Christmas is near, 12 V air compressor
The kids are looking at Christmas gifts for me and the only thing I really need is a 12V air compressor. A small one I can store in the trailer and have on the road if needed. Anyone out there got a...
Forum Discussion
Just about any compressor can hit that. Do you care if it fills to that pressure quickly? Or do you mind waiting?
I personally went with a Viair 400P-RV. Sure it has to clamp directly onto a battery because of the amp draw, but I like the fact that it's a fairly fast 12V compressor moving up to 2.5 cfm. Here's the full spec sheet for it: Viair Compressor. It also automatically shuts down when it gets to about 120 or 150psi in the hose. That way you don't have to keep shutting off the compressor to check air pressure.
Smitty built has a unit that's popular with off-roaders because it moves around 5cfm at lower pressures and can fill up the typical tire to 30psi fairly quickly. However it's performance drops off steeply beyond 30psi and seems to be matched against the Viair unit. It is cheaper, but I also didn't like the fact that it's not an automatic compressor. You have to walk back and forth to shut if off to check pressure and then turn it back on.
So it all depends on what features you really want and what you don't want to put up with.
I personally went with a Viair 400P-RV. Sure it has to clamp directly onto a battery because of the amp draw, but I like the fact that it's a fairly fast 12V compressor moving up to 2.5 cfm. Here's the full spec sheet for it: Viair Compressor. It also automatically shuts down when it gets to about 120 or 150psi in the hose. That way you don't have to keep shutting off the compressor to check air pressure.
Smitty built has a unit that's popular with off-roaders because it moves around 5cfm at lower pressures and can fill up the typical tire to 30psi fairly quickly. However it's performance drops off steeply beyond 30psi and seems to be matched against the Viair unit. It is cheaper, but I also didn't like the fact that it's not an automatic compressor. You have to walk back and forth to shut if off to check pressure and then turn it back on.
So it all depends on what features you really want and what you don't want to put up with.
