Air Compressor/Tire Inflator

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SevenOfNine

SevenOfNine

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There was a thread mentioning these things awhile back but I cannot find it so forgive me if this is a double post of a past topic.

I am looking to buy an air compressor/tire inflator to keep in the trunk in cases of emergencies so that I can inflate my tires on-the-go and get to a safe place without having to find a gas station machine.

Can anyone suggest any good ones? Brands, prices, specs, anything is helpful.

I have a 2014 Dodge Charger R/T Plus, it has Michelin Pilot tires, P235/55R19
Generally needs to be inflated to 33-34 PSI

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I have never owned any of these and the last time I used one from a friend was circa May 2009. It had to be plugged in though and also didn't do very well so it would be useless.

Thanks.
 
I bought this awhile back I like it a lot no need to plug into a outlet you can take it anywhere.
 
So plug free then it has a battery & charging system?
That would be great, something compact like that which can handle the work.

Thank you for a quick reply.
 
I bought a cheap 12v air compressor at an auto parts store. It had a pressure gauge but not much CFM, plug it into your cig lighter. It worked OK on my truck tires up to 80 PSI, but I wanted it for the suspension air bags. Any brand will do, high quality is not needed because you will not use it very often.
 
No but I also want to know that it won't crap out on me after only a couple of uses. I don't want to need it and find it dead in the trunk.

Just a preference too, I would prefer one that charges and has a battery as opposed to a cig lighter plug-in. I can charge it before I leave the house, I don't mind that. I don't like draining power from my car battery. I don't even charge my cell phone from the car anymore. Did it in previous vehicles and it always messed up the battery even when the vehicle was driven daily and always on during phone charging, etc...

Some devices - especially the cheap ones - screw up vehicle battery charges. I used a no-name charger for my Motorola phone because the Motorola brand charger wasn't available and it ruined my battery on my previous car. It wasn't staying charged, died for no reason under normal circumstances, had to replace it eventually.
 
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The compressor is around 35 but you will have to get a battery and charger I was lucky I have that brands drill so already had both.
 
LEGION 12 said:
The compressor is around 35 but you will have to get a battery and charger I was lucky I have that brands drill so already had both.
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Ah, figured as much, but that's no problem. Much rather have one that works that way. I'll look into that or something similar, different brands that offer same equipment. Appreciate your quick replies on this.
 
If you have enough room in your trunk, an air tank might be more practical than a compressor. Just a simple sealed tank that holds compressed air. You simply transfer the air from the tank into the tire. They come with a hose attached that has a tire chuck on the end of it and the tank has a gauge attached to tell you how much air is in the tank. They can shoot 5 pounds of air into a tire in just a few seconds. The more air pressure in the tank, the faster it transfers to the tire.

I have one that holds 150 pounds of air but my local gas station compressors will only put 130 pounds into it. That's enough to top off 8 tires as long as they aren't more than 3 or 4 pounds low each. Mine does lose some air gradually. Maybe about 3 pounds a month when it just sits there. Other than the fact that I have to take it to a gas station to fill it up (I don't own an air compressor) it's very convenient.

Just another option to consider if you have the room for it.
 
Railsplitter said:
If you have enough room in your trunk, an air tank might be more practical than a compressor. Just a simple sealed tank that holds compressed air. You simply transfer the air from the tank into the tire. They come with a hose attached that has a tire chuck on the end of it and the tank has a gauge attached to tell you how much air is in the tank. They can shoot 5 pounds of air into a tire in just a few seconds. The more air pressure in the tank, the faster it transfers to the tire.

I have one that holds 150 pounds of air but my local gas station compressors will only put 130 pounds into it. That's enough to top off 8 tires as long as they aren't more than 3 or 4 pounds low each. Mine does lose some air gradually. Maybe about 3 pounds a month when it just sits there. Other than the fact that I have to take it to a gas station to fill it up (I don't own an air compressor) it's very convenient.

Just another option to consider if you have the room for it.
Click to expand...

For small adjustments (<10 lbs), a decent (manual) bicycle tire pump works surprisingly well in a pinch. I keep one in my trunk.
 
SevenOfNine said:
Some devices screw up vehicle battery charges.
Click to expand...

I've never seen this or heard of it, but I do know from experience working in a garage that batteries can die on their own with no help.

Search hard and you will find that almost all of the portable compressors are pretty poor products. I have never found a decent one at any price. I bought one from Harbor Freight that has reasonable reviews but you have to still consider these are reviews from people that shop at Harbor Freight. This particular pump so far has worked reasonably well except recently it stopped working and I discovered a solder joint came loose inside it. I reatached it and it is working again.
 
Take a look at the viair 77p. I have three of them and use them for a number of different things. Quality construction and very sturdy.

Sent from my D6708 using Tapatalk
 
Railsplitter said:
If you have enough room in your trunk, an air tank might be more practical than a compressor. Just a simple sealed tank that holds compressed air. You simply transfer the air from the tank into the tire. They come with a hose attached that has a tire chuck on the end of it and the tank has a gauge attached to tell you how much air is in the tank. They can shoot 5 pounds of air into a tire in just a few seconds. The more air pressure in the tank, the faster it transfers to the tire.

I have one that holds 150 pounds of air but my local gas station compressors will only put 130 pounds into it. That's enough to top off 8 tires as long as they aren't more than 3 or 4 pounds low each. Mine does lose some air gradually. Maybe about 3 pounds a month when it just sits there. Other than the fact that I have to take it to a gas station to fill it up (I don't own an air compressor) it's very convenient.

Just another option to consider if you have the room for it.
Click to expand...

This is your best bet if you don't want a compressor to run off your battery. My home air compressor has an extra, removable tank I can take with me.
I keep a compressor I can plug into my car in the trunk. I don't use it very often at all and for the times I did need it it worked fine.
 
bdmicarta said:
I've never seen this or heard of it, but I do know from experience working in a garage that batteries can die on their own with no help.
Click to expand...

I know all about how and why car batteries die. However, the particular no-name phone charger I used was later known to be a battery killer. Hundreds of thousands of batteries did not die on their own coincidentally after using that charger. When cheap devices are put together poorly, they do indeed affect the car battery. I have seen it over and over again.
 
Railsplitter said:
If you have enough room in your trunk, an air tank might be more practical than a compressor. Just a simple sealed tank that holds compressed air. You simply transfer the air from the tank into the tire. They come with a hose attached that has a tire chuck on the end of it and the tank has a gauge attached to tell you how much air is in the tank. They can shoot 5 pounds of air into a tire in just a few seconds. The more air pressure in the tank, the faster it transfers to the tire.

I have one that holds 150 pounds of air but my local gas station compressors will only put 130 pounds into it. That's enough to top off 8 tires as long as they aren't more than 3 or 4 pounds low each. Mine does lose some air gradually. Maybe about 3 pounds a month when it just sits there. Other than the fact that I have to take it to a gas station to fill it up (I don't own an air compressor) it's very convenient.

Just another option to consider if you have the room for it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great feedback. That sounds like a winner, I certainly have a huge trunk so I'm sure fitting it wouldn't be impractical. I would just be using it to add maybe 3-5 psi here & there, mostly during the winter. The tires are pretty new and have been holding air well but there are two in particular that alternate with a few psi lost when it gets particularly frigid. Appreciate your help, I'm going to look into this over the weekend.:thumbup:
 
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