I’m suddenly in the market for a 12-volt air compressor for inflating tires.
Tires have been a weak point in my preps for years. To my utter shock it has never stranded me anywhere bad before now. I have a spare tire but no tolerable way to store it (and a big black dog) in the Jeep. I have an emergency can of fix-a-flat but I detest and distrust that stuff. I have a tire repair kit but no compressor.
Two days ago I came outside to find the Jeep had a flat tire in the driveway. Hardly the first time, but this time I was nowhere near Landlady’s compressor. Fortunately for me Ian had borrowed it, and his Dome is a fairly easy walk away so I went and got it. But it was a cloudy day, and running the compressor on my system pulled the batteries down to the point where I’m very surprised (and a little distressed) that the inverter didn’t shut itself off. Also, I need my own.
Can anybody suggest a good one, that I can run with the Jeep’s electrical system? All it needs to do is inflate tires, but it needs to do it in a reasonable time.
Home Depot’s got ’em for about 10 bucks. Don’t know how good they are.
You can also get a fitting to replace a spark plug with and use your engine as a compressor. My understanding is they are popular with some off-roaders. The little electric pumps all wind up getting hot but the ones I have had work. Take off the plastic case so that more air can cool them.
Lemme get my coffee, and I’ll trot out to the shop and dig it out. It’s a harbor freight….but I’ve been running it for a few years now, still going strong. Biggest thing with any of these smaller pumps is to run them intermittently. I air up one large tire, give it a few minutes rest, then repeat. If you don’t over heat them, they’ll last a long time. Second thing you can do is open up the shell and replace the junk chinese grease with something decent. Also, be careful pulling housings or shells off of compressors, motors, heads with fins and forced air – often that housing is on there to direct air flow, and you’ll fry the system if you let it free flow. Just not as efficient. The spark plug chuffer compressors aren’t used any more by anyone I know….I still have them, but with modern engines getting in and removing a spark plug can be a huge PITA. Therefore….12v compressors.
More expensive is better- I had two cheapie oilless compressors last exactly one tire each before croaking. The present one is an idustrial-looking Superflow from Farm & Fleet for about $25 with a carrying case and hoses ‘n stuff that has lasted multiple uses so far. It has a screw-on valve fitting, unfortunately. A set of adapters can be had for about $15. If I were paranoid about reliability, I’d spring for a model with oil in it. The oiled models cost so much more that a city dweller can’t justify it. In the boonies, however, it might be worth it.
OK, item number 66399, from Harbor Fright. Only description on it is the usual “High Volume Air Compressor”. I think it was on sale for 40 bucks or so….one of their pricier ones, but then again I’ve had it for a few years and used it hundreds of times (literally, no exaggeration). If you really want a decent system that has capacity, but you can do it cheap…look into modding a york AC compressor, fab up a mount on your engine, and belt drive that sucker.
I have two of those HF pumps that I haven’t had the opportunity to use yet because I have an air tank(about 5 gallon size) that I bought 16 years ago when I moved out here. It holds 125psi (with gauge) and there is enough volume to get a tire up enough to get home. It gets used for all kind of things simply by changing the tip on it. Check in a auto parts store the next time you get to the big town. Also be sure that you have a “plug kit” in the Jeep for those small punctures.
http://www.gizoo.co.uk/Products/DigitalTyreCompressor.htm?spmc=TGSPPCGGP639&gclid=CPyvtZXa5rcCFYjLtAodt0cAmA
I would recommend you not only get one of these compressors but also get one of those portable air tanks also.
You can fill it up with the bigger compressor and carry it around and only use the little compressor for emergencies.
Of course it goes without saying that you will have to make absolutely sure that there are no small air leaks from it but that is your best bet.
I got a power station psx2 at Costco for like sixty bucks. It fills tires and will give you a jump start.
On top of everything that has been written here…
Should you be forced to use the “fix-a-flat” you are going to have issues if you don’t drive at least 30 miles. The damn goop inside the tire will run to the lowest point and then harden if you don’t drive enough to spread it out before it sets. Then when you drive the jeep the next time there will be a God awful thump as the tire rotates because there will be a large heavy mass acting as a big wheel weight. This will result in you having to throw the tire away.
BTW This is what I use and it has never failed me…
http://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hausfeld-RP1200-12-Volt-Inflator/dp/B000642GAW/ref=sr_1_18?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1371326888&sr=1-18&keywords=portable+air+compressor
I have one of those cheapy little $20 ones that plug into the cigarette lighter. It actually works, but takes 15-20 min on a good size tire. Better than dead in the water, but not by much.
+1 on the Campbell Hausfeld. Mine has lasted for years, as has the one at work. Runs hot, makes a lot of noise, takes a while to get up to 35 psi., but it has done it many times, and I trust it enough that I just bought another.
MJR is right on….if you really want some fun, do what we did back when….we used condensed milk right out of the can. Works pretty well to plug leaks. Just remove the valve stem, and pour it in. The big plus is when you dismount the tire….the smell of rotted, clotted condensed milk will clear out even a big shop pretty fast. Always makes your tire guy happy! Another plus is that he’ll teach you some new words if you pay attention.
I worked in a tire shop, when I was first out of tech school. I’ve seen what fix-a-flat does to an otherwise perfectly good tire. Not only a lovely big glob of stuff that ensures the wheel will never, ever balance again, but it generally glues the tire bead to the wheel. Now, THAT will generate some new words from the tire guy.
That’s why I’ve learned hydraulic tools are my friends.
Years back when I was doing military surplus, more than I do now, I came across a complete truck tire machine. 110V, hydraulic clamps, the works. It does come in handy, yes indeed.
Not all portable 12v air compressors are created equal. I had sworn off of them until I used one of these owned by my father-in-law. I was so impressed, I bought my own:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012WHBSO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
If you get one – put crocodile clips on it, so you can attach it directly to the battery. I had to replace the lighter socket last week after I fried it with the compressor. I fried a friend’s socket five minutes later 🙁
I don’t smoke but I do use the socket to charge my phone and a load of other jobs too.
Mine’s a Costco jobby, and it seems to work ok (but gets hot) it’s even done a few tractor tyres, and that takes absolutely bloody ages, but it’s still smaller and lighter to carry and much easier than a foot pump.
It also makes it more less onerous to reduce the pressure (to about 12 pounds) if I’m going to be doing a lot of work on soft ground, and pump them back up for the road again.
on the subject of tractor tyres
have you thought of ballasting the tyres of your little digger?
glycol and water – it doesn’t matter if its a bit weaker mix than the engine takes, as a little slush won’t hurt the tyres – just make sure you don’t fill them to the top – otherwise you get water into the compressor when you try to put more air in.
I just siphon the glycol in, with the wheel jacked up to keep the weight off it, and the glycol drum on the cab roof.
Oh! Mr. Galt! That’s more like what I envisioned, though the cost is punishing. But my experience as a wrench predates cars with dedicated power plugs (we called them ‘cigarette lighters,’ if you can imagine such an unmutual thing) and so does Landlady’s Jeep. So this requirement for ” a 15-ampere minimum power port rating” concerns me a bit. I’ve a feeling I won’t find that information in the service manual, though I guess I could just raise the hood and look at the fuse.
Keith, I’d actually feel a lot better about any compressor I could connect right to the battery; I don’t trust those cheap-ass cig lighter sockets at all and have seen them burn out.
Hadn’t ever heard of anyone filling the front tires with antifreeze. It’s an interesting idea. I’ve thought of ballasting the front of the tractor, but not of ballasting the tires. Is that an English thing, or something that tractor guys everywhere do?
I used and abuse one of the ” slime ” units ( i love slime for trailer and atv tires around the farm ) for a couple of years , it is still running fine .. in fact it works so well i went and got another one to have on the utv that i run around more than the pickup anymore .
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Slime-Flat-Tire-Repair-Kit/14254126?findingMethod=rr is the ” kit ” that i got with the good compressor .
The one I have is a “Truckair”–an Interdynamics HD300. Came highly recommended by RV folks, all of whom have multiple big tires to air up. I’ve used it to air up the tires on a 3500 Suburbqn from flat. Takes a while but it works and doesn’t overheat. Unfortunately can’t find you a working link right now. They may be out of production, but I hope not. I could use a spare myself.
I have this:
http://www.amazon.com/Slime-COMP06-Heavy-Duty-12-Volt-Inflator/dp/B000M8R0QM
It’s been very reliable. Since I had a slow-medium leak in one of my truck tires for the better part of a year, that pump must’ve reinflated the 31″ tire over 500 times, twice a day anyway, before I finally got new tires. I’ve had it for a bit under 3 years and used it in -45 F to 90 F without issue. I like that the air hose screws onto the valve stem instead of just clamping on, it’s easier on the connection and lasts much longer than the rubber clamp-on type. The pump is still going strong, it just needs a new short air hose because the original started cracking and losing pressure.
It doesn’t air up a truck tire in 3 minutes, more like 10 minutes for a 265/75R16 or 31×10.5. The only minor problem I have with it is the gauge reads 3-4 PSI high while the pump is running.
I’m guessing tyre ballasting is a pretty widespread idea.
Back in the 70s people used to use some sort of salt solution to prevent freezing – but it rotted the hell out of the wheel rims if you got any sort of leak. a dose of glycol into the tyre before the water takes care of corrosion and freezing.
there are gadgets you can get with a breather tube to let air out as the water goes in, but you can probably fudge together some small diam plastic tube and leave it siphoning for an hour or two.
the way I do it is to jack the wheel off the ground, unscrew the valve, turn the valve to 11 oclock and siphon a measured amount of glycol in first, then fill it up to the valve with water.
Screw the valve in and turn the wheel to twelve o’clock – which takes the valve above the water level and put air in to take it to pressure. that way you don’t get water into your air line and don’t waste glycol if you need to drop the pressure a bit to work on soft ground.
obviously you get much more water capacity and ballast effect on the big back tyres, but the extra weight from the front ones won’t go amiss.
It’s even more money, but I would pick http://www.amazon.com/Slime-40026-Heavy-Direct-Inflator/dp/B005Z8HAUK/ref=pd_sbs_auto_2. The thing that kills these compressors is heat, and this model spreads out the heat by using two compressors running off of the same motor. The extra surface area to dissipate the heat should make a big difference in how long the unit lasts and in how much air it can pump – these things run so hot the temp really impairs how much air it can pump. Why they don’t add a 12v computer case fan when they design these things is a mystery to me. No, the little ones don’t move much air but every little bit helps as hot as these compressors get when running.
They use powdered calcium and water on Front loader and other heavy rubber tired equipment for ballast.
Never heard of using glycol myself.
slaked lime?
I had a ten dollar cheapie 12 volt compressor that lasted for years-I used it in conjunction with a air tank-I’d use the compressor to fill the tank (this takes a while), but I would shut it off after 5 minutes or so, give it a rest, then fire it back up until it stalled, usually at around 80 or 90 PSI. It recently failed the smoke test, so I replaced it with a on-sale one from Harbor Freight-it’s a slightly heavier duty one, but not much faster than the old one. I use it with one of those 12 volt “jump packs”. It’s not the latest and greatest arrangement, but it does what I need it to do.
Get yourself a 1 gallon 110 volt compressor and a 12 colt convertor for the vehicle. You will get better volume and be able to use it anywhere.