Air starter tank

Good day, while I have a few minutes after y pre trip this morning.

On tank sizing, 30 gal min recomended, that will give you one really good crank and another short 7 - 10 sec burst in a stubborn start condition or 4-5 normal quick shots.
Generally the tanks mounted on a truck were of the same diameter as the fuel tank and would use the same brackets with a capacity between 50 -60 gal, some such as on some old b Mack's were aluminum and polished out nice. Aand with a matching oil tank on the other side they looked sharp.
Plumbing, consists of a 1.5" air line from the tank to the air starter and a standard supply line from the air system.
The main issues were leaks, but like any system on a truck basic maintenance would prevent it. Do you let corrosion build up on battery terminals? Do you let air leaks in your brake system or suspention go? No you correct the issue. The air start is just considered magic by most people, just like any old mechanical engine today. Duh, where the computer hook up to tell me what wrong? Nope, Nope, guess I cant fix it......
Sorry about the sarcasm. It really a SIMPLE system.
1, check valve from primary air to start tank, the same as between the air compressor and primary tank that fails due to moisture and heat and most people dont even realize it. If you have a slow leak of your system and cant figure it out chances are it is that check valve. Especially if you get oil in the system.
2, start relay valve, this is is the main air leak point, after years of use th seals degrade and allow a slow leak to form. If you have have a slow leak in this system pull the muffler off the starter and slap a patch of duct tape over the hole and if it bulges out chances are you are going to have to break down and replace a couple of o rings.....the tragedy ;-D
3, luber, there a few different types but usual it is looped into the return fuel line, evry time you hit the starter it injects like .3cc to keep every thing lubed. Failure is usually indicated by slow crank and excessive air noise, no different than never oiling your impact gun. During routine maintenance like my over head I'd pull the oiler off and clean the built up gunk out and if needed replace the 10 cent o rings.
That is the extent of the "magic",, other than these few things they are very reliable
When matched with the newer electronic engines of the 90s you had even less issue with starting.
There were many times I went out to the lot after the old truck was sitting for a couple of months with a 9vdc batt (to power the computer) and a portable air tank and fired it up just to run it.
Not including the hazmat application benefit.
An air start system will spin the engine faster,
Can spin indefinitely as long as there is air available without really needing a cool down.
Can save up to 200# in batteries and related cables.
Will still start your truck in the morning when it is -20 out when you didn't know you puppy pulled your Jonny bar down turning on your brake lights for the whole night without your knowledge while sitting in a pull off in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. Not that it has ever happened to me, nope......uh....nope.
As for some of the other issues some people have brought up. As I said I'm out for extended jaunts and run close to gross. I have an apu for anti-ide and fuel savings. To have reliable starts I have to use six batteries for this system. Installing the air system will let me drop 4 batteries and associated heavy cables. I have an auxiliary compressor on the apu for added air and that only added 20# or so and with the arctic package I made up for it only adding mabe 30# including added coolant I havnt had a cold start or gelled fuel in several years.
In closing... I'll ultimately be saving at least the weight of 2 -3 batteries ( not much but that is fuel I could load) add what I deem to be reliability with minimal upkeep to a already great overall system.......and ...and, you cant forget one of the most important factors when being an older owner operator that is still a kid at heart........THE COOL FACTOR!!!!!!!!