Viair is as good as there is for a 12 volt portable and has a price tag to match. The Masterflow MV-50 gets a lot of good reviews but is a cheap(er) clone of Viair. This person took one apart to see the differences in construction. Of importance when looking at these besides max. psi is CFM and duty cycle. Note that a 100% duty means a lower CFM (at least with Viair) to reduce chances of the compressor overheating.
I bought a used Viair 300P which does 2.30 cfm @ 150 psi (with 33% duty cycle), their highest CFM of all their models. I modified it by installing a Viair pressure switch inside the end cover that is on @ 90 psi and off @ 120 psi. I installed a standard female quick connect fitting instead of the normal open-ended male fitting, a pressure gauge and a male trolling plug on the cord. Bought a 25' length of super-flexible poly air hose and added a thumb pressure relief valve. Mounted the trolling receptacle on the junction box in the A-frame (a new PVC water-tite box I installed). This compressor works great and is plenty fast for even the 80 psi truck tires even when I tested by letting about 1/2 the air out.
Viair makes excellent compressors but oddly, their tire inflator gauge is cheap junk. I returned the new one I bought. Don't waste your money on one. I was unable to find a good one without spending around $200-300 and just use a standard tire chuck & digital gauge. The pistol grip gun that Viair uses (lower left photo) is the same quality as $10 ones like at Harbor Freight and elsewhere. I also did not like the cheap recoil hose that came with the Viair gun and it went back with the inflator gun.
I bought a used Viair 300P which does 2.30 cfm @ 150 psi (with 33% duty cycle), their highest CFM of all their models. I modified it by installing a Viair pressure switch inside the end cover that is on @ 90 psi and off @ 120 psi. I installed a standard female quick connect fitting instead of the normal open-ended male fitting, a pressure gauge and a male trolling plug on the cord. Bought a 25' length of super-flexible poly air hose and added a thumb pressure relief valve. Mounted the trolling receptacle on the junction box in the A-frame (a new PVC water-tite box I installed). This compressor works great and is plenty fast for even the 80 psi truck tires even when I tested by letting about 1/2 the air out.
Viair makes excellent compressors but oddly, their tire inflator gauge is cheap junk. I returned the new one I bought. Don't waste your money on one. I was unable to find a good one without spending around $200-300 and just use a standard tire chuck & digital gauge. The pistol grip gun that Viair uses (lower left photo) is the same quality as $10 ones like at Harbor Freight and elsewhere. I also did not like the cheap recoil hose that came with the Viair gun and it went back with the inflator gun.
DougE wrote:
I really like the Craftsman Cordless Inflator. You just clip it onto the valve stem and pull the trigger. No wires to hook up. I've had any number of brands of plug-in compressors and this really simplifies the process. (The whole C3 group of tools is really a great investment!)
That's pretty slick - really like the simplicity! :B
For those using a 12 vdc tire inflator I'd suggest replacing any cigarette lighter plug with a standard 7-pin Bargman so you can just plug the inflator into your truck. I've in fact converted all my exterior 12 vdc devices to Bargman connectors, both male & female, so I can power anything from any 12 vdc power source of either sex. :B
BurbMan wrote:
This is a nice little unit that works well for topping off tires to maintain correct pressures. Priced right too, click pic for link.
If you plan to "air down" to 10 psi for off-roading, you'll need something a little more substantial like the Viair 400P that has both enough CFM and PSI to inflate all of your tires back to road pressure. This is what I use when I come off of the beach.
We have the same Harbor Freight compressor. IT'S been great.
This is a nice little unit that works well for topping off tires to maintain correct pressures. Priced right too, click pic for link.
If you plan to "air down" to 10 psi for off-roading, you'll need something a little more substantial like the Viair 400P that has both enough CFM and PSI to inflate all of your tires back to road pressure. This is what I use when I come off of the beach.
If you plan to "air down" to 10 psi for off-roading, you'll need something a little more substantial like the Viair 400P that has both enough CFM and PSI to inflate all of your tires back to road pressure. This is what I use when I come off of the beach.
