Mini tyre compressors... Any good?

[They_all_do_that_sir]

As title really. Most air machines round here have upped their minimum spend to the heady heights of 50p - I've probably spent millions* over the year using them already so have decided I may as well have my very own machine.

 

There seems to be a huge range of these things starting with the £5.99 home bargain specials right up to monsters with lights and jump leads for mega coin.

 

I don't need any other features, I just want to plug it into my tyre and for said tyre to inflate. I'm a skinflint but I'm guessing you get what you pay for with the pocket money ones.

 

Any recommendations??

 

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[SiC]

I've found too many have pressure gauges that go up to 300psi. This means the pressures you really want (I.e. under 40psi) have very few markers on the gauge. The best portable tyre pressure pumps I've used are the ones you get supplied with cars with no spare wheel. These can be picked up reasonably cheap second hand on eBay too.

[Lacquer Peel]

There's an air machine near here that's £1 a shot!

Also interested in any recommendations, especially as my mum's Civic throws up tyre pressure warnings at the slightest provocation.

[tooSavvy]

"..The best portable tyre pressure pumps I've used are the ones you get supplied with cars with no spare wheel. These can be picked up reasonably cheap second hand on eBay too.."

 

SiC spot on with this....

 

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-GM-VAUXHALL-TYRE-INFLATOR-PUMP-AIR-COMPRESSOR-INSIGNIA-ZAFIRA-CORSA/292498487303

 

TS

*All Vau......

[SiC]

There's an air machine near here that's £1 a shot!

Also interested in any recommendations, especially as my mum's Civic throws up tyre pressure warnings at the slightest provocation.

Check the boot. Likely an air compressor in there already if no spare wheel. I use the one off my Civic all the time.

[Six-cylinder]

One feature I have liked on one of my electric pumps is the gauge lights up and is much easier to read.

 

Alternatively the BP garage in Bicester will give you a shot of air for 20p!

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I've found too many have pressure gauges that go up to 300psi. This means the pressures you really want (I.e. under 40psi) have very few markers on the gauge. The best portable tyre pressure pumps I've used are the ones you get supplied with cars with no spare wheel. These can be picked up reasonably cheap second hand on eBay too.

Good shout - I can be really sad and get a mercedes one to match my w203

 

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[Lacquer Peel]

Check the boot. Likely an air compressor in there already if no spare wheel. I use the one off my Civic all the time.

Good call! I hadn't thought to check.

[Kiltox]

The renner/dacia one that came with my Duster is decent.

[Datsuncog]

I've been using a £7.99 TK Maxx special for quite a few years now - branded as Draper, but probably just a generic Chinese thing. One of the usual 12v plug-in jobbers.

 

Admittedly it does get somewhat hot in use, and makes neighbours look worriedly to the skies for fear of being strafed by a stray Messerschmitt, but otherwise does the job. The pressure dial is extremely approximate, though I've yet to encounter a non-digital one at any price with a reasonable degree of accuracy (I use a separate handheld gauge that seems to align ok with most forecourt machine pressures).

 

I'd noticed that Tesco round here has upped the price of their air machine to 50p, which left me clutching my pearls and gasping at the 150% rise. The BP garage over at Milebush is still 20p though - and Sainsburys' Taste The Difference air remains free (though you'd have to go all the way to Holywood Exchange or Forestside, rather negating any cost savings - and there's usually a long line of skinflints like me waiting there, too).

[Talbot]

I've had several little 12V plug-in compressors over the years, and if you take the casings apart, they are all pretty much the same internally. A 100w electric motor, driving a tiny little open-crank compressor with a pair of one-way valves in the head.

 

Tesco sell them for about £8, and they work just fine. Cable is a little short, but just about long enough to cope. Don't bother with the attached pressure gauge, get one off ebay that does 0-50psi and fit that instead. The "300psi" labelling on these compressors is utter bollocks too. Even if you block the outlet hose completely, the gauge will drift up to something around 200psi and stall. Who needs 300psi anyway!?!

 

Tip for longevity of these tiny compressors though.. there is a tiny hole in the casting which is the air inlet to the compressor. If you pop a single drip of oil into that hole every now and then, it hugely improves the efficiency of the compressor and lubricates the piston and one-way valves.

 

The best feature on any of these compressors is the ones that have a digital pressure gauge and a settable target. That way you can plug it in and just leave it until it stops at the right pressure. Useful, as these compressors are not fast.

[strangeangel]

I've got a few of them - TK Maxx/Aldi type of thing, also one branded Michelin that I saved from a skip. None of the ones I paid for cost more than a tenner, and they've all been fine.

 

The only mishap I've had was down to user error - I was trying to get the one of the camper's front tyres from 40 to 60psi and used an inadvisably small compressor out of one of the scooters. It was taking ages, so I went in and put the kettle on. When I returned, brew in hand, it had melted 

[eddyramrod]

I have a £7 Aldi one which is good enough for the occasional use I give it.  The plug tends to be a bit approximate in the lighter socket, but that seems to be normal.

[Vince70]

I’ve always found the best mini compressors are the original manufacturer items supplied with the car.

I’ve tried the cheapo Argos specials and they tend to last about 6 months.

The cheapest way to get a decent one cheap is to go on eBay and buy one that’s never been used and stolen out the back of a motobility car which has gone back after it’s 2/3 years service.

[jonny69]

I had a Halfords digital one where you set the pressure, pressed go and it clicked off when it was done. No need to watch it. It worked well. Lasted about 10 years and it was the valve that let go. In hindsight, I feel a bit silly for not just replacing that bit...

[xtriple]

I've got a Halfords one as well, got a light on it It's been fine and I use it exclusively as there are very few fuel stations round here and the ones there are charge like wounded rhinos for their air, also there is usually some arse parked in the bay doing the weeks shopping. It's been fine and has enough lead to go round the car.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I've got a Halfords one as well, got a light on it It's been fine and I use it exclusively as there are very few fuel stations round here and the ones there are charge like wounded rhinos for their air, also there is usually some arse parked in the bay doing the weeks shopping. It's been fine and has enough lead to go round the car.

That's another annoyance - our local purveyor of fuel has the air machine right at the front door, beside a prime parking space for lazy arses.

 

Doesnt help its one of those petrol stations with a sort of mini tesco attached to it, and there's always a queue of giffers buying a week's shopping and only one person manning the tills.

 

God forbid one just wants to drop £20 of unleaded into one's motor vehicle, throw a crisp twenty at the till jockey and make swift progress out of there.....

 

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[clayts450]

You lot with your mechanical air things, honestly.

 

I use this

 

 

£6 from Wilko.

 

http://www.wilko.com/car-maintenance-products/double-barrel-foot-pump/invt/0427250

 

Yeah the dial's a bit plastic, but it does the job

[jonny69]

^ The last one of those I used, I managed to stamp completely flat with little more than the power in my mighty legs

[SiC]

You lot with your mechanical air things, honestly.

 

I use this

 

 

£6 from Wilko.

 

http://www.wilko.com/car-maintenance-products/double-barrel-foot-pump/invt/0427250

 

Yeah the dial's a bit plastic, but it does the job

I've had one of those. It failed internally and let all the air down in the tyre I was trying to pump up!

 

With the electric air compressors, run them with the engine running. It boosts the power up from ~12v to 14v and speeds up the process.

[Pat Earrings]

The Aldi/Lidl ones are really good. Well made, pump the tyres very quick and measurements are fairly accurate too. 3 year warranty and they're only around £15.

[hennabm]

I had one of these "Halfrauds" specials where you plug it into the cigarette lighter. Worked OK but took ages to pump it up any decent amount. It also have a torch and flashing lamp built into it.

Trouble is with this design is the amount of power it can draw through the lighter socket which limits the capacity fo the compressor.

 

I have now bought one that feeds direct from the battery and will take a flat tyre to 30psi in seconds, not minutes. IIRC it's a Ring heavy duty model and works well.

 

It also has a long hose with it and can reach up to 7metres apparently. Useful for getting to the back of the ovlov.

[UltraWomble]

When I returned, brew in hand, it had melted 

The tyre?

The camper?

Or the compressor?

[Bren]

Whatever you buy make sure you purchase a good analogue pressure gauge as well.

[Talbot]

It was taking ages, so I went in and put the kettle on. When I returned, ....

I did this with a mini compressor once. Was trying to inflate a 9.00x16 Land-Rover tyre, which is bloody massive, from completely flat. Thankfully they are also many many plies as we completely forgot the compressor was running and went off to have a brew and lunch. Half-an-hour later I casually mentioned "ooh, That tyre..."

 

The tyre was at 75PSI and as hard as concrete. The compressor was at approx. 1 billion °c, but survived.

[rainagain]

They come up cheap on John pye all the time:

https://www.johnpyeauctions.co.uk/lot_details.asp?l=1&lotid=3421833&pageno=4

[Tadhg Tiogar]

 

I had a Halfords digital one where you set the pressure, pressed go and it clicked off when it was done. No need to watch it. It worked well. Lasted about 10 years and it was the valve that let go. In hindsight, I feel a bit silly for not just replacing that bit...

I've got a Halfords one as well, got a light on it It's been fine and I use it exclusively as there are very few fuel stations round here ....

 

+ another one for Halfrauds as well. Cost £20. Alright so far - the screw connection to the tyre valve is a bit of a double-edged sword, though, because unscrewing it after the tyre has been pumped means that you will briefly lose air until the valve shuts.

[strangeangel]

Cheap footpump

 

Whenever I've had one of those it's ended up with as much sideways play as up and down after about 5 minutes!

[Matt]

I've had a Ring RAC600 for a few years and it worked well until the plug melted. Easily replaced but it seems that the fuse in the new plug was wrong and it's now blown. Anyone here have the same one that could check which fuse it uses? Other than the slightly melty plug, which could be a fluke problem and that getting the cable back in is a bit of farce I can recommend it.

 

Edit: Hurr durr, it's literally on the front page of the instructions; "Power required 12 volts DC rated at 10 amps DC."

 

[artdjones]

I've had the same one for 23 years- not long after they first became available.Its Hilka branded. Although it doesn't get constant use because air is still free in most places here.