Hi all and happy new year!
I'm currently starting to fit a fully pneumatic gearchange on the force hillclimber and wanted advice. I can get the electronics (gear control unit) actuators and valve block etc from various sources but I still need;
A small onboard high pressure air tank 0.4-0.8 litre (paint ball, air gun etc)
A regulator on the output to regulate down to 6 bar + an adaptor to fit the reg to the bottle
air hoses which connect my 12litre diving tank to fill the onboard bottle
I think a 1st stage scuba reg and a paint ball tank may be the way to go! Any ideas on a cost effective way of filling the bottle?

What about a small welding bottle ? like on a diy mig
Its just an idea

If you already have the diving gear, just use a HP hose from the 1st stage to an A-clamp on a small bottle. I probably have a small bottle from emergency inflate from a stab-jacket which has an A-clamp as part of the pillar valve so you'd just need a dummy pillar valve to connect the little bottle to a small 1st stage. I may have a very early emergency inflate from an Apex ABLJ which has a HP hose on the bottle and the A-clamp on the end of the hose.

..or how about Nitrogen?
nitrogen cylinder

The 1st stage is to be connected directly to the small onboard bottle to regulate the output to the on board pneumatics to 6 bar. The life jacket canisters are ideal if in test. I'm assuming the small tank can be filled through an inlet on the 1st stage reg?
I don't have any bits yet but ordered a big tank on eBay as well as a 1st stage reg!

You don't need a test on the small bottles so just whip-out the pillar valve and have a look inside to see if it's OK. The Reg will have HP and LP ports. Use a HP hose gauge to connect direct to another bottle to decant air.
I have a box of regs, hoses, and regs but it'll be a couple of days before I get into the shed to have a look.

champion!

Give Luke at Playskool a call, they have a small lightweight bottle fitted to their Westy .. doing exactly what you're proposing to do. He did tell me what it was.. but I'm old and forgot.

And happy new year,

Thanks Andy.i have already spoke with Luke as they do a full kit but at £225 for the small tank and hoses I'll look elsewhere 1st

Luke's car is pretty spectacular and I only just beat it at blyton last summer! He's probably a much better pilot than me though! Think he uses geartronics with his own hardware
I should add it was the debut meeting for his car and he was quicker at Anglesey where he was hitting 140mph

[Edited on 1/1/15 by daniel mason]

I use a paintball high pressure air cylinder and regulator with my geartronics system. The bottle has a regulator to drop the pressure from 4500 psi to 300 psi, so you need a small adjustable inline paintball regulator (mine is from CP Systems) to drop it down to the 100 to 150 psi needed for shifting. I have 2 bottles so that there is a spare in case I loose pressure from an air leak, or stupidity, and I get them filled at a local paintball field for AU$5 each (2 quid?). Find a local paintball field in your area and tell them what you want to do . . . they are usually helpfull for us car nuts

I've decided I'm going to run an onboard compressor with mine as the car is used on the road and for track days.

I have gone for a compressor as well. The Thomas pumps are really dinky and weigh not a lot - but I guess in a sprint car you might use the weight saving.

I have just made up my own valve block using 3 x Norgren M48 solenoid valves. I am just about to make an accumulator using Aluminium tube capped off. I am trying to mimic the Shiftek and Geartronics designs as much as possible.

What about this for a pressure regulator?

MINI AIR REGULATOR FOR SPRAY GUNS,HVLP AND OTHER AIR TOOLS

What size piping are you going to use - I have assumed that there is not much point going bigger that the size of the fittings on the valves (M5 - in my case so AN3 ish)

I am aiming for 750N of shifting force and have calculated that as a 40mm bore actuator.

Next task is to try and work out what microswitches to use in the paddles - any clues folks?

If you look at the drag racers they are mostly using air accumulators made from plumbers pipe and bonded end caps . . . simple.

32mm bore 50mm stroke shift actuator
RS part number 721-3644

Blipper actuator
RS part number 722-7088

Magnet sensors for shift actuator
Rs part number 161-798

Works out not too bad and the sensors fit neatly onto the actuator and tell the gear control unit when the magnetic piston has reached full travel.eg the shift has been made!

Dan
you won't need a 32mm bore actuator for your shift. 25mm bore will be more than adequate and will save weight and air usage to boot.

Richard

It's only 300 gramms rich and i can live with that. I was gonna go smaller but after speaking with David at xoomspeed he said this install is ver very neat using these bits!