Choosing a 12V tyre inflator or 240V compressor

[Richard]

Owning many things with tyres which quietly deflate when not watched (trailer, wheelbarrow, sackbarrow, 2 off RRC, SAAB, Vaux Ashtray and a motorbike) or need regular adjustment (trailer) I'm used to wielding a frightful 12V tyre inflator (on the end of a very long cable as necessary) that produces as much noise as puff.

Can anyone recommend a robust and powerful 12V inflator with serious puff or should I bite the bullet and buy whichever no-name 25L 8cfm compressor MAKRO is flogging today for £60-ish +VAT or even any other compressor? I've never needed air tools and, quite frankly, imagine that anything which needs them is outside my competence - am I being short-sighted?

Vague reason for this is that SWMBO is nagging me for birthday ideas.

Your thoughts and recommendations would be appreciated.

TIA

Richard

[Andrew Gabriel]

I've got one of those jumpstarter units (contains a 17Ah SLA battery) with a compressor built in. It's probably a similar compressor to yours, but it's wireless. I use it for topping up car and bicycle tyres. It came from CPC on offer, and cost less than a 17Ah SLA battery.

[Andy Hall]

I bought one of these 12v jobbies with torch for my wife's car - more a peace of mind thing than anything else. It was supposed to be able to inflate tyres. It will do, but takes an age to it and gets uncomfortably warm in the process. The torch is OK, but I wouldn't buy another of these compressors.

A 25 litre compressor at lowish price is a reasonable buy for tyre inflation and can be used to run small air tools like nailers etc. It will do spraying within reason but not the more air-hungry tools like sanders etc.

I'd ask for the compressor and the cuddly toy.

[Richard]

That's what the LR owners NG is saying. I've always wanted one but have managed without one except for borrowing one once to Dinitrol a Range Rover many years ago.

RIchard

[Andy Hall]

OK. If you have a Land Rover (I have two) forget the battery thing......

With the compressor you can get (probably separately but in the same place) a package of fairly inexpensive air things like blow dusters and sprayers and an inflator for car tyres. The latter are reasonably accurate. You can get better quality workshop type calibrated ones but the cost is going to approach that of the compressor.

of these will comfortably inflate a LR tyre from too soft (say 2.1 bar) to correct pressure 2.6 bar in a very few seconds. I can go round and check all 10 tyres in not much more than 5 minutes.

[Dave Liquorice]

I've got a "Tyreman" OWTTE, battery powered but the NiCds in it must have the cheap of the cheap 'cause they didn't last long. Fortunately it takes

12v via a ciggy lead. Yep it's slow but it's a damn sight less effort than jumping up and down on a foot pump, especially when you have tyres 10" wide, 30" in dia on 16" rims, they hold *a lot* of air at 38psi...

What does the OP mean by "serious puff"? High pressure/low volume (as per most 12v tyre inflators), low pressure/high volume (air bed inflators using a centrifugal fan) or high pressure/high volume (a real compressor with a reservoir etc for use with air tools).

[Harry Bloomfield]

Richard presented the following explanation :

A bit OT, but I used to carry a gadget which fitted in place of the large type spark plug. The 'plug' body had an air inlet valve then a long flexi pipe with a tyre valve connector on its end. You set it up, started the engine and it would blow a car tyre up in just a few seconds.

I have a total tyre count of around 23....

For small pressure adjustments I now have a combined 'Power Pack', 12v starter battery, light and compressor. It works fine for the small adjustments, but the larger ones would take forever. In the garage I have a small mains powered 4CFPM (I think) which I have piped to the front of the garage and also to the workshop area at the rear.

[Andy Hall]

All filled with nice petrol/air mix in the right combination for detonation.?

[Andrew Gabriel]

I can imagine some places where inflating your tyres with an explosive petrol/air mixture could be, well, entertaining...

[Harry Bloomfield]

Andy Hall wrote on 30/05/2007 :

You might think so, but no....

I guess the induction was much easier via the intake valve on the plug replacement adaptor. The compressed air it output never smelled of fuel.

[Harry Bloomfield]

Andrew Gabriel submitted this idea :

This was 30 years ago, long before fuel injection. I guess it worked because a carb needs more intake depression before it will release fuel into the air stream, than the gadget would provide - as said, it was fitted with its own air inlet valve.

[nightjar]

My recollection of such a device was that it was a small air pump, operated by the engine compression.

Colin Bignell

[John Rumm]

Might be different with fuel injection.

[Dave]

Wots Dinitrol? Is it the same as Waxoil?

Dave

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That's what I use too - since you're lucky to find any garage round here with a working air line. It's a bit slow but then you don't have to do it that often. I find those packs a great source of 12 volts for testing things that need 12 volts - as well as the odd jump start. Mine was 20 quid from Lidl and I didn't expect it to last - but in fact it's done perfectly well.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

No. It's far better.

[Mark]

You would be much better getting a cheap cheap 240volt compressor Even my baby one has enough puff to refit tubeless tyres back on the rim.

-

[Mark]

Andrew Gabriel wrote in >

Have you never seen the Icelandic loons reinflating their huge offroad 4x4 tyres with a Squirt of petrol and a lighter.

-

[Richard]

Richard

[adder1969]

The 12v ones are good if you find yourself miles from home with a slow leak. Get both? I got an old compressor used from ebay for tyre inflating etc but you might not be so pikey.