Portable air tanks

2oldman wrote:
You mean like a scuba tank? One of those babies at 1500psi would inflate your tires in a hurry!

The standard 80 cubic foot SCUBA tank, at 2800 psi, with the primary regulator adjusted to 150 psi or so and an inflator chuck added, can fill lots of tires quickly.
We've used one supporting bicycle events. Inflating a bike tire with one of those 10" long hand pumps is a pain.

The tank alone, though, costs about $240, and can explode if overfilled, overheated, damaged or old and corroded (see this report).
Weighs about 35#, too.
Air pumps can be lots cheaper and smaller.

rjstractor wrote:
^^^

Yes, I was referring to the cheap little 5 gallon tanks that hold up to about 120 psi. Your setup definitely packs a lot more punch. In the fire service we have adaptors to run air tools off of a 4500 psi air cylinder, those REALLY do a lot of work.

I’ve never filled mine myself so I won’t swear to anything. However, I think what goes into it is liquid not gas. That’s how they get so much gas volume out of such a small container. According to the gauge the internal pressure before the regulator is only 500 psi. Kind of like a small propane tank without the flammability.

for $39 you can get a small 120v 120psi air pump at harbour freight. Its a hot dog style and actually works well. I have used it to nail some light work together and it does good on trailer/rv tires also. It will fit sideways in the side compartment in the rv thats below the dinette. Just make sure you have a good extension cord so you can move around with it. or make sure you have elecoutlets on both sides of the rv to plug into.

BTW where do you plan to travel that you fear no stations are available? Most circle Ks, qt's and small stop and goes have air pumps available might cost a .25 cents to use but they are available all over. As noted if in middle of no where you have more serious problems than a low tire.

I had an online chat with someone at Viair yesterday - good customer service, that place - and was directed to a local off-roader's place that sells them, to look over the choices. They're recommending a model called 400P that's apparently tailored to RVs - quick-connects and a truck-type chuck (dual-direction, for the rear tires) as one of three chucks offered. I'll probably get over there next week to have a look.

^^^

Yes, I was referring to the cheap little 5 gallon tanks that hold up to about 120 psi. Your setup definitely packs a lot more punch. In the fire service we have adaptors to run air tools off of a 4500 psi air cylinder, those REALLY do a lot of work.

I think some are confusing a simple compressed air tank with a CO2 tank like my Powertank. They are entirely different animals.

VIAIR is excellent.

In my experience that portable air tanks leak down all on their own, making them pretty much useless.

Have a Viair since 2007.......used it to maintain air on 5th wheel (110#) and to air up truck rear tires almost weekly for 7 yrs we FTd (80#/towing and 45#/not towing)


Now I use it to air up riding mower tires, wheel barrel tire, 5vr tires/truck tires etc
10 yrs old and going strong!

I agree with the Viair portable compressors. I got one this year and they are far better than the other junk 12V air compressors I had in the past (a couple were some off brand and another was Slime). The Viair will take up less space and probably weigh less than a portable tank.

rjstractor wrote:

DrewE wrote:
Assuming you have a generator, it may be worthwhile instead to look at small 120V air compressors; some of them are about the same size (but not shape) as the portable air tanks. Even without a generator, electric outlets are often easier to come by than compressed air.

I have a Fini AirBoss in my motorhome and it serves the purpose admirably. Lowes (among other places) sells them, at least sporadically, for around $100 give or take, depending on the current sales and whatnot.

A 5 gallon tank filled to, say, 125 psi is not going to put an enormous amount of air into a LT truck tire at 80 psi; it would for sure be less effective than when used for car tires at maybe 30-35 psi.

x2. A 5 gallon tank is completely useless for topping off as large a tire as what your motorhome has. This is obvious to most, but it's worth pointing out that when you hook an air tank to a tire the pressures will equalize. Since a motorhome tire holds much more than "5 gallons" of air, unless you need just a few psi once, a small tank won't work well. Even the slowest 12V compressor will eventually get you to 80 psi if it doesn't burn up first.

Even though it's a good idea to carry a way to air up your tires, if you're needing to air up between fuel stops you have a problem that needs fixing.

My 15# tank is actually CO2 and compressed far beyond the unpressurized volume of the tank. I air up occasionally and have filled G rated tires (110 psi) from near flat (valve failure) more than once. I refill the tank once every couple years.