air chuffer?

[lankchevy]

i was reading in my "jeep bible" today at school to pass the time and i read about the guy using a chuffer as he called it to air up his tires. he said that u unscrewed a spark plug, screwed this thing into it that had a hose with an air fitting on it. then when u turn the engine back on it runs on 5 cylinder and the compression from the other airs ur tires up. it sounded like a good idea to me and he said that it doesnt pump in gas fumes which i find kind of hard to beilive. so had anyone ever used one of these and if so what did u think about it. and where could u find that part that screws into the head where the plug would.

kolby

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

I've heard of it, the Pres. of our jeep club said they used to use one of the engine's cylinders as an air compressor. I don't know how you'd keep fuel from going in there, and it's a good way to ruin a catalytic converter if you have one, as raw fuel would make it's way there and heat up. I'll ask him and get some more info.

 

[Tug-n-pull]

I think this would be filed under in the most extrem case section of trail knowledge. Would be a great McGiver trick but not a use offten thing. tug

 

[Inspector-Gadget]

Hi All,

The "chuffer" was commonly found on farms back in the days when we put a dead fish in the ground with each corn seed.

HAHAHAHAH -- sorry, sometimes I crack me up.

OK, I'll stop with the corny old guy jokes and the old guy corny jokes.

To be serious: a chuffer was a very small air compressor -- like a bicycle tire pump -- that was merely powered by a car/truck/tractor engine.

The name, "chuffer" by the way, came from the sound this device made while in operation. (chuff - wheez - chuff - wheez - chuff - wheez)

Picture in your mind's eye, if you will, a cylinder. At one end was an externally threaded fitting. That end screwed into a vacant spark plug hole. At the other end was a rubber hose. That other end of the hose was connected to the tire (actually the inner tube) of the tire to be inflated.

Within that chuffer cylinder was a piston or diaphragm iwhich was forced to reciprocate because of alternating vacuum and pressure applied to it by the reciprocating engine piston. That is, the vehicle engine was used as merely the source of power for the chuffer.

The chuffer was check-valved such that it drew in fresh air when the chuffer internal diaphragm or piston moved in one direction. When the direction of the diaphragm or piston reversed because of the reversal of the engine piston, the chuffer fresh air intake check-valve closed and the diaphragm or chuffer piston moved in the opposite direction -- compressing the fresh air now trapped within the chuffer and forcing the now compressed air into the rubber inflator hose.

So -- gasoline vapor laden air was not pumped into a tire or anything else being inflated by the chuffer.

The chuffer was a great idea in the days of vehicle engines that had neither cat converters nor fuel injection, but I have no idea how well a chuffer might work with contemporary engines.

Perhaps one day someone will ask about the use of vehicle engines to run "SURGE" milking machines. If that question arises, then I will regale you with another old-guy story about how my uncle milked 60-plus cows using a 1947 Ford flathead V8 pickup truck.

Until such time as someone is foolish enough to ask that question, I remain, historically yours,

Gadget

 

[Snitty]

welp... you got us interested... lets hear it

 

[Inspector-Gadget]

(Chuckle)

Nnnaaahhh, Snitty,

The "how to milk cows with a truck engine" story should be saved until such time as there is absolutely nothing else interesting to talk about. Maybe like when we are really desperate because nobody has posted anything new for a week.

BTW, although chuffers did work, it took a long time to fully inflate a truck or tractor tire using a chuffer.

After I posted the above chuffer description, I looked at the J.C. Whitney and Tractor Supply Co. web pages to see if chuffers were still for sale.

I could not find chuffers for sale on those two web pages.

I guess the time for that old gadget, perhaps like the time for another old Gadget, has passed.

Gadget

 

[Tug-n-pull]

Gadget I wish we could fine a good shade tree a gallon of Ice Tea and just chew the fat for about a week! hehehe Tug

 

[Inspector-Gadget]

Thanks

Hi Tug,

I would enjoy the iced tea and chewing the fat. Although we were raised in different regions of the country, I think the circumstances of our childhoods were similar and we have much in common.

You know, Tug, I have been thinking about this "chuffer" thing. They were such simple gizmos. I would bet that any machinist could turn them out like hotcakes.

For those with older pre-cat or gutted cat Jeeps, I wonder if a chuffer would be a viable alternative to the typical York AC compressor to on-board air modification. A chuffer would be much simpler, not to mention orders of magnitude less expensive.

Performance wise, I cannot do a chuffer to OBA comparison because I have never had an opportunity to see an OBA setup in action.

Food for thought, perhaps, to some of our younger tool and die/machinist guys with an entrepreneurial bent. Although I cannot remember their names, it seems like a few of the Jeepz.com posters have mentioned in passing that they are machinists.

Regards,

Gadget