Portable tire inflator
- Thread starter RoyClark
- Start date
I bought an el-cheapo one at Target 20 years ago, and it still works.
I also bought a Viair 77p a few years back, and it still works as well.
Look into Viair 88P - it can be connected directly to your battery posts, so it's not limited by the 15A fuse in your cigarette lighter socket.
I also bought a Viair 77p a few years back, and it still works as well.
Look into Viair 88P - it can be connected directly to your battery posts, so it's not limited by the 15A fuse in your cigarette lighter socket.
The most important thing is not to over work them. A lot of them have plastic pistons with a rubber seal almost like a piston ring. They are fine for filling a tire or two but if you try to do all the tires there is a possibility the plastic piston will melt. As long as you know the limits they should all be pretty decent. Maybe get one that's easy to return or exchange. I'm pretty sure project farm did a video on portable inflators.
I have 2 of these, use probably 50 times a year, I like tires that are inflated. Other than the one in the tank bag that flew off the motorcycle, they have been flawless.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-100-psi-high-volume-air-inflator-69284.html
Rod
https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-100-psi-high-volume-air-inflator-69284.html
Rod
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Yes I always leave the engine running the whole time, I always had a fear of discharging the battery.
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
I have 2 of these, use probably 50 times a year, I like tires that are inflated. Other than the one in the tank bag that flew off the motorcycle, they have been flawless.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-100-psi-high-volume-air-inflator-69284.html
Rod
I bought one of these after watching the Project Farm comparo. Only used once so far, but I like it.
I have 2 of these, use probably 50 times a year, I like tires that are inflated. Other than the one in the tank bag that flew off the motorcycle, they have been flawless.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-100-psi-high-volume-air-inflator-69284.html
Rod
I bought one of these after watching the Project Farm comparo. Only used once so far, but I like it.
I bought a Ryobi cordless that works great, has an automatic setting to stop at a certain PSI and another port to fill beach toys.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
I have the Ryobi One+. Even though I've replaced it 5 times in the last few years, I love it and will not get rid of it.
The way to do it (what I did) is buy the 2 year free replacement warranty at Home Depot for $12 ($40 for compressor). This extends the warranty from the factory 3 to 5 and makes it so you can replace it in store under warranty. The problem they have is either the screen will be scrambled and not make sense, or it will just show the completely wrong psi. Like hooking it up to a tire with 35 psi, it'll say 14 psi.
Luckily there is no in-between, and they've been mechanically very reliable. This last pump I have has lasted the longest, almost a year I think.
The way to do it (what I did) is buy the 2 year free replacement warranty at Home Depot for $12 ($40 for compressor). This extends the warranty from the factory 3 to 5 and makes it so you can replace it in store under warranty. The problem they have is either the screen will be scrambled and not make sense, or it will just show the completely wrong psi. Like hooking it up to a tire with 35 psi, it'll say 14 psi.
Luckily there is no in-between, and they've been mechanically very reliable. This last pump I have has lasted the longest, almost a year I think.
Biggest Viair that the budget will allow, unless you can't won't step up to one that connects direct to the battery instead of a lighter outlet, then their highest model # with lighter outlet power.
The smaller it is, the longer it takes, the hotter it gets, and the shorter the lifespan.
Then again, if you can do it, I'd rather get a quiet compressor put at the front corner of the garage and a long enough hose to get where you need to go. That'll give you hundreds or more hours total lifespan instead of less than 10 on a little inflator (might be overgeneralizing).
The smaller it is, the longer it takes, the hotter it gets, and the shorter the lifespan.
Then again, if you can do it, I'd rather get a quiet compressor put at the front corner of the garage and a long enough hose to get where you need to go. That'll give you hundreds or more hours total lifespan instead of less than 10 on a little inflator (might be overgeneralizing).
Triple_Se7en
$50 Site Donor 2024
Originally Posted by joegreen
The most important thing is not to over work them. A lot of them have plastic pistons with a rubber seal almost like a piston ring. They are fine for filling a tire or two but if you try to do all the tires there is a possibility the plastic piston will melt. As long as you know the limits they should all be pretty decent. M
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
These little guys are built to fix one low or flat tire..... not 4. Meant for emergencies, nothing more.
If you want to do once a month maintenance on tire pressures, go to a gas station and most time you'll need six quarters for all four tires.
Otherwise, have a little tougher, bigger unit in the garage, with electric current, for all four tires.
The most important thing is not to over work them. A lot of them have plastic pistons with a rubber seal almost like a piston ring. They are fine for filling a tire or two but if you try to do all the tires there is a possibility the plastic piston will melt. As long as you know the limits they should all be pretty decent. M
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
These little guys are built to fix one low or flat tire..... not 4. Meant for emergencies, nothing more.
If you want to do once a month maintenance on tire pressures, go to a gas station and most time you'll need six quarters for all four tires.
Otherwise, have a little tougher, bigger unit in the garage, with electric current, for all four tires.
HF has a better compressor then the one linked for about $59. It has ball bearings and attached to a baseplate with rubber feet. Very similar to the Viair units. Mine have held up for many years. Use the smartphone %20 off coupon....
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Originally Posted by Kawiguy454
HF has a better compressor then the one linked for about $59. It has ball bearings and attached to a baseplate with rubber feet. Very similar to the Viair units. Mine have held up for many years. Use the smartphone %20 off coupon....
Is this the one?
https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-150-psi-compact-air-compressor-63184.html
Not seeing anything for $59.
HF has a better compressor then the one linked for about $59. It has ball bearings and attached to a baseplate with rubber feet. Very similar to the Viair units. Mine have held up for many years. Use the smartphone %20 off coupon....
Is this the one?
https://www.harborfreight.com/12v-150-psi-compact-air-compressor-63184.html
Not seeing anything for $59.
^ That's probably after the 20% off coupon and tax.
I like the Cyclone air compressor. Pep Boys often has it on sale
The Harbor Freight compressor looks a lot like it, so buy whichever one you can get a better deal on
The Harbor Freight compressor looks a lot like it, so buy whichever one you can get a better deal on
Don't operate these continuously for more than 5-10 minutes. They all are oil-less designs, meaning the compression piston pumps against the cylinder walls with no lubrication and it gets hot. When one of these units failed on me (lost compression), I simply added some oil to the piston regularly and it seems to work fine again.
I have a mitsubishi compressor. draws up to 10 amps it says. It's limited to 50 psi but that's way more than my tires take, the gauge goes up to 60 so it has a much better resolution than most.. I took it apart to grease it and it has an extra cooling fan like usually only found on 15 amp models, and ball bearings on it's crank. The piston is beefier than usual aswell. I will exchange the filler tube so it has a release valve aswell, from another pump I have laying about then it has everything I could possibly want.
Quite happy with that surplus little compressor.
Quite happy with that surplus little compressor.
