Budget Portable Air 2015

[PHeller]

What's the current state of portable air compressors in 2015? I search but most threads were from back in 2014, which some folks using the HF air compressors and most going for the MV50, but at that time there was some concern about the MV50's heat and HF's reliability.

Does anyone make a high powered (ie big) tankless air compressor that utilizes clamps/clips for the battery terminals?

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Does anyone make a high powered (ie big) tankless air compressor that utilizes clamps/clips for the battery terminals?

Warn used to, but discontinued. May still be some around. My big Warn single cylinder puts out 12cfm free air flow without a tank. They also had a twin cylinder that put out about twice that.

 

[aardvarcus]

Viair makes some nice tankless units. I would consider the Viair 88p a good one to look at on a budget. I ended up getting a Viair 300p which is a bit more expensive but has a filter, has quick change fittings for the air hose, has decently large CFM and duty cycle ratings, and still runs off of clips on the battery cables. Viair has all the specs for their models on their website.

 

[PJorgen]

I too have the Viair 300p and am quite happy with it. It has a 33% duty cycle which is not great but OK for how I use it. To get a 100% duty cycle unit you have to move up to the 450p which is considerably more expensive.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

I have a 400P in one of the trucks and it's slow but just fine for occasional use. I'm putting a small OBA on a Tundra now and I bought an ARB CKMP12 portable single cylinder. I will take it out of the case and hard-mount it in the truck, and will add a small tank as soon as I can find one that fits the designated space. It produces 3.08cfm at 0psi, so OK for inflating most tires, but very marginal for even small air tools even with a tank. The advantage of the ARB over other compressors is that it is just so small.

 

[PJorgen]

Ducky - not sure about the 400p but the manual with the 300p clearly stated not to hook it up to a tank. It needs to flow at all times as it does not have an over-pressure shut off or something like that. I may have the details wrong but not the main message.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

I think that is the case for the 400P, but you can plumb it to a tank IF you wire in a pressure switch. Another advantage of the ARB CKMP12 is that it is fully self-contained with its own on-off switch and pressure switch. I think it has a relief valve (not sure) but I'm putting a relief on the tank anyway. Because it's self contained, you can use it right out of the box and if you decide to hard-mount it there is no plumbing required unless you want to add a tank. Just find a spot to screw it down, connect the battery leads and Bam!, you're done. I think I'm going to use a pair of low-rider one-gallon spun aluminum tanks mounted on the front core support of the Tundra, right behind the bumper cover. That is otherwise wasted space. Compressor will be plumbed to the tanks with braided stainless hose and a check valve so that when the tanks heat up on a hot day they won't backfeed high pressure to the compressor. One thing I noticed while I was looking for the Tundra solution is that at this price point ($305 on Amazon), the ARBs have higher output at 50% duty cycle, while the ViaAirs have lower output and sometimes 100% duty cycle, so ultimate performance is probably a wash. Decision finally came down to physical size.

 

[RedF]

I'm kinda in the market for a small compressor. I like the idea of the ARB or the Viair 450P but I don't want to drop that kind of coin on something that might only see use a few times per year. Any input on the Smittybilt offerings? I'm guessing the entry-level Viair would be a better product .

 

[IdaSHO]

Dollar for dollar you still cannot beat a MV50. IMO

i recently picked one up for less than $60 on amazon



And if you want a bit more volume and power, go for the MV90

Its still under $200

 

[Ducky's Dad]

There are lots of choices out there, but SmittyBilt would not be high on my list. I think the brand is now owned by TAP (Four Wheel Parts) and everything from SmittyBilt seems to be pretty low budget Chinese knockoffs of other products. 4WP is a good operation and their customer service is excellent, but that won't help much when you are 20 miles from the nearest road and your compressor fails. I think Warn still offers a smallish self contained portable compressor in a box, and it's probably pretty good. When I was looking around over the last few weeks I found a number of new and used small compressors on CraigsList, so that would be a good place to start. Seems like a lot of the low-riders are parting out cars that they have bagged, and many of them are running ViAir systems. Kleinn (the air horn company) has a new line (three models) of OBA compressors that look pretty good for the price, but they are hard mount. Model numbers are 7270, 7275, 7350. If you do a search on this and other forums, there are lots of discussions about small bargain compressors and some appear to be real winners, but I don't remember the details. Places like Summit Racing and Jeg's sometimes have name brands in the clearance section. My 400P came from Summit's clearance page for about $200, but that was a few years ago.

 

[landsharkman]

I like the Viair compressors I have a 88p in the car and a 440p in the truck

 

[RedF]

I splurged and ordered a Viair 450P. Came in earlier this week. I'm impressed so far, it's a nice setup.

 

[sgregg108]

Doesn't probably fit into "budget" category but anyone have an ARB twin compressor? Any feedback?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ducky's Dad]

No ARB Twin for me, but I just bought an ARB Single. There are lots of reports on the interwebs about ARB overheating issues, so I called ARB USA. They told me the heating issues are generally with the Twins because a compressor generates a lot of heat and the Twin is basically two singles mounted close together, so reduced cooling air circulation. Should be OK in cold climates, but that's not So Cal. I opted for the Single because it's small and budget friendly, and I am generally in So Cal or AZ. With a modestly sized tank it should be fine for my needs.

 

[sgregg108]

I haven't heard that and thought the fan would help in cooling the compressors in the dual version. Also, just found a deal on an ExPo favorite the MF-1050 at Pepboys, local pickup and with their 35% discount going on right now you can snag one for around $40! Not as nice as an ARB but it'll work until I want to spend more money, prob can hold off on that expense until I get lockers...

No ARB Twin for me, but I just bought an ARB Single. There are lots of reports on the interwebs about ARB overheating issues, so I called ARB USA. They told me the heating issues are generally with the Twins because a compressor generates a lot of heat and the Twin is basically two singles mounted close together, so reduced cooling air circulation. Should be OK in cold climates, but that's not So Cal. I opted for the Single because it's small and budget friendly, and I am generally in So Cal or AZ. With a modestly sized tank it should be fine for my needs.