's working is killing me 

Either way i stand behind these compressors, it just seems that this one was maybe a little bit off balance for some reason, maybe because they are both on the same vibration isolation frame but cycling at different frequencies/at different phases. I will look at the other two compressors this weekend and see how they are doing.


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## Niagara_V_Dub (Sep 25, 2007)

HOT DAMN that is some carnage.


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## Tofik (May 7, 2007)

that looks horrible.. and i got my ob2 in the mail a few days ago:thumbup:.. but then i just saw this:thumbdown: and putting mine in tomo


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

The other two compressors are completely fine. I am going to see if i can get this fixed under warranty because this is the compressor that i got not that long ago. Also ended up breaking a fin off of the cooling fan on top of the head. This compressor maybe has 3 months of use, for 1 minute per day maximum. I am also going to see if i can pay for an extra head repair kit just so I have one for road trips incase something like this happens again on the road


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## Tofik (May 7, 2007)

MechEngg said:


> The other two compressors are completely fine. I am going to see if i can get this fixed under warranty because this is the compressor that i got not that long ago. Also ended up breaking a fin off of the cooling fan on top of the head. This compressor maybe has 3 months of use, for 1 minute per day maximum. I am also going to see if i can pay for an extra head repair kit just so I have one for road trips incase something like this happens again on the road


i would really like to know what caused this.. could it be frequent and shorts bursts of being on?


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

Tofik said:


> i would really like to know what caused this.. could it be frequent and shorts bursts of being on?


I'm trying to figure out what happened, will work through all the possible situations and report back. My initial instinct is that the piston ring let go of the piston and with the ring gone the ring got bashed up into the valving and it also left the connecting rod to just flop around with too much space so it banged around. Doesn't look like it has been like this for very long, maybe a few days/times turned on


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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2012)

These things are really that silent?


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> These things are really that silent?


With the extent that i went to make it silent, simple answer is yes


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

I took this video the other day, the compressors didn't sound off at all that day, it was on the 30th of June. So sometime between then and yesterday that one **** the bed.


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## [email protected] (Feb 10, 2012)

Dude!!! That is amazing!!! I would never have thought an AZ comp could be that quite. Especially 3 of them. Good job dude!!!


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## Tofik (May 7, 2007)

hey so i swapped my 380 out for the ob2 and  fill times are damn near instant compared to the 380.. noise has been cut down a lott.. you can have a whisper conversation in the cabin or outside with the trunk open.. granted i dont have isolators like you , all i did was dump a 3/4in mdf board in the spare well and used the oem spare wheel screw to secure it:thumbup::beer:

so far :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: can ttell when it turns on or turns off when im driving


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> Dude!!! That is amazing!!! I would never have thought an AZ comp could be that quite. Especially 3 of them. Good job dude!!!


Thanks! I did a lot of planning to be able to achieve this result and i think it shows 



Tofik said:


> hey so i swapped my 380 out for the ob2 and  fill times are damn near instant compared to the 380.. noise has been cut down a lott.. you can have a whisper conversation in the cabin or outside with the trunk open.. granted i dont have isolators like you , all i did was dump a 3/4in mdf board in the spare well and used the oem spare wheel screw to secure it:thumbup::beer:
> 
> so far :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: can ttell when it turns on or turns off when im driving


I'm glad you like the compressor, it has been nothing but excellent to me (aside from this one minor issue) and i can't imagine having air without one of these compressors again. 

Oh, now imagine what having 3 of them is like, imagine how fast that fills up  Then imagine your tank filling without you even hearing it. Beautiful :heart:


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## Tofik (May 7, 2007)

MechEngg said:


> Thanks! I did a lot of planning to be able to achieve this result and i think it shows
> 
> 
> 
> ...



oh i lovee it, im sure my gf will appreciate the silence now, because she walays asks how much longer is the comp gonna be on for..

i heard somewhere you can run a impact wrench right off the comp w/o using a tank? idk if thats true but if so thats badass


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

Tofik said:


> oh i lovee it, im sure my gf will appreciate the silence now, because she walays asks how much longer is the comp gonna be on for..
> 
> i heard somewhere you can run a impact wrench right off the comp w/o using a tank? idk if thats true but if so thats badass


Not sure where you heard that but definitely run the impact off the tank, you need a high pressure reservoir for any air tools, the compressor will just fill the tank up :thumbup:


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## Tofik (May 7, 2007)

MechEngg said:


> Not sure where you heard that but definitely run the impact off the tank, you need a high pressure reservoir for any air tools, the compressor will just fill the tank up :thumbup:


i was reading ob2 reviews in off road truck forums:thumbup: not sure how legit the reviews were tho:thumbup::thumbdown:


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

*1 *

Thanks to Rali from Bagriders for getting back to me and providing me with the necessary contact information for some people at Air Zenith. :thumbup:


*2*

Guys at Air Zenith are going to warranty the compressor, and even agreed for me to only send down the broken parts/pieces for replacement, their only concern is that i would not know how to put it back together :laugh:

Also going to get a seal/rebuild kit for a spare just incase any of the PTFE seals or rings actually wear out on any of the other compressors. It is super easy to just pull the cylinder head off (5 minutes and still in the car) so i think i will start checking them every second week for any signs of wear or fatigue. 

So long story short I should receive the new pieces back in a few weeks I anticipate, due to having to ship it to Las Vegas


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## Bierce IV (Apr 5, 2010)

Thats awesome, i still need to finish my trunk setup. I have dual 444c but only one is hooked up because i was unable to get the other one to run. (issues with relay). I have been considering switching to the ob2 when i get the money.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

Small update here, they received my compressor earlier in the week since i obviously chose the slowest/cheapest shipping down there, they have replaced all the parts, i ordered 2 additional check valves from them as well just incase, and it is being shipped back to me as i type this. Good customer service, hopefully i will be able to get my compressor back together for the august long weekend or there-abouts :thumbup:


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2006)

The fan scraping is a known problem with the OB2. It's actually what held up the initial release of the OB2.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> The fan scraping is a known problem with the OB2. It's actually what held up the initial release of the OB2.


 My brand new compressors have quite a lot of space compared to my old OB2's, maybe i will get them to include a couple new versions of the fans or just put some new ones in myself which have more clearance


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

Got the replacements parts in! 

Old bottom case for the "crank" 
New cylinder walls section 
New check valve 
New Cooling fan 
New flappers and seals 
Old piston head 
New piston and rings etc 

Will put it back together next week because i am spending the next 3 days at my cabin wakeboarding and dirtbiking etc.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

Works again!


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