Mobile Tyre Fitting Van setup

[RyanTR]

Hi all,
I was wondering if someone could give me some advice on setting up my van to do mobile tyre fitting. I am a tyre fitter and I have have some spare machinery that I want to fit into my van. I have a spare tyre changer, balancer and Compressor (all these were being used at my garage before I upgraded). My question is, what is the best power source for these in the van? Do I get a generator or an inverter with batteries? If I get the latter, what kind of inverter and how many batteries are needed to power all the equipment? I will appreciate any assistance in this.
Many thanks

NOTE: I should add the tech info as follows:
Tyre changer - 220V/50HZ
Balancer - 230V/50HZ
Compressor- 230V

Edited by RyanTR on Wednesday 17th October 10:14

[Mignon]

Do you expect us to guess how many kW hours your equipment uses?

[shakindog]

Mobile tyre fitting vans are usually run on batteries with an inverter and split charging system.
Maybe worth a word with a company called on board power as they make most of the mobile tyre fitting vans for the likes of ats,kwik fit mobile,tyres on the drive amongst others.
If you look on line can usually pick up one of their old vans for decent money.
Ex rac mobile tyre fitting vans were knocking about for sale fully set up jacks the lot ready to work

[RyanTR]

Mignon said:

Do you expect us to guess how many kW hours your equipment uses?

7.5kva 6kw

[RyanTR]

shakindog said:

Mobile tyre fitting vans are usually run on batteries with an inverter and split charging system.
Maybe worth a word with a company called on board power as they make most of the mobile tyre fitting vans for the likes of ats,kwik fit mobile,tyres on the drive amongst others.
If you look on line can usually pick up one of their old vans for decent money.
Ex rac mobile tyre fitting vans were knocking about for sale fully set up jacks the lot ready to work

Thanks, for the response. I’ll look up the company and see if I can chat to them.
The reason I wanted to set this up was because I have a long wheel base van and all the equipment so thought why not give it a go since it’s all just lying around. Wasn’t really looking to get another van but no harm in checking them out

[Mignon]

RyanTR said:

7.5kva 6kw

You'd need 10 average sized car batteries to run that lot for an hour. A generator would be easier.

[RyanTR]

I’ve just updated the description with the voltage on the machines as follows:
Tyre changer 220V/50HZ,
Balancer 230V
Compressor 230V.
Does that change anything?

[Mignon]

Why would just the voltage be relevant to anything? Do you understand any of the basics of how electrickery works?

[shakindog]

The compressors are usually converted to run off battery power.
Last van I used had 3 extra batteries which ran everything fine.
Compressor tanks strapped under the van.
It’s fairly easy to fit a petrol compressor and couple extra batteries with investor to run tyre machine.
Petrol compressor against the bulkhead exhaust facing out the side door a bit noisy but works
You may need to uprate the alternator to charge it all.
It’s certainly doable with a bit of time

[RyanTR]

Mignon said:

Why would just the voltage be relevant to anything? Do you understand any of the basics of how electrickery works?

Clearly not; that’s why I’m here! I’m just your average tyre fitter

[GreenV8S]

RyanTR said:

Clearly not; that’s why I’m here!

Converting industrial equipment to run from a mobile power supply isn't trivial. I think it would be worth paying a specialist to design (and maybe supply) the solution for you. It would be very easy to make a mistake and waste a lot of money.

[Mr2Mike]

Just to put this load into perspective 6 kW @ 12v is a current draw of 500 Amps, or probably close to double what the starter motor draws. That's not a very practical load for a 12v system IMO.

[paulsykes]

Hi Ryan
I have run a successful Mobile Tyre fitting business for over 20 years and have always looked at the powering options and solutions based mostly on cost and I would recommend a large generator, 3KW will be fine, this will power your Tyre machine and give you plenty of power for those tough ones to remove,Runflats for example. The problem with a generator when it comes to your balancer I found is the vibration of the generator through the van when balancing gives inaccurate readings so you would be better off getting a handspin balancer either 12volt or plug in but still handspin (both about £450 new) and you can run this off a small inverter powered by your vans battery. Your electric compressor however will, unless it is a very small one, not be able to be run off of the generator as you will not be able to get enough power to get it going so your best bet here is to get a small petrol compressor,about £300 2nd hand to £700 new, then you will be ready to get going.
Hope it works out for you and feel free to ask if you need more advice

Edited by paulsykes on Sunday 20th January 10:57

Edited by paulsykes on Sunday 20th January 10:59