Best sub $100 air compressor?

[Karma]

HI All,
My reaction to the OP's question is "Why bother". All the cheap compressors are junk!! At least buy one made in Australia. Will they cost more? Yes. They will last and provide good service. But, they will still be slow. The Warn VTC is the way to go but have the drawbacks of expense and finding a space to mount. Still, the VTC is awesome and I love mine. But if you are still learning the "you get what you pay for" mantra, you will never listen to my advice.

Sparky

 

[BigSwede]

Buying the best is nice if you can afford it. But your overly simplistic "advice," applied to everything, would have me driving around a $100K rig, with the best of everything. If you give me $90K I can make that happen for you, otherwise, value shopping is key.

 

[Karma]

HI swede,
And how do you determine value? The only thing I know is buy cheap and get junk or buy expensive and get quality-usually. How does one figure value if you are wasting your money buying stuff that does not work well or fails. If you you know the secret I would like to hear it. I don't enjoy spending large amounts of money either.

Sparky

 

[teotwaki]

I first started using my ARB locker compressor.......SNIP

Sounds like the old small ARB compressor. I have the newer CKMA12 and on my recent trip I aired up 8 tires in a row without issue: 2 tires from 25 to 35, 4 tires from 18 to 35 and 2 tires from 25 to 32

 

[theksmith]

My reaction to the OP's question is "Why bother". All the cheap compressors are junk!! At least buy one made in Australia. Will they cost more? Yes. They will last and provide good service. But, they will still be slow. The Warn VTC is the way to go but have the drawbacks of expense and finding a space to mount. Still, the VTC is awesome and I love mine. But if you are still learning the "you get what you pay for" mantra, you will never listen to my advice.

And how do you determine value? The only thing I know is buy cheap and get junk or buy expensive and get quality-usually. How does one figure value if you are wasting your money buying stuff that does not work well or fails. If you you know the secret I would like to hear it. I don't enjoy spending large amounts of money either.

not everyone is willing or capable of buying "expensive" for every endeavor they undertake, nor should they just for they sake of spending the most possible. for many people overlanding may be just one of many hobbies, or it may be something that they are just starting to get into and therefore do not wish to devote a small fortune to accessories yet. the OP's question is realistic and one that i'm sure many people have had.

value is defined as "relative worth". could be relative to other similar priced products, or to other items you might spend your available money on, or any number of ways in which something has "worth" to you in comparison to other things.

- for me the sub-$100 MV-50's worked flawlessly for several years and then slowly began to die. it performed just as well for a couple of years as compressors costing 2 or 3 times as much. therefore, i found it to be of great "relative worth" as compared to the other compressors in my capable spending range at the time.

even within the $400+ range of compressors one can still determine "value" based on which qualities are the most important to them and which product delivers those qualities for the least cost.

"you get what you pay for" is a great adage. however, if you have no concept of value, then you will no doubt learn that "a fool and his money are soon parted".

 

[BigSwede]

HI swede,
And how do you determine value? The only thing I know is buy cheap and get junk or buy expensive and get quality-usually. How does one figure value if you are wasting your money buying stuff that does not work well or fails. If you you know the secret I would like to hear it. I don't enjoy spending large amounts of money either.

Sparky

There is no absolute answer, it depends on your circumstances. If you are exploring Mongolia or the Sahara, I would indeed want a rock solid reliable air source. Here in the US where I do my exploring, usually in groups, help is never far away.

FWIW as a general rule I usually tend to buy mid-price, I find best value there. Rarely is the cheapest worth buying, and at some point diminishing returns make the most expensive items a waste of resources. The MV-50 is by no means the cheapest compressor out there, it is the cheapest I feel is worth carrying for serious use. I have had two MV-50s for 5 years or so now, maybe I'm just lucky but both are still working. And I have 35" tires, takes some doing to air those up.

 

[Redline]

snip...

- for me the sub-$100 MV-50's worked flawlessly for several years and then slowly began to die. it performed just as well for a couple of years as compressors costing 2 or 3 times as much. therefore, i found it to be of great "relative worth" as compared to the other compressors in my capable spending range at the time. snip...

Yes!

 

[jbumx2]

MV50 on sale at Amazon

Just wanted to put this out here. Amazon Deal of the Day currently has the MV50 for < $50. Good til the end of the day.

 

[mike r]

Just wanted to put this out here. Amazon Deal of the Day currently has the MV50 for < $50. Good til the end of the day.

Thanks for letting us know, I just ordered mine

 

[Redline]

I don't need another, but I still think these are a great value.

$56.09 today

 

[mike r]

mine was delivered today, I am amazed at the quality of the product.
Great deal at $45ish.

Even comes in its own bag

Thanks for letting me know max power

 

[jbumx2]

Glad to be of help. I've used mine a few times last year and I'm pretty happy with it. Only gripe is the built in pressure gauge isn't too accurate.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

I have been using an MV50 for a few years and it has done well. Not the fastest, the clips on bag suck and broke, but it works. I would buy another at this point because I cant justify the higher cost.

 

[jbumx2]

LOL... One of the clips on my bag broke a while back, as well. Not sure how it happened, but the clip material does seem very brittle.

 

[theksmith]

...Not the fastest, the clips on bag suck and broke, but it works...

LOL... One of the clips on my bag broke a while back, as well. Not sure how it happened, but the clip material does seem very brittle.

FYI...

the compressor and cord just barely fit laying on it's side in the bottom compartment of this tool bag: http://www.amazon.com/Custom-LeatherCraft-1137-Pocket-TrayTote/dp/B0000DD5H5/ref=pd_sim_hi_3 (in place of the plastic container)

then the hose, a quality gauge and some gloves will fit well in the upper compartment.

the bag is well made, and the current Amazon sale price of $20 is quite a bit cheaper than i paid at Ace Hardware years ago. i ran my MV50 in this bag for years, through multiple vehicles before i went to an on-board-air solution. now the bag holds recovery equipment for me and is still going strong. there's also a larger 14 pocket version that might be even easier to slide the compressor into, if you have more room in your rig.