electric tire pump

rmuller

Well-known member
Apr 28, 2004
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Northern NJ
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hey, what is a good electric tire pump to buy? I'd love to put an air-tank on my rig, but can't justify the expensive right now. I'm basically looking for a cheap air compressor that will plug in via cigarette lighter and not take 6 years to fill.

thanks

-ryan
 
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AlanB

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p m

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Apr 19, 2004
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Cheap compressor?

The answer depends on your patience and tire size -
imho, nothing that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket gets even close to fill the tires quickly.
An air tank - assuming you mean CO2 tank - will fill a flat 35x12.5 in about a minute, with a good regulator and at least 1/4" hose, with nothing but a hiss. The regulator will freeze over after about 6 such tires.
The only thing that gets close to it in capacity is a big York A/C compressor converted to air pump - but you have to breathe the exhaust; also, some outfit sells Yorks mated to decent-sized 12V DC motor (so it's moderately quiet). But it costs about twice as much as PowerTank's 20-lb bottle with all the jazz.
 

Roverlady

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Apr 20, 2004
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Shenandoah valley
We've got a little travel compressor that plugs into the lighter or an outlet and it does ok. But we really only use it for checking the tires and if something happens...we also use it for our air mattress for camping but it takes FOREVER! If you really need something all the time, and somthing that is fast, I would go with what Peter suggested.

Ours has been very convenient, I think it's a Sears special or something like that....but it's not used very often. Nice to have for bike tires too.
 
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AlanB

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My $40 truckair compressor takes about 4-5 minutes to air up a 235/85/16 from 20 psi to 40 psi. So figure about 20 minutes or so to air up, I'm usually in no hurry to air up anyway. If that doesn't bother you, the truckair works fine, but I wouldn't get anything smaller than that. Or if your Mr. Moneybags then get a Powertank or an on-board air system.

Did a net search and found an air-up test on the truckair unit along with other units:

http://www.eco4wd.com/newsletters/N0403.pdf
 
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p m

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Alan, one doesn't have to be Mr. Moneybags to have a CO2 tank setup - it is a very common piece of equipment, and can be bought at any welding supply store.
Roverlady - I would not fill a mattress with CO2 if I were to sleep in a tent. They all leak, and, somehow, CO2 leaks out faster than air (noticeably faster, that is - a reason not to use it to fill tires, other than after the trail ride and in emergency situations).
 
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Snwbord24

Guest
I have no idea what brand mine is but it works fine. It's just a lighter plug-in compressor but I filled all 4 of my tires while my friend with the truckair was still on his third tire. He had just bought the 300psi truck air that day because his previous one crapped out on him. As it turns out that one did too. After the first tire it read like 90psi when the tire was actually at 20psi. Then it just stopped pushing air into the tire at about 35psi. From what I've seen the truckair units are made cheaply.
 

scrover

Well-known member
p m said:
Alan, one doesn't have to be Mr. Moneybags to have a CO2 tank setup - it is a very common piece of equipment, and can be bought at any welding supply store.
Roverlady - I would not fill a mattress with CO2 if I were to sleep in a tent. They all leak, and, somehow, CO2 leaks out faster than air (noticeably faster, that is - a reason not to use it to fill tires, other than after the trail ride and in emergency situations).

Agreed. My 20lb tank came from an old beer bar in my late Uncle's garage. I did splash out on a PT regulator but it's worth it. All the low end compressors I've seen are slow and noisy. You're going to spend more for a comparable compressor than for a PT setup and you still won't have the CFMs of a PT (don't worry about the psi, it's the cfms that make the difference - the speed of the air flow).

With my PT I can air-up in seconds rather than minutes and run air-tools on the trail. The only comparable compressor is almost $800 - that would require Mr. Moneybags.

SC
 
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AlanB

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Have not had any problems with mine yet going on 2 years and with my cheap wheeling friends that don't have Powertanks let alone tools using it too. With the price of a Powertank, etc. I can wait a few more minutes to air up. To me there are other upgrades I can spend my money on before thinking about getting a remote air system that will fill my tires in 2 seconds flat.
 

p m

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"$800 - that would require Mr. Moneybags."

I haven't even grown to butchering my LWB, Steve :)

Alan, have you ever had a tire coming off the rim? If so, you'd appreciate a CO2 tank. I am yet to see a compressor (alone, without a big air accumulator tank) capable of seating a bead.
 

Discokayaker

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2004
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Danville, CA
I've gotta throw in my vote for a CO2 system. Like scrover I had an old 10lb tank laying around and purchased a Powertank regulator kit for it. The advantages of a Powertank go beyond fast air-up. You can run power tools and reset a bead with it. I used it last weekend and it is a quick, quiet and no-hasle source of air.

Lance
 
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AlanB

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Yes I have had a tire come off a rim, thats why I carry a spare.

I'm not discounting about the greatness of an on board air system, will probably add one soon when the budget allows, but for now, the pos truckair will have to do. Hope this answers the threads original question.