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Portable air compressor recommendations?

Brainonska511

Brainonska511

Lifer
I'm looking for a portable air compressor to keep in my sedan's trunk, for emergencies or the occassional tire topping up. It seems like there could be a lot of garbage on Amazon, and I don't want to get stuck somewhere one day with something unreliable. Anyone have any recommendations for something under $100 that would fit the bill?
 
Viair is what you want. Like this:

www.viaircorp.com

88P Portable Compressor

A compact and reliable compressor that can handle tires up to 33". The 88P is our most popular medium-duty tire inflator, and it's ideal for new and experienced off-roaders looking for a fast and dependable unit that will not break the bank.
www.viaircorp.com www.viaircorp.com
 
I have a Viair one which is fine, but more recently bought the Milwaukee M12 one since I have other M12 battery powered tools. Not being tethered to a 12V socket is pretty great, would recommend especially if you are bought into the Milwaukee or Dewalt or ryobi or whatever power tool battery system already.
 
repoman0 said:
I have a Viair one which is fine, but more recently bought the Milwaukee M12 one since I have other M12 battery powered tools. Not being tethered to a 12V socket is pretty great, would recommend especially if you are bought into the Milwaukee or Dewalt or ryobi or whatever power tool battery system already.
Click to expand...
+1 on this, have the ryobi version and being cordless is awesome
 
repoman0 said:
I have a Viair one which is fine, but more recently bought the Milwaukee M12 one since I have other M12 battery powered tools. Not being tethered to a 12V socket is pretty great, would recommend especially if you are bought into the Milwaukee or Dewalt or ryobi or whatever power tool battery system already.
Click to expand...

RichieZ said:
+1 on this, have the ryobi version and being cordless is awesome
Click to expand...

Those are both fine...as long as you have charged batteries along with you...the viair compressors look pretty nice. I have a Ridgid 6 gallon pancake compressor for home use...but one of those would be pretty handy if you're on the road. (and the tire is just low, not completely flat/ruined.)
 
Generally speaking, portable air compressors die because people go above the duty cycle of the device. Then the heat destroys the mechanism that makes compressed air.

Now, if you really don't have many instances of reinflating tires, cheap can be fine.
 
Torn Mind said:
Generally speaking, portable air compressors die because people go above the duty cycle of the device. Then the heat destroys the mechanism that makes compressed air.

Now, if you really don't have many instances of reinflating tires, cheap can be fine.
Click to expand...
I have a real air compressor for home use. I'm just looking for something for an emergency kit - like a slow leak, a minor top up in winter, or say a true flat and the spare just needs a little extra air because it sat so long in the trunk.
 
I've used my Viairs to inflate tires well beyond specified. The direct battery connection makes a big difference.

The extra cost definitely buys quality.
 
i bought a Viair a couple of years ago based on recommendations from here. still going strong for the few times i need it. the wired 12v is a little annoying but fine for most med sized cars.

there are a bunch of videos on yt of this style pump teardowns. most of these things are using the same casting for the motor/chamber housing so the main difference will be diaphragm material and maybe planetary gearbox materials, so unless AvE decides to tear some down to test for the plastic/rubber type we will probably never be able to distinguish between versions.
 
The little tool battery powered inflators are handy, but very slow and you shouldn't run them more than a minute or two at a time, which may mean stopping to let it cool down before finishing (depending on the job).

I'd get the biggest Viair the budget allows for keeping one in a vehicle, then if you want a tool battery powered unit, get one of those too for smaller around the house jobs like a bicycle tire or wheelbarrow, lawn spreader, riding mower, sport foot/basket/soccer ball, etc.
 
I have a 18v Ryobi inflator that will do everything including my truck tires. At one point I had slow leaks in like 3 of my tires so I was inflating them regularly until I finally replaced all 4. Although if the main purpose is to keep it in the vehicle, a 12v one that plugs in the cigarette lighter may make more sense. Just buy from a hardware store and not from Amazon and you should get something at least semi decent.
 
How to connect to battery power is significant. The common design has a plug on its cable to plug into a standard cigarette lighter socket. But the car's wiring and fuse for that socket often is limited to 10 A current or less. Tire inflators with more power (faster inflation and higher pressures) often have motors that use MORE than 10 A. It can be a REAL problem if you use one of those with a lighter socket and it blows your fuse! So the higher-power models that come with alligator clamps on their power cable are better. These connect directly to the posts of your battery (LESS handy to access, but easy to do) and may (or may not) include a suitable fuse in the cable. I have and use with success the simpler design. Mine specs a high max amps but does not actually blow the fuse normally. For inflating a single tire "on the go" it is just fine. I even use it when swapping tires spring and fall to top up four tires in sequence, but it get quite warm. For LOTS of inflating or large tires I'd consider a high-power model.
 
I don't know why this surfaced again, but I ended up buying this cheap one; I think it was listed in Wirecutter:

TEROMAS Air Compressor https://a.co/d/ddkKQjR

I haven't used it to inflate from flat, but it works nicely for occasionally topping up tires, and runs off the car's power outlet in the center console, which says it can do 180W max at 12V.
 
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Makita 180DMPSYX Haven't really needed it much, but trying it out, it seems to be just what I need for my SUV tires. The charger is a standard model for things like their hedge-trimmer, so you might be able to trim something from your cumulative Amazon or Makita expenses. My inflator, my 14" chain saw and my hedge trimmer all use the same battery and the same charger.
 
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