Looking for end all be all air pump

[Mako_Kupo]

Hey everyone, I need a suggestion for a particular item. I am looking at an ir mattress that comes with a pump, but I am unsure which to get. I need it to be able to inflate my mattress, buoys, and football/basketball. I assume some of these would come with adapters, but I am totally overwhelmed with all of amazons suggestions. I have 12v and 110v, but tbh might prefer a manual pump. Any suggestions would be lovely, thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Camping-Mattress-Folding-Operated/dp/B00AU6AVLW?th=1

[frankwp]

I've been using a Milwaukee M18 toolbox vac (0880-20) for the past few years to inflate our air mattresses & water inflatables. It inflates them fast & firm & just as importantly, will suck them thoroughly flat for storage. The vacuum is quite inexpensive, especially if you're already in the M18 ecosystem.

[EMD360]

Mr_andyj: How do you attach a hair dryer to the air input?

[mr_andyj]

I use a hair drier for an air mattress. It has a COLD setting, which you need. There are DC powered hair driers. Unlike the electric pumps, hair driers can run 100% duty cycles and will move a lot of air, but just not at high pressures. For a boat you do not need more that the hair drier can do, but if you do then just top it off with a different pump.
A short internet non-google search for pumps that actual boaters use will turn up a lot of really good options.
Again, there is no one pump for everything outside of a full-blown air compressor.
Did you plan to inflate a big Grand Canyon sized raft or just small things? Those big pumps mentioned will be ideal for non-electric needs. (it is a hand pump you hold with your foot, it has a stirrup, and the can is about the size of a 2 liter bottle. It moves a lot of air.

[Dusty_R]

I've found that things that need a lot of air at low pressure, a vac that has a place to hook the hose to so you can use the out put air to blow up things like an air mattress works much better that an air compress of that kind of job.

[Roger10378]

If you have battery powered tools than you can probably find a air compressor from the same brand that will work. I am using 20 V DeWalt tools and they have a compressor that has both a high volume as well as high pressure pump. A bit pricey but works great and has 100% duty cycle. I have only used it up to 80 psi but I know it is rated substantially higher.

[EMD360]

I’ve had this problem with inflators for our boat. I bought a rechargeable Intex pump for the Intex boat and it stopped delivering air within a year. I have a small Semco compressor in the RV but it is lousy at low pressure air delivery. The one gallon tank does not hold enough air. I tried a small rechargeable battery driven pump but it was very noisy and got hot and could not work at the low pressure the boat needed despite the description. Now I thought I’d try one of the cheap pumps from Amazon. If it breaks in a few months I’m not as unhappy. However it occurred to me I might try a vacuum cleaner. My RV one does not connect to a blower but another model might. Or that battery powered inflator might work better. I don’t have a spare.

[Grit_dog]

^Spare tire air tank….old 4 wheeler and loggers trick!

OP, you didn’t mention any “high” pressure needs like vehicle tires.
Cheapo hand pump works for all the low volume stuff, even to higher pressures.
Large volume low pressure things you want/need something that plugs in or a quality foot pump (like for sups and the like)

Since you didn’t mention “where” you need this air, aka at home or at the beach, if at home, buy a decent air compressor and thank yourself profusely for years to come.
I don’t know how some people go through life without an air compressor. Imo, regardless of your lifestyle or hobbies, it’s almost a necessary appliance like a fridge or microwave.

[mr_andyj]

Sounds like a fantasy mostly..

Those plug-in DC air compressors you see on Amasin sites, cost $10-50 or so do work, but pay attention to the "duty-cycle" a 20% duty cycle means run it 2 mins and it needs to cool off 8 mins (10 min cycles). 50% means 5 mins on, 5 mins off. Running it past its rated duty cycle will heat it up too much and burn it out sooner or later.

There are DC air compressors that have a 100% duty cycle, so you can run them non-stop. You would want this for a big volume like a mattress or boat toy.
These are more expensive, but worth it if you are big into inflating things, and it will be great for inflating the car tire as those will take 30 mins or so if using these little compressors. You can set it and walk away...

IF you have a way to inflate a car tire then use this trick... It will cause lower digestive tract pains for many members here though, so it is just an option, not for everyone:

Make an air hose with Schrader fittings at one end (car valve type), and on/off valve on the hose and the little lever lock is needed.. The other end should be a fitting that fits your item to be inflated, so you might need more than one hose, or a way to adapt the toy end of the hose.
Here is the fun part. Use the air pressure in your spare tire as an air tank. It will inflate a mattress and you will barely notice any pressure change in the tire. You can pre-fill the spare tire to its max psi for longest results. It will fill fast.
When and if you need that spare tire, then you will have the inconvenience of waiting for the little air compressor to fill the tire back up. The tire will not be completely flat, maybe even have enough psi to drive on, so it will not take 30 mins to top it off. You can also keep it topped off every few times you use a lot of air out of it, and never run it down to zero. I have friends that do this method.

This method is not for the faint of heart, as you will see below soon

[Y-Guy]

While it would require a couple devices, check out the Ryobi line of 18v rechargeable tools at Home Depot, watch for sales and both can be picked up for under $30 each. The Cordless High Pressure Inflator covers the baseketball as well as tires and the Dual Function Inflator/Deflator takes care of the mattress, as well as rafts, etc. One battery and charger should have you covered. The inflator worked great blowing up even our largest water toys for the boat, I filled 5 of them with out even putting a dent in the battery.

[rexlion]

Not sure there is a single pump that will do well with all of those. The best pump for an air mattress is high volume, low pressure. The best pump for a ball is high pressure, low volume.

I have an inflatable mattress that came with a battery (4 D cell) operated high volume pump. It's crappy but it fills the mattress quickly enough to the point where it's almost firm enough. Then I switch over to my paddleboard pump to finish the job; six or eight strokes and I'm done. The SUP pump will also do a great job on basketballs and such. I use the same technique (battery pump first, then SUP pump) on my SUP, although taking it to 12-13 psi takes maybe 30 extra pumps.

I see there's an "Airhead" pump on Amazon that looks nearly identical to my Advanced Elements pump. No idea if they are the same internally, but the Airhead is half the price.

[wanderingaimles]

For air mattresses, inflatable toys etc, you want a high volume air pump, be it powered or manual. Those pumps are not generally able to provide enough pressure for basketballs or similar items, those need more pressure than a high volume pump can usually provide.

[Lwiddis]

Good quality bicycle pump with adapters will serve you well.