12 volt tire inflator - recomendations

[nbpt100]

I had a 12v Interdynamic truck tire infiltrator in my van for emergency tire inflation. It was stolen. I want to replace it with a good choice. I won't use it a lot but when I do, I want it to work well. There are a lot of choices out there and it makes making a good choice hard. Reliability is important. What can people recommend?
Thanks.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

please search the forum, it's been discussed many times.

and my vote goes to viair

 

[Fcvapor05]

Dewalt or craftsman make decent ones.

Excuse the 'search the forum snobs'. Viair makes nice product but in my opinion there's no reason to spend $300 when you can spend $75 and get more features.

 

[Chucktin]

The 2 or 3 I've had all had nylon gears. Too easily stripped (1 of the 3). They were basically throw-a-ways. Glad I never had to seriously use one!

 

[pgray007]

I haven’t tried too many of them, but we use the heck out of a Ryobi one that we got during an HD sale. Battery operated but that eliminates the long (and fragile) 12V cord that may be helpful on something long like a van. You can get LiIon batteries for them so they store well.

We’ve had our for a good 4 years and inflated hundreds of bike tires, car tires, and pool stuff.

I think it’s like $20-40 on sale.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ign]

I think OP is looking for cigarette lighter/alligator clamp versions. ViAir is popular but there are several levels and I don't follow them.

Truly if you're gonna keep the vehicle and there's any way to fit a York, there is absolutely no contest. Don't mean to derail though, let us know what you wind up purchasing.

 

[Bretny]

I have had a slime brand one for about 15yrs. It seated the bead on a Toyota t-100 years ago and saved me from spending a night in the woods or a long long walk. I carry it around everywhere still.

 

[AFSOC]

Look at the MV-50. These are available at O'Reileys Auto Parts or from Quadratrac etc etc if you prefer to mail order. They are a stout little 12 volt compressor. These have a strong following with the 4x4 and Off-roader crowd. You can find lot's of info and reviews about them on 4x4 forums and Youtube etc.

 

[4xdog]

They're pricey, but ARB's portable compressors are quite nice. I've been very happy with my CKMP12, a single-piston compressor without tank mounted in a sturdy plastic toolbox.

 

[Bad Habit]

Look around and find one of these, Think I got mine for ~$40. Use it pretty regularly to air up my off-road tires (33").

https://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/superflow-mv-50-air-compressor-mf-1050-mv50.html

 

[richfinn]

After my expensive 12v company compressor broke for the 2nd time in 6months, I got the one that came with the tyre repair kit in my Honda Civic and started using that instead, it's been 12 months now ��

 

[theoldwizard1]

Milwaukee M12 Inflater.

 

[XJSuperman]

You'll laugh, but my buddy has a Harbor Freight he will die with. We'll have to pry it from his cold dead hands. It works great, fills large offroad jeep tires and river tubes with it all the time. Never lets us down.

I have a Slime one I keep in the car, and my Jeep has the ac compressor converted to OBA (on board air). I get 130psi within a few seconds, and can run air tools anywhere. Its much more involved obviously.

I vote to keep it simple and light, go grab a Harbor Freight. And I don't say that very often.

 

[jayoldschool]

I have the Slime one as well, bought it at a US Walmart, and it works flawlessly. Comes on every road trip, and has worked for years.

 

[Coach James]

I have a Slime brand as well. Got if from Autozone. 3 or 4 years old now and still works fine.

Coach

 

[Rabid Badger]

Project Farm did a test not too long ago:

 

[nbpt100]

Thanks for all of the suggestions and info. I like the Slime 40031. As it is fast and has the LED light for night time use. The slime 40063 looks pretty good too for the price. It has an auto shut off for when the set point is reached. Also thermal protection on the motor. Not so important for me but I am thinking for my girlfriend. The HF one looked like it performed fairly well in the Project Farm video.

 

[Barnabas]

While waiting on the M18 inflators i bought the Kobalt inflator. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-DC-12V-AC-120V-Dual-Power-Air-Inflator-Power-Source-Car-Electric/1000092575
It works on 120V AC and 12V DC. I move around lots of junk cars with bad tires and power it from the winch battery on my trailer. It's worked great for several years.

 

[dnschmidt]

The cheapest and in my opinion the best option is the Ryobi 18V inflator. https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-1...-with-Digital-Gauge-Tool-Only-P737D/307627867 The thing is dirt cheap at about $25 and can be used with any 1+ battery. I had a tire pressure monitor signal on my Hyundai and hooked mine up and it pumped up my tire from 15 to 40 PSI in a matter of two to three minutes. Drove over to Discount Tire and had it fixed. It's also great at pumping up basketballs. My ball has a small leak and it gets it back to 9PSIG in a couple of seconds.