12v air compressor

[old hand]

Does anyone have a 12v compressor from eBay 150 psi 160 l m
twin cylinder or signal cylinder.
Just want a true report on performance it may only be used every now and then regards John

 

[mbasko]

I've got one but the only time I used it was to test it when it arrived. I dropped my tyre pressure by about half or a bit more & it re-inflated it pretty quickly from memory. Haven't had a need for it since & it's just been living in the drawers of my ute. One of those things I suppose - good to have if you need it.
Pity your not closer as you could have checked it out for yourself & I'd probably even sell it cheap. Looking at an all in one power pack/jumpstarter that has an inbuilt 100psi 40l compressor so it may be redundant soon & free up some drawer space.

 

[old hand]

mbasko thanks for the advice is yours a 2 cylinder or a signal cylinder and I hope you do not need to use it thanks john

 

[mbasko]

95% sure it's dual cylinder. Just realised I still had my old ute when I got it & tested it so it hasn't been out of the hard case in over 2 years. I'll get it out & double check it tomorrow morning for you.

 

[condor22]

There have been a number of reviews on 12 V compressors online. I can't remember all of the details, but some of the concerns were;

How long it takes to pump up a tyre from 15PSI (sand driving) back to road pressure.
The temperature it got to do this for all 4 wheels.
The current it drew to operate.

The 2 things I remember some tested suffered was that they overloaded the fuse and it blew and some fitted with thermal overload tripped before completing the task.

The last thing a 4x4 driver wants is to let the tyres down to 15PSI or less, and find they can't pump them back up.

So, as I've said before, you get what you pay for.

I use the Dr Air FlowPro @ approx. $230-40.

I might still have the review somewhere or the link to it, I'll have a look tomorrow and post if I can find it.

 

[kawman]

we use a spark plug tire pump..simply screws into a spark plug hole..has a valve built in valve that only allows it to pump clean air without fuel into my tires.. no electric bits to bugger up and much faster than most elec air pumps.. unfortunately they cannot be used on some vehicles such as very deeply recessed plugs or diesel...excellent for my z1 Kawasaki... google up spark plug tire pump...

 

[old hand]

Yes I do have a diesel thanks

 

[mbasko]

150 psi x 150l/min. 45amp & 30 min cycle time. Like I said from memory it pumped up 1 x tyre from around 15-20 psi fairly quickly like within minutes.
I never got it for off roading where you need to deflate/reinflate tyres regularly & if I was doing this on a regular basis would buy something more suited but going from the one quick test I reckon you could do 4 x 15psi tyres back to road pressure in well under the 30min cycle time if required but heat may be an issue in these cheaper generic versions? I got it for the odd emergency where you may need to re-inflate a tyre & as said in over 2 years have never had to use it touch wood.
Some brand name comparison:
http://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/12v-portable-air-compressor-comparison/
This one looks a good value for money option vs. the eBay "cheapies".
http://www.4wdsupacentre.com.au/thumper-air-compressor-1775.html

 

[Redfin]

I too, like Condor use the Dr Air FlowPro, after a fair amount of research.
With compressors you do get what you pay for. No good having one fail in the middle of no where.
A reasonable test is here = http://www.4wdaction.com.au/articles/2011/issue-169-air-compressor-comparo-corrections

 

[The Green Wanderer]

I use a single cylinder pump from repco, cost about $100 a couple of years ago. Will reflate all four of the muddies on my 4x4 from 19psi - deep mud pressure no worries. Gets mighty hot but hasnt ever hit the thermal cutout.
Even used it once to reflate multiple trucks, I think 3 consecutively from off road pressure 26/27 psi back to road pressure.
Would have been quicker with a twin cylinder but it work fine. Bit slower than some of the other blokes with their onboard air but otherwise good.
TGW

 

[condor22]

I found the PDF of the reviews, I'm still trying to see if it's still available online. It is a 7MB file, too big for me to post on here even if I could. It was in Issue 169 of the 4WD Action Magazine, I am having problems getting their web site up.

However, I will email as an attachment if you PM me your email address. (Limit is first 6 people after that I'll need to find a better way to get it out there)

This is a list of compressors tested and reviewed.

The other option is if a Moderator can put it on this thread I'll email it to them..........

Bushranger Power Air
Bushranger RV Air
Dr Air Flo Pro 75LPM
KCI Compressor Mate
MCC Max Power 72LPM
MCC Max Power 90LPM
MCC Max Power 150LPM
Piranha MAx Volume
Tigerz11 Thumper
TJM Portable Compressor
ARB High Output
Bushranger Auto Max
Bushranger Black Max
Bushranger Max Air II
Bushranger Pro Air
Bushranger Super Max
Dr Air Flo Pro 150LPM
Mean Green 1Air
Terrain Tamer Twin Piston
Terrain Tamer Series 3
ARB Max Performance Twin
Opposite Lock TwinTongue
Piranha Red
Oasis XD3000

 

[mbasko]

4wd Action magazine testing 2011:
http://www.toughtoys.com.au/media/commerce_products/14/4WD169-036-054-FEATURE-air_2.pdf

4x4 Unsealed testing 2015:
http://www.unsealed4x4.com.au/issue017/#29

 

[old hand]

thank for the info I will have a look at it over the next few days ,there are so many and they all look the same most likely they all come from the one factory regards john

 

[condor22]

Thanks Mbasko, for some reason, my browser kept freezing when I tried for those links...

 

[gmark]

I've got a thumper now sold by 4wd supercenter
Quite heavy and very grunty and good value for $99

 

[nuggetino]

Have an ARB compressor. It probably weighs in at 5kg or basically a starter motor mounted in a box. Can run for hours without overheating and pumped up hundreds of tyres in the 8 years I've owned it. Cost around $280 from memory. Spent at least that on cheap air compressors which just didn't last so if it's in the budget I highly recommend you buy a quality compressor as you'll save money in the long run.

 

[Redfin]

I found the PDF of the reviews, I'm still trying to see if it's still available online.

The link was in my post above, it is the corrected version.
The first version they released had some figures crossed.

 

[condor22]

The main thing to look at with a compressor is what do you want it to do.

If you own a passenger car and want to occasionally put a little air into one tyre that seems to lose a little air, then an el cheapo @ about 75 LPM is fine.

However, if you own a 4x4 and regularly drop air for off road driving, particularly as bigger 4x4s have much larger tyres, you need a good quality compressor @ at least 150 LPM. You would expect it to not let you down when you need it most and with that in mind, quality usually costs more !!!

It's not "Rocket Science"