inexpensive 12v tire inflator

[chasespeed]

I understand your thoughts, and I agree, more hose is preferable to more power cable.

I have enough to set the compressor on the ground. The rest is done with hose.

However, the point is, a larger gauge cable is all but required with most. If you have fuse protection for 30amps, the cable should be 10gauge, not 14.

Chase

 

[Ric]

Remember this,,, You get what you pay for.....

I had the MV50 on the second time airing up my tires, it stopped working. Thankfully I had a full CO2 tank.

 

[plh]

MV-50, rewired. Have had it at least 6 years. Use it about a dozen times per year. I'd buy another if this one died.

 

[MOguy]

The MV50 has been around along time. Viair has a few of lower dollar compressor that people seem to like. At this point I see any reason that these low cost compressors wouldn't satisfy most people's needs

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

I've had it with the $50 China Freight 'high volume' air compressors. The first one lasted a couple days, or I should say a couple air ups, overheated and stopped working altogether, never to return. The next one worked for about one tire from 22 pounds up to 65 pounds before it went to one piece, no moving parts. All this time I had my 25 pound aluminum CO2 tank with appropriate hardware to save the day. What's the difference? The CO2 tank has no duty cycle and produces no heat. In fact, it produces cold. If you don't have the correct air hose, it will freeze it up and make it crack. I"ll stick with the CO2 tank.
jefe

 

[MOguy]

I've had it with the $50 China Freight 'high volume' air compressors. The first one lasted a couple days, or I should say a couple air ups, overheated and stopped working altogether, never to return. The next one worked for about one tire from 22 pounds up to 65 pounds before it went to one piece, no moving parts. All this time I had my 25 pound aluminum CO2 tank with appropriate hardware to save the day. What's the difference? The CO2 tank has no duty cycle and produces no heat. In fact, it produces cold. If you don't have the correct air hose, it will freeze it up and make it crack. I"ll stick with the CO2 tank.
jefe

I ran CO2 for a long time, it works great and is fast . I moved to an area where it became more difficult and expensive to get refills so I went to the compressor. I tried one like the puma where I used a dc/ac converter and it was fine but took up too much room. The MV50 is slower than both but takes up less room, no refills, simple and cheap.

 

[kmlacroix]

I have a Smittybit. it has a 40 minute duty cycle, fills up all my 33's in about 10 minutes combined.

 

[FJOE]

Viair 350P. Awesome customer service, and a quality product. More than the MV-50, but hey, buy once, cry once.

 

[plh]

All this time I had my 25 pound aluminum CO2 tank with appropriate hardware to save the day. What's the difference? The CO2 tank has no duty cycle and produces no heat. In fact, it produces cold. If you don't have the correct air hose, it will freeze it up and make it crack. I"ll stick with the CO2 tank.
jefe

I have a 25 lb aluminum tank as well (for beer) not sure what you paid, but my experience is tank and regulator ~$175. Fill ups are ~$20. For my 4 taps a tank lasts a long time...

 

[MOguy]

I have a 25 lb aluminum take as well (for beer) not sure what you paid, but my experience is tank and regulator ~$175. Fill ups are ~$20. For my 4 taps a tank lasts a long time...

I had a 10lb. That is what fit in my Wrangler. I put it together myself for about $125. When was in SoCal I could swap out bottles for less than 10 bucks. When I moved to MO nobody had smaller bottles to swap out. I had to wait a week or two for NAPA to send out my bottle and get it back and they wanted about 30 bucks to do it.

CO2 is FAST but you need to get it refilled. That became a PIA for me.

 

[Stroverlander]

I picked up an MV-50 on Prime Day from Amazon a few years ago and it's been reliable with many uses - motorcycle tires, auto, and 31s on my van.

I did take it apart when new (there's a write-up online somewhere) and reassemble using assembly lube and synthetic motor oil. Replacing the gauge with something accurate helps but I usually overfill and set pressure with known reliable gauge anyway.

I've been meaning to re-wire with a quick-connect fitting too so this thread is a nice reminder.

 

[zidaro]

have a viair 88p. fills up my 33x12.5's without stopping easily. works great, never touched anything about it. Just plug it in and go. Used it ~20times same way.

 

[2025 deleted member]

For what you're talking about I would think HF would be fine.
.
This one is $65.00: http://www.harborfreight.com/12volt-150-psi-compact-air-compressor-69285.html
.
I presume it's probably made in the same Chinese factory as the MV-50. Certainly the "accessory packet" looks identical.

I've had good luck with that unit

 

[Bella PSD]

I had the harbor freight one for a month. It burned up (melted). I have had the MV-50 (same Amazon link post #2) for 6 or so years now. It airs up 37" tires from 30 to 45PSI ok. Maybe 5-6 min per 37" tire, not the fastest but its been reliable over the years.

For what you're talking about I would think HF would be fine.
.
This one is $65.00: http://www.harborfreight.com/12volt-150-psi-compact-air-compressor-69285.html
.
I presume it's probably made in the same Chinese factory as the MV-50. Certainly the "accessory packet" looks identical.

 

[granitex1]

I found that the mv90 turned out to be a good choice for my application. I have a small ARB compressor mounted to run just the lockers and when I go to an event like GoneMoab, or WentWindrock I air down at the beginning of the week and stay there for the week. The 90 puts out a lot more air than the 50, clips on the battery and does a good job on truck and car tires.

It is way to fast for bike tires, footballs and stuff like that.

I do know that it is not the best quality in the world, but it is a tool, and just like all of my tools, I try to get the best one that I can justify for the purpose at hand.