Recommend me a 12V portable air compressor?

[MikesVX80]

Hi guys,

I am after an inexpensive 12V portable air compressor to have in my 80-Series, this will have two main roles as follows:

- Inflate the Polyair airbag helper springs fitted to my rear axle, to control loads
- Emergency tyre inflation (I do not anticipate airing down tyres and pumping back up again regularly, but would be helpful to have an on-board air supply if we had a slow puncture, for instance, or needed to air-down in a difficult situation)

The key things for me are reliability, an accurate pressure gauge, and cost. I was looking at something like this TMAX item: http://www.devon4x4.com/index.php?p...roduct_id=315&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=14 or http://www.mm-4x4.com/t-max-heavy-duty-portable-air-compressor-2929-p.asp , or a VIAIR item such as this: http://www.mattsavage.com/acatalog/85P-compressor-00088.html

If I can keep the spend to around £50 that would be great, as I really don't think I'll use it often! Also, do most of these come with a DIN connector, or battery clamps, or both?

Any suggestions/recommendations welcome!

Thanks

 

[clivehorridge]

At that price Mike, IMO you'll not get anything very exciting.

You'll find something that works of a fashion, but performance and reliability are concepts that don't fit with the budget. JMHO of course.

 

[Shayne]

I was about to get a 50 quid T-Max but Karl Webster recommended i spend a little more on a better T-Max which i did and i can't fault it , the gauge made me a little dubious to begin with until i got used to using the release valve but i no longer double check with a separate gauge . With regards to reliability i think its very likely Karl's probably uses his more than anyone so ....

I'm sure mine was the adventurer version so it looks to me you have found the same almost 30 quid cheaper than i did a year ago .

 

[MikesVX80]

I was about to get a 50 quid T-Max but Karl Webster recommended i spend a little more on a better T-Max which i did and i can't fault it , the gauge made me a little dubious to begin with until i got used to using the release valve but i no longer double check with a separate gauge . With regards to reliability i think its very likely Karl's probably uses his more than anyone so ....

I'm sure mine was the adventurer version so it looks to me you have found the same almost 30 quid cheaper than i did a year ago .

Hi Shayne, so are you saying you've got the one in the links above?

 

[MarkW]

I have the Tmax one in the devon4x4 link and it served me well for the last 4 years, can't fault it for the price.

Its also easy to service if you accidentally get grit in it like I did once.

 

[Gary Stockton]

I bought a ViAir compressor on eBay for a pretty good price - I see there arecacfew there at the moment

 

[David]

good deals here

https://www.rough-side.com/viair-400p-portable-compressor.html

 

[Shayne]

Sorry Mike i missed your reply , yes the Devon4x4 T-max Adventurer is what i got and i think i paid around 80 quid for it - serves me right for buying it on the run up to xmas

 

[MikesVX80]

Found the TMAX one from JGS4x4 on eBay for £55, ordered it and should be here today - woohoo!

 

[MikesVX80]

OK, so the TMAX compressor arrived and I must say, I'm pretty impressed! Its a solid feeling bit of kit, the connectors seem robust enough, I like it.

Tried it out on a small car tyre and it inflated it by 10psi in just a few seconds, so that's great.

One thing, with the pressure gauge - it reads 5-10psi higher when pumping air than it does when not pumping, which is correct? Doesn't say in the instructions, my assumption is when it's "at rest" the gauge is giving the correct reading. I might get a dedicated tyre pressure gauge anyway, just a bit annoying having to carry something else around.

Lastly, if I wanted to mount it in the boot the power cables aren't going to reach the batteries and there isn't a 12V DIN/cigarette cable as I expected. Any other ideas how I can power it if I hard-mount it in the boot area somewhere?

Thanks!

 

[Shayne]

I switch it off and hold the release button for 5 seconds to get a true reading . Used mine today for the first time in a while and found myself confused by the gauge all over again . Searched high and low for my other gauge only to find it in the compressor bag which showed the last garage to have my truck had inflated the tyres to 45 psi so i aired down until both gauges showed 37 which is the highest i run in my cooper 285/75's and slapped some gaffa tape on the t-max gauge to mark the needle and remove all doubt in future .

No idea about wiring it sorry .