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Compressor needed for air horns


Gordon Munk

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I very much doubt that would do the job. You'd end up with it winding up to a disappointing and short trump.

You really need a set up like trucks use, with an air tank and a heavy duty DC compressor to keep it topped up via a pressure switch.

 

Sadly trucks tend to use 24 Volts DC, although there are a few specialists around who do a 12V version I have one, but it wasn't cheap.


........... assuming of course that they are air and not just electric?

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I very much doubt that would do the job. You'd end up with it winding up to a disappointing and short trump.

You really need a set up like trucks use, with an air tank and a heavy duty DC compressor to keep it topped up via a pressure switch.

 

Sadly trucks tend to use 24 Volts DC, although there are a few specialists around who do a 12V version I have one, but it wasn't cheap.

........... assuming of course that they are air and not just electric?

Nothing worse.

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Hopefully they are not one that play 'Colonel Bogey' (or similar)

 

You need to ensure that they make a 'noise' that can comply with the requirements of the 1965 Canal Byelaws as follows :

 

(2) When vessels are in sight of one another the master of a power-driven vessel under way in taking any of the courses hereinafter referred to in this Bye-law shall indicate that course by following signals on such whistle, namely :

 

One short blast to mean “I am altering my course to starboard”, two short blasts to mean “I am altering my course to port”, three short blasts to mean “My engines are going astern”, four short blasts to mean “I am about to turn or to turn round”. This signal shall be followed after a short interval by one short blast if turning to starboard or two short blasts if turning to port and shall be repeated to any approaching vessel, whereupon such approaching vessel shall take action to avoid collision.

 

(3) In fog, mist, falling snow, heavy rainstorm or any other conditions similarly restricting visibility whether by night or day, the following signals shall be used:-

(a) A power-driven vessel making way through the water shall sound, at intervals of not more than two minutes a prolonged blast.

(b ) A power-driven vessel under way but stopped and making no way through the water shall sound, at intervals of not more than two minutes, two prolonged blasts with an interval of about one second between them.

(c ) A vessel when towing and a vessel under way which is unable to get out of the way of an approaching vessel through being not under command or unable to manoeuvre as required by these Bye-laws shall sound, at intervals of not more than one minute, three blasts in succession, namely, one prolonged blast followed by two short blasts.

(d) Every vessel aground in the fairway or mid-channel shall, so long as she remains aground, signify the same by sounding five
or more blasts in rapid succession at intervals of not more than one minute.

 

(4) When the view of the canal ahead is obstructed by a bend in the canal and until such view is no longer obscured, a powerdriven vessel making way through the water shall sound, at intervals of twenty seconds, a prolonged blast.

 

(5) The Master of a power driven vessel approaching a lock which is operated by staff provided by the Board for that purpose and requiring the bridge to be opened shall sound one prolonged blast, except that on the Weaver Navigation when navigating downstream he shall sound one prolonged blast followed by one short blast.

 

(6) The Master of a power-driven vessel intending to pass a moveable bridge, which is operated by staff provided by the Board or other authority, and requiring the bridge to be opened shall sound one prolonged blast, except that on the Weaver Navigation when navigating downstream he shall sound one prolonged blast followed by one short blast.

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To be honest, I would consider horns like this. Twice this year I have been accused of not sounding the horn at blind bridges. One guy was approaching way too fast, ended up across the mouth of the bridge hole, shouting "Yer should 'ave blarn ya fackin' hone!" The fact that my shoulders were shaking with laughter did nothing to calm the situation...

On second thoughts I might employ somebody to run ahead on the towpath with a warning flag.

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If you do fit them, will you have one horn pointing at yourself? It hardly seems fair to inflict them on others without sharing the experience with them

 

Those horns are VERY LOUD

 

Richard

I'm tempted to put one on my motorbike ;--)

I very much doubt that would do the job. You'd end up with it winding up to a disappointing and short trump.

You really need a set up like trucks use, with an air tank and a heavy duty DC compressor to keep it topped up via a pressure switch.

 

Sadly trucks tend to use 24 Volts DC, although there are a few specialists around who do a 12V version I have one, but it wasn't cheap.

 

........... assuming of course that they are air and not just electric?

do you have some figures? like volume and pressure?

 

They are air, they have the input spigot, though I have no idea whether they work, one spigot is currently blocked.

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I have one like that as part of a plastic horn I bought and it is pretty loud, I'm tempted to try it out if I can dismantle it without breaking it.

Are there any markings on them?

 

Richard

There's no makers name, just E2 in a circle and 906 stamped into the (integral) bracket.

and on closer examination each has a small ( abandoned) wasps nest in the bell.

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I can remember finding a set of air horns at work so I had an idea of fitting them to the car that I had at the time. I had to try them to see what they sounded like (like you do!) but rather than finding some wires and connecting the compressor to a battery I took the horns (there were five of them) and the hoses off it and connected to the garage airline (150 psi). While holding the horns in my other hand. Holy cow it was loud! I mean full nappy loud!

 

For a few minutes I wasn't sure if I was alive, dead or somewhere in between.......

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Seems unlikely, Wabco made an E2 horn: http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/e2.html

 

Richard

not one of them, the slightly puzzling thing about the stamps is that both have 906 and neither have any differentiation ( note, length).

 

they are a much later era, chrome, much thinner waist and one piece including the front of the sound chamber

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I can remember finding a set of air horns at work so I had an idea of fitting them to the car that I had at the time. I had to try them to see what they sounded like (like you do!) but rather than finding some wires and connecting the compressor to a battery I took the horns (there were five of them) and the hoses off it and connected to the garage airline (150 psi). While holding the horns in my other hand. Holy cow it was loud! I mean full nappy loud!

 

For a few minutes I wasn't sure if I was alive, dead or somewhere in between.......

 

I did a similar thing with some air horns of a class 31. One needs cleaning and didn't sound. The other did. I couldn't hear for a few minutes

 

If these horns are similar, they don't belong on a boat. They really are not funny

 

Richard

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I think this may have been on here before, someone said they used an old fire extinguisher that they could pump up with air and somehow connected this to their air horn.

Fred

Yup, I was just thinking of that post.

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