Portable Air Compressor WTF...

Been looking around at getting a small unit to air up the tires when offroading and got a question. It seems the exact same pictures are being used to advertise the Q Industies MV50, the Smitty Bilt MV50, the Master Flow MF50, and the Super Flow MV-50. They range in price from around $50-$90. Is there any difference or are these all the same unit being marketed under different names? Also, if anyone is using one of these how do you like it? Thanks...


http://www.gearinstalls.com/pepboys.htm

 

I have the Master Flow MF40 and it's not super fast but faster than any 12V one I've had (just cheap $20 ones). Got it on sale for $25 at pep boys

 

i would say all made by the same company.just everyone puts there name on tham.that happens quite offten

 

I have that compressor, The Q industries MV 50.... Bought it off Amazon. I think that if you use it every now and then it is great. You can add 10 lbs to each tire "33" in about 5 minutes? The hose is adequate but would be short if you mounted the unit. Also, it doesn't jump around and is fairly quiet. Overall, it is worth the money. Any questions?

 

Thanks for the responces. The MasterFlow Tsunami MF-1050 advertises it as duel cylinder/piston and is $30 more than the Q Industries MV-50 on Amazon. They sure look the same...anyone know if the Q Industries MV-50 unit is duel cylinder/piston also?

 

I have the Tsunami, bought it off of Amazon and it works great for what the product is. Gets a little hot after long use though (adding 10psi to each tire).

 

I have the Harbor Freight one and the Tsunami one... both great and I have posted a lot about them in the past.







The Tsunami one (#MV-50) seems to be better made, and is just a bit slower than the one.

The Harbor Freight one was bought way back in 2006... and it still works... Used it dozens of times. However, the fuse holder gets really hot and melts the fuse... doesn't blow usually, but I needed to replace the fuse lots of times as it stopped working after it melts the plastic.

The Tsunami I got a year ago, and it doesn't get near as hot in the cable or fuse.

The speed to fill our tires is 6 psi per minute with the Harbor Freight and 5 psi per minute with the Tsunami. A cigarette lighter connected tire air pump fills at just 2 psi per minute!

So, if you go to 15 psi for sand driving, you take 2.5 minutes with the Harbor Freight to get back to 30 psi... or 3 minutes with the Tsunami... or 7.5 minutes for a cig. lighter pump (I had a Coleman). When you have 4 tires to fill... speed is nice! I prefer 12 minutes over 30 minutes!!!

The Harbor Freight one was $49 when I bought it, on special in '06... the Tsunami one is closer to $75 I think, but that was last year.

 

Well, after researching it farther it appears the ads I've been looking at advertising the Master Flow Tsunami MF1050 are misleading saying that it's a duel cylinder/piston unit. It's a single cylinder and made by the same company (Q Industries) that manufacturer's the MV50 that all these other companies are putting their name on. I've read many reviews (both good and bad) and decided to just spend the extra money and go for the quality of the Viair 300P. Thanks again to all that posted.

 

Just what did you want it to do?

I have one, and as I posted above... I can fill our 16" truck tire at the rate of 5 psi per minute (that's 12 psi to 32 psi in 4 minutes for those of you in Rio Linda).

How much is the Viar 300P, and how much does it cost? Is that much price difference worth just cutting a minute or two off the fill time (if it is faster)?

 

The quick fill time is nice but I'm looking more at reliablity. I've read both good and bad reports of the MF1050/MV50 compressors and only read one negative report of the Viair saying it was recieved with a broken zipper on the carrying case. The Viair doesn't seem to have the overheating problems of other units. From what I've read if you have a problem with the Q Industries units good luck...it's dam near impossible to get them to answer any inquiries. The Viair 300P goes for $149 on Amazon.

 

I have the MF 1050 and it works awesome for the $$
one time we were leaving a trail and I had to air up 3 trucks....got hot and shut off on the 11th tire
still works like a champ.. (after it cooled down)

 

Okay, well let us know how the expensive one works. My MV-50 does not over-heat filling my 4 tires... The Harbor Freight one does. Used it many times.

 

I've had the MV-50 for almost 5 years and that little guy keeps chugging along. I got it from Costco for $50.

 

Seriously!

I do want to hear how long it takes to add air with the pricey one... Is faster than 5 psi per minute worth paying 2-3 times the cost of the MV-50?

 

I'd get the MV-50 from Costco knowing their return policy and great customer service but my store doesn't have them and I can't seem find the MV-50 on their website. Can anyone provide a link from Costco.com showing it?

 

Good read. I am waiting for my MF-1089, unfortunately it's currently back-ordered.

http://www.8-lug.com/tech/1103_8l_portable_vehicle_air_systems/viewall.html

Jonny recommended the Q industries compressors to me at Cleghorn, I think there were 2 or 3 other rigs using the same compressor

 

Like I said I'm not that concerned on the time it takes to fill. I'm looking more at reliability and customer service. Alot of people love the MV-50 units and that's great, but I've also read where some have issues right away and can't get ahold of the company (Q Industries.) Alot of them just end up biting the bullet and spending the money on a more quality unit afterwards. All I want is a reliable unit and a way of getting customer satsfaction/support if a problem arises.

 

good info, been in the market for one as the temp changes been kinda drastic lately and psi's fluctuate little too much, i really hate the bouncing around and heat associated with those 10dollar ones, so thx for all the info.

 

I got the smitty built from 4wp on sale for like $45 and its a great little piece of kit. Its fairly fast. Only down side is it get FUCKING HOT after doing all 4 tires. That and the plastic air intake filter broke off but other than that its agreat.

 

I'm trying to choose betwen VIAIR's

ViAir 90P - 00093 Portable Compressor Kit With Alligator Clamps, Tire Inflator, Tire Air Pump, 12V, 30 Min. @ 30 PSI, 120 PSI, For Up to 31" Tires

90P and

$150 VIAIR 300P - 30033 Tire Inflator Portable Offroad Air Compressor for Truck & SUV | 12V On/Off Road Tire Pump Air Compressor Portable Heavy Duty 150 PSI, up to 33" Tires, 2.30 CFM, Alligator Clips

300P units. Anyone have first-hand experience that might help me decide whether the 300P is worth almost twice the 90P's cost?

Duty cycle will generally be light, since I don't usually air-down. Primary purpose is for emergencies. (Current 265/70R16s will be upgraded to 265/75R16s when they're replaced.)