treasures-Pete I have a horn!

Is it Christmas already!?!!

Is there a "Rest of the Story" ?

Thats exactly what Paul Harvey would say.LOL


    There is NOTHING like a set of air horns!!

     Do you have the compressor for yours?

I have a few sets of them around....my favorites are a set, still in the box, that has what reminds you of a bicycle tire pump.

The body of the pump mounts behind the dash. There is a "captains style-steering wheel" knob that mounts to the center pump rod. To operate the horn, you pull the rod, and as you push it in, the pump supplies air to operate horns. No power required!

Might use them on the 62 Higgins..

sanity wrote: Steve, I do not have a compressor. Chelle'

Nice find Michelle! With that horn on the deck, it will keep the bow of the boat down and it won't porpoise as much!

Without a compressor, you must have tested the horn off the shop air? Yes, the sound is impressive especially if you are under a bridge! I have the same model on my 64.

They were originally set up with a canister of R12 refrigerant that clipped onto a solenoid valve under the deck. Unfortunately due to the banning of some of the "freons" with the Montreal Protocol and the "green" movement, the method fell out of favor. I haven't been able to find the freon canisters in at least 15 years.

The alternate is a compressor and a rather large air surge storage tank. Besides being expensive and needing power to run the compressor, they don't sound the same! It has something to do with the expansion rate of the freon maintaining the pressure to the horn VS. air out of a surge tank where the pressure drops as the horn is used. I've resorted to adapting a 30lb tank of reclaim freon under the deck. Unfortunately after two attempts of my double flaring copper tube tank adapters both eventually broke and leaked. The next try will be with a hose assembly from the tank to the valve eliminating the vibration problem breaking the copper adapter line.

I have the 1/2 windshield. A friend of mine is going to check with a local glass company today to see if they might be able to complete the other half.

Blink tested the horn with the shop air. I was impressed. I'll be disappointed if I can only get a little "toot" out of it after hearing what it could sound like.

The horns have "Hadley" on them. I can't remember what else is written on them. They had tape over the writing. They'll clean up nice with goo be gone.

Pete, if it keeps the bow down, maybe I should center it.

I got the cups and nozzles today. Gel coat tomorrow or Wednesday! Stinkin' night at the races Saturday dinner time for the regatta. Maybe I'll wake up extra early.

Chelle'

Check this out.

http://www.updplastics.com/correct%20craft%20boat%20windshields.htm

Pete   thanks    i wonder what west marine sells for their air horns   i would tend to guess CO2   i use nitrogen to purge refrig lines before / during soldering but getting the right regulator might be the challenge ..

The same size (18" high that would fit under the bow) of cylinder is used for nitrogen and CO2. I'm trying to figure out the cu. ft. yield of both gases. The nitrogen comes with 3000 psi but is all gas. The CO2 is rated at 1700 psi but being a liquid may actually contain more gas!

Basic (not expensive) regulators for the CO2 max out at 60 psi whereas the same basic regulator for nitrogen is adjustable up to about 115 psi. Considering the vapor pressure of the R12 (over 110 psi), I'm leaning towards the nitrogen for the full effect of the horn but may have to give up the amount of "blowing" time one cylinder will give.

It seems that the whole set up would run around $150. Not bad compared to a fancy compressor and surge tank!

Lots out there on the net for beer keg set ups. Hey, I could set up a tapper in the boat at the same time!!!

Billy,
I used one of the compressors off of one of the cheap "Wolo" brand air horns to power the horns on the 68 Nauta-cuda this past summer. (the original compressor had electrical issues)

Lets just say they worked, but, were a little, shall we say... "lack luster". I have since gotten the original compressor fixed and am anxious to give it a try. (once I dig the boat out of storage).   

boat dr wrote: OR; Northern Tool has a triple horn complete with 12volt compressor for 16.99 plus shipping. But then again that would be too easy,and we would not get to re-invent the wheel.

These horns use lots of "air". So much that they had to stop using them on single compressed air systems on fire trucks. They would use the horns so much that it will dump all the air and set the brakes!

I was able to get some figures on the cu.ft. per lb. of CO2. Looks like the CO2 would give you more horn blows per refill than nitrogen will.

The tank (18.5" tall) of nitrogen contains 22 cu. ft. when full to the normal pressure of 2250psi. This same physical size tank of CO2 (a 5lb tank) is 43.5 cu. ft. because CO2 produces 8.7 cu. ft. gas per lb. of liquid. This is roughly twice the volume over the nitrogen.

I'm not sure how the CO2 would equate to the "blows" per refill compared to the old R12. I'm guessing that the old refills were between 7 and 10 lbs. (freons are heavy!) and depending on the temperature it looks like these produced about 20 cu. ft.

I'm going with the CO2 and will see how it works out! Anyone doing this, will need to purchase a tank at about $60 plus a regulator. Then, refills at your welding gas store are only about $10 each.

We called Chuck last week, as we were going to go visit him and Floss. No one answered. We brought a beautiful clear glass and blue lighthouse back from Key West for him. You know how he loves light houses. I miss seeing him at the river.
Chelle'

Gary S wrote: Michelle, I for one are jealous. Here is where it was mounted on mine,

Gary,
There's alot more on your boat than what came with mine. It's fun to find the things you need and want. Especially when you're not expecting to find anything.
Chelle'

Steve,
Yes, a compressor is a option but as mentioned the sound isn't the same. The horns use so much air that the air pressure in the tank drops off real quick whereas the old R12 maintained the pressure. The cost of a decent Buell tank/compressor isn't the greatest ether.smallest Buell compressor - $435.00

25"x8"x14"


It also draws the juice - 18 amps! That's alot when you consider most of our old boats have 30 - 35 amp alternators.

You can go cheaper but you already found out that the Wolo's don't do the job.

I'm going with the CO2. Hopefully Charlie will find a old soda system CO2 regulator (10-110PSI) I can use. If not, they aren't that expensive. I'm finding them list priced at $40.

Barney, you mean you have to have a horn at Green Lake? A hand held whistle won't due. I must live in a different world. I've been pulled over maybe 3 times in my life and never once been asked to sound my horn.

Pete,
Do you think the compressor that was mounted under the hull of my 68 was "factory/dealer installed? (I cant remember the brand..might have been made in Italy?)
I like the CO2 idea if you could get 2 or 3 summers off of it. The thing with air horns, I think a guy gets a little "happier" with them than electrics?

Bruce,
We actually had a DNR safety check at the launch we go to, last labor day weekend. I also keep a whistle in the glove box, but he did ask to see the whistle/or sound the horns...the Wolo compressor did keep him happy.