JHZR2
Staff member
Reminds me if the scene in Jaws where they have the shark on the line,mand they have to pour pots of water on the reel so it doesn’t overheat.
You need to cool these undersized generic motors so they don’t overheat…
Tire inflator recommendations
- Thread starter MoneyJohn
- Start date
You need to cool these undersized generic motors so they don’t overheat…
JHZR2
Staff member
The $49 oil free air compressor was my at home go to for a while. But it’s much larger, and still needs to cycle to put sufficient air in the tires if making much of a change.
^ But the compressors tend to be rated for hundreds if not thousands of running hours (oilless type, oiled that much longer still) while the portable inflators tend to last 10's of hours, or less if ran long enough to overheat which is that much more likely when they take *forever* to inflate a tire.
If you're just topping off 3 PSI each season, many portables will have a reasonable service life (in years) for a small fleet, but much more than that and they start to look anemic for home use rather than something stowed in the vehicle for emergencies.
If you're just topping off 3 PSI each season, many portables will have a reasonable service life (in years) for a small fleet, but much more than that and they start to look anemic for home use rather than something stowed in the vehicle for emergencies.
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I bought the plug-in cigarette lighter port, Harbor Freight(Pittsburgh) corded pump on HF coupon. I also have 2 others that I've had for years. All are the plug-in the car type(not home AC outlet)...just to be clear.
Based on the Project Farm test video you posted, I'm going to go with the Harbor Freight "Pittsburgh" plug in model as well. From what I've seen on these things, (And from what Project Farm pretty much proved), the weak link in a lot of them, are the cheap, plastic gears that link the motor to the tiny compressor.
If you read a lot of the reviews for these things that are posted on Lowe's and Home Depot websites, the plastic gears are what get chewed up the quickest, causing the unit to fail.
The Harbor Freight model is a direct drive from the motor to the compressor. Less parts to fail. It also seemed to perform the best, or nearly the best. They're cheap enough that I can get one for each vehicle, and I don't have to worry about digging into tire wells, or crawling around underneath my truck, checking spare tire pressure.
This way I can simply forget about spare tire pressure, and top off the pressure if I ever am forced to actually mount and use the dam thing. I also like the fact it's a 12 volt plug in model. I don't want to deal with batteries. That is just something else I have to check, charge, and deal with. Plugs don't fail like batteries cooking or freezing in a hot or cold car for months or years on end.
Another reason for going with direct drive, is part of the reason these manufacturers use gears, is to gear down the unit, to be able to use a smaller, more compact, less powerful motor. It takes a bigger motor to attach it directly one to one to the compressor. Project Farm also had one of the motors cook off in the, "20 minute test". I believe it was gear driven.
Here is another Project Farm test where the Harbor Freight Pittsburgh 12 volt model stayed right with the best Lithium Ion battery powered pumps that cost well over $100.00.
I have a high volume bike pump and they are actually faster than most any 12 volt compressor you’d plug into a 12 volt outlet. The good 12 volt compressors connect to the vehicle battery. So a high volume bike pump is perfectly fine for a small car tire.
I bought this one from Menards. I use it for my camper tires, truck tires and mostly my air bags on my truck. I’ve added an extra long hose to mine to be able to reach my camper. I also put a quick release chuck on it. Now it works really good.
Just my $0.02
Just my $0.02
I bought this this year and so far so good. Very light and battery lasts long time when I do seasonal tire changes for four vehicles. If you are into Rigid ecosystem, then it makes buying this easy. Lifetime service agreement is a bonus, too.
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
- Messages
- 3,084
I had a Slime tire inflator for years…
I took it apart, and put Delvac 50 on the piston, and gears.
Doubled the air output, cut the noise and vibration by half…
I took it apart, and put Delvac 50 on the piston, and gears.
Doubled the air output, cut the noise and vibration by half…
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2013
- Messages
- 3,084
Just remember, if you get a Slime inflator, they now come with screw on connectors.
You need to get a screw on to press and latch adapter…
shop.slime.com
You need to get a screw on to press and latch adapter…
Tire Inflator Hose Adapter
Convert your tire inflator hose's twist-on connection to an easy press Hammerhead connection. Equipped with a snap-on connector, you can now quickly connect to your tire valve stem for a speedier inflation experience. Converts twist-on inflator hoses to press-on inflator hoses Easier to connect...
shop.slime.com
Unless you need it to be 110 or 18-20v V-Air is the way to go.
I have the Viair 88P in the truck beach bag, works great and quickly. It clamps on to battery as many of the plug in to power outlet ones wind up with blown fuses/breakers etc. I had one that would overheat the power circuit on a Sequoia.
In all my cars have the harborfreight one with the bag. It takes longer but works in emergency or for a couple pounds. I added to the bag a plug kit with tools. Hopefully never need it.
If getting one- the ViAir 88P is my preference but it's a little bigger with hose etc. than the HF one. It works well filling the Pilot tires (265-60-18) from 15-35psi when the line for compressor is too long at beach or not working which happens often.
In all my cars have the harborfreight one with the bag. It takes longer but works in emergency or for a couple pounds. I added to the bag a plug kit with tools. Hopefully never need it.
If getting one- the ViAir 88P is my preference but it's a little bigger with hose etc. than the HF one. It works well filling the Pilot tires (265-60-18) from 15-35psi when the line for compressor is too long at beach or not working which happens often.
If you don't need high pressure and want to just plug it into the cigarette lighter, the 85P is just as good as the 88P but smaller. I have both.
www.viaircorp.com
85P Portable Compressor | VIAIR
The VIAIR 85P is a small powerful portable tire inflator with a built-in LED work light, capable of inflating up to 31-inch tires.
www.viaircorp.com
