Air Compressor

Forgive my ignorance, but i have some "noob questions" about air compressors.

I want to just get one simply to air up my tires on my truck, bike, etc...

What size gallon is appropriate, and any reccomended brands.

Thanks

 

I have had good luck with craftsman. Wont need that big of tank if just for tires and such. You need the size for high capacity air tools

 

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A lot of people like the Q Industries MV50, which **I THINK** can even be mounted under your hood depending on how much space you've left yourself. It's not the most compact but it's well made.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/wheels-tires/187205-portable-air-compressor-wtf.html

For a simple 12V option, I wouldn't spend more than $75. Some are better made and some are faster, but for most purposes around our trucks, just read a few reviews and go with your gut.

 

if that's all you want to do, you could buy a pretty small/cheap compressor. a 3 or 5 gallon tank would probably be sufficient. even a 12 volt compressor would inflate your tires in a few minutes each.

like anything else, you get what you pay for. you can pay a lot or a little depending on your needs. higher cfm compressors will flow more air and inflate faster. i would stay away from oilless compressors, they are generally alot louder than oiled ones.

i didn't want to spend alot of money on a compressor and got mine at harbor freight. i spent about $120 and expected it to last for a year or two. five years later it's still going strong. it's very similar to this one here:

$180 10 gallon 2.5 HP 125 PSI Oil Lube Air Compressor

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-1-2-half-hp-10-gallon-125-psi-air-compressor-67708.html

i've used it to run an air nailer, and an impact impact guns. works good. other air tools need greater cfm and it probably wouldn't work as well for, say an air chisel.

so my advice, if you think you ever might want to run air tools off your compressor, i would go ahead and spend a little extra money now and get maybe a 10 or 20 gallon tank, with say a cfm rating of at least 5 cfm at 90psi. sears craftsman has a decent selection, but you can also buy decent ones at HD and Lowes too.

 

Just found this too, side by side comparison of several models.

http://www.parksoffroad.com/prodreview/inflatortest/inflatormain.htm

 

I had similiar needs and bought a craftsman with a 5 gallon tank last year. It's worked fine, doesn't leak down. You will want to get rid of the cheap assed PVC hose and get a rubber air hose (Sears sells a 50' for $40.00, well worth it). The air supply is plentiful for airing up tires, blowing off my work bench and running my nail gun.

 

This is two samples of what you want to get... they clip onto the battery directly and pump up a truck tire at the rate of 5-6 psi per minute. If you go with the pumps that plug into a cigarette lighter outlet, then they take 3 times longer to fill a tire (2 psi per minute). The ones pictured here cost between $49 and $79.

 

You can kill 2 bird with 1 stone, get a train horn set up so you can have a cool horn AND inflate tires and what not. Theirs different kinds of set ups with 2-8 gallon tanks with its own compressor.

 

I have the one in the second picture David K posted. Got it at pepboys. Love it. Works great.

 

x2, used it quite a few times.

 

i have the one (MV-50 12volt HD air compressor) that Davidk posted (2nd pic) for nearly 3 years now. it works well for what it is and certainly a lot cheaper then it's more expensive counter part made by Viair or ARB. you can find em at Pep Boys for around 70 bucks or cheaper online. there's a lot of info for that compressor if you google it. since i got tired of always unpacking it and repacking it from it's carrying case i have modified mine to hard mount into my engine compartment

 

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I think i found one;

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

What i'm looking to do is mainly just use it to inflate various tires, and blow shit off.

Will 3 gal/this model be good enough for my needs?

overkill/underkill?

 

Fine for in your garage... 'electric' in this case means 110v, I do believe... and your outlet in the bed won't have enough amps, I don't think.

If you want a pump that works very fast compared to cheaper units, but is under $80, and runs off the car battery... then we have told you what works.

 

Nice... how did you connect it to the battery... and do you think an extra bag around it to keep it cleaner may be worth doing? Looks like you use the Tacoma to get dirty, as I do!

 

i have a AUX ACC fuse box that i installed in the engine compartment to help accommodate the rest of my electronic crap lol. i re-wired the compressor my way, and it's hooked up the the AUX fuse box.

 

I just bought one of those a week ago for a wood project in my shop (I got tired of lugging my five gallon craftsman back and forth). Got it for $65.00 on sale. So far it's worked fine and for your needs (airing up tires occasionally) it should be adequate. The supplied coiled hose doesn't have a lot of reach but it's better than what came with my craftsman. You could always upgrade with the 50' craftsman hose that only costs $40.00.