“What I Learned Today” With Jeff Smith: Simple Refill

We assembled two air fittings together to form this male-male connector. We plug one end into the air tank with the tank valve closed. Then we plug the other end into our compressed air hose. Then open the valve at the tank and the shop air will to fill the tank without you having to hold the fitting in place.

Preparing to go to the racetrack always involves including multiple items that always seem to require attention. Our portable air tank is more than 20 years old and has developed a slow leak so it’s always near empty when we need it. Recharging the tank requires us to hold the air chuck in place while the tank refills. We have better things to do than wait for the tank to refill so we decided one day to bypass this time-consuming task with a simple but effective air fitting. We merely threaded two air fittings together to create a male-to-male fitting air connector. We plug one side into the air tank’s quick disconnect with the tank valve closed. Then we plug the opposite end into our air hose, and merely open the tank valve and allow it to fill. 

This allows us to work on other chores while the tank fills. We know when the tank is full because we can hear when the air stops moving. Then we just reverse the process by closing the valve on the tank and then remove the live air hose. Then we pull that fitting out of the quick-release fitting on the tank and replace that with our air chuck line for filling tires at the track. Now the air tank is full and ready for the race track. 

About the author

Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith, a 35-year veteran of automotive journalism, comes to Power Automedia after serving as the senior technical editor at Car Craft magazine. An Iowa native, Smith served a variety of roles at Car Craft before moving to the senior editor role at Hot Rod and Chevy High Performance, and ultimately returning to Car Craft. An accomplished engine builder and technical expert, he will focus on the tech-heavy content that is the foundation of EngineLabs.
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