A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor July 07, 2003, 03:18:33 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24244Can anyone recommend a 12 volt air compressor that really does the job for us RV'ers..?? I have been suckered into buying ones that promise to inflate to 260 psi ++ and I just donated them to the good- will bicycle shop..!! Just noted Costco's Passport Savings Coupons & they currently have the Powerline 12 V power Station w/air compressor @59.99 less $10. off @ register...but no specs & do you need the other bells & whistles...any comments...Thanks in Advance...Gene
Re: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #1 – July 07, 2003, 06:09:44 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24248Gene, I also bought one of the cheap inflators and like you, was not happy with it. I then bought a small 110v 3 gallon tank compressor from WalMart for about $100. I figured I could always start up the genreator if necessary to use it.It works OK, but even that is marginal, and if I air my tires up to 80 lbs each for storage, it takes quite a while.HTHBarry 26.5' RB TX
Re: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #2 – July 07, 2003, 06:34:49 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24250http://www.fourwheeler.com/techarticles/62758/Dan,
Re: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #3 – July 07, 2003, 09:21:36 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24257"Can anyone recommend a 12 volt air compressor that really does the job for us RV'ers..??"Gene, I have a Campbell-Hausfield 300psi rated fan cooled 12vDC compressor I got at Wal*Mart for about $20 that works fine. It's not the best but it's a "GOOD" compressor.I really doubt it could get 300psi with the way it comes with the standard foot pump style chuck it has on it unless you hold it on the valve but it can run continuously for several hours without overheating. It also won't win any speed records but it can pump up to 80psi without any problems and I really don't need it to do more than that. I'm not in any rush when I have to use it anyway and I can start it and time it to know approximately when it will get to the desired pressure while I do other things. Most times you really only adjust the pressure a few pounds to account for a different load or for changes in temperature or altitude so it works fine for that. It also has a light/emergency flasher built into it, which can come in handy. They have the same basic compressor in a cordless model also that has a rechargeable 12vDC gel-cell battery in it and a light. My 12vDC Campbell-Hausfield will pump about as fast as Barry's small 120vAC compressor but you can't put a water/oil separator on it with modifications to it.Other good models are the Truck Air, the Heavy Duty air compressor sold at Camper's Choice and a few of those that JC Whitney sells but they all cost a lot more than my Campbell-Hausfield. There are other good ones on the market as well but you need to get one that is fan cooled, has a reinforced hose, and states it can run continuously for several hours or don't bother with it.Mike R.
Re: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #4 – July 07, 2003, 11:25:40 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24265QuoteCan anyone recommend a 12 volt air compressor that really does the job for us RV'ers..?? Gene, I've been using a Sears 12V compressor for several years and it does the job for me. I use it to adjust air pressure when necessary prior to starting a day's travel; also, at the end of the season to add +10lbs to each tire prior to winter inactivity.During travel use, I found that I only need to add a few pounds in one or two tires at a time; it does that job nicely. To add +10 lbs to each tire, takes about 8-10 minutes per tire.It is a little noisey and not supposed to be run for more than 10 minutes without cooling for about the same amount of time. I don't like to think about inflating a tire from scratch with it, but then for me, that's what emergency road service is for.Being a 12V only rig (no generator) and preferring to boondock, 12V was the best alternative to a hand pump ... Plus, with storage space at a premium, it takes minimum space in the storage comparment where the generator would normally be in my 22' FL ...... Wayne
A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #5 – July 07, 2003, 08:35:00 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24254Quotehttp://www.fourwheeler.com/techarticles/62758/ Wow, I had no idea there were 12 volt compressors with the power of some of those evaluated. They are a bit pricey, but not too bad for what you get. Does anyone have comparable information on 120 Volt ac compressors? Since I have a generator, one should be as good as the other.AllenP.S.: thanks for the post, Dan.
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #6 – July 07, 2003, 10:37:06 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24263Excellent article. Thanks for the research. Anyone have experience with any of these? Would be concerned about Mama Bear Air, the "middle of the pack" model that draws 24 amps, since the cigarette lighter outlet is fused for only 20 amps, I believe.Also, sources for these units would be helpful.Ronald Chicago 2001 Red RK
[Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #7 – July 08, 2003, 10:16:20 am Yahoo Message Number: 242773 of the high-end, high volumn 12 volt air compressors (including the mama bear sized compressor) are by "quick air".A dogpile search on "quick air" turned up many links, several here: http://www.4wheelonline.com/quickair.html http://www.sunperformance.com/quick_air_2.htm http://www.backcountrytrailers.com/Trailers/Backcountry/off- road/quickair.htmSome of the large 12 volt units would have to hard wired to the vehicle battery (jumper cable style battery connectors or permanent wired), vs thru a cigarette lighter. For use
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #8 – July 08, 2003, 10:33:27 am Yahoo Message Number: 24278pack" model that draws 24 amps, since the cigarette lighter outlet is fused for only 20 amps, I believe." I believe the Mama Bear was designed to clip directly onto the battery, not the cigarette lighter. In fact, most of the compressors in the article were designed to be hard wired or connected directly to the battery by clips.Allen
A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor Reply #9 – July 08, 2003, 06:16:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 24299job for us RV'ers..?? I have been suckered into buying ones that promise to inflate to 260 psi ++ and I just donated them to the good- will bicycle shop..!! >> Gene, we gave up on 12V. If you have a generator on board the RV, you can always have 120V power available, even in the boonies. (If no generator, the following information is just clutter!). About 2 years ago, we bought a 120V Sears Craftsman, model #919.152340. Description: single cylinder, oil free, 2 HP; 3.7 scfu@40psi; 2.6scfu@90 psi. Max psi = 125. The unit is not very large (but larger than 12V I've seen). It has been very satisfactory for us.Happy hunting.Bobbi 2000 Blue RK
Re: Air compressors Reply #10 – July 09, 2003, 08:27:57 am Yahoo Message Number: 24315"About 2 years ago, we bought a [2 HP] 120V Sears Craftsman..." I bought the same compressor when I bought Gertie, on the advice of her former owners. It's powerful (no tank, but that makes it more compact) and can handle anything I've thrown at it."If no generator, the following information is just clutter!)." Not necessarily! I routinely run mine from my inverter. (Another place where having 2 KW powered by four house batteries comes in handy. ;-)Andy Baird :-)
Air compressors Reply #11 – November 23, 2004, 10:04:50 am Yahoo Message Number: 46856I first bought a 12V air compressor that was advertised as being fast to inflate and "truck tire capable"; it wasn't. Besides the airing process being super-slow, the compressor to tire valve connection leaked; the plastic "snap" connections were wimpy. The "compressor" *was* small and lightweight, but as it was useless for airing RV tires, this point was moot.Several years ago, I bought a compressor very similar (an older model, but the same capacity) to this one -- http://www.chpower.com/index.asp -- and have been very happy with it. A Milton dual head straight foot inline chuck from Bob's Tools (http://www.bobstools.net/Store/36693.html) replaced the hard-to- grip half-circle chuck that came attached to the pigtail air hose. A 15' extension cord allows access to all the tires. The compressor is too tall to carry upright in the LD's compartments (in the 23.5' TK, anyway), but it rides fine on its side with a roll of shop towels under the "works" to support and cushion it.Joan
Re: Air compressors Reply #12 – November 23, 2004, 11:20:53 am Yahoo Message Number: 46861Here's a tip that may prove useful. Many of the less expensive compressors, especially the 12V models, have a plastic clamp-on valve connectors that, as Joan mentioned, are fairly easy to break. This happened to me with a 12V compressor I bought on sale at Camping World a few years back--about the third time I used it, the locking lever broke, making it almost useless. After some thought, I went out and bought a 99 cent stick-type tire gauge. You wouldn't trust a cheapie like this to be accurate, but in this case I didn't care, because I wasn't going to be using it as a gauge. It had a cast metal head (the part I was interested in) attached to a body that was just a thin aluminum tube. I clamped the head in a vise, and easily pulled off and discarded the flimsy body tube and other parts. Then I cut off the broken plastic connector from the compressor's hose, jammed the hose end onto the metal tire gauge head, and clamped it in place with a nylon cable tie. (A small hose clamp would have worked just as well.) The repaired pump works just fine, so my 99 cents were well spent! So be gentle with those plastic clamp-ons...but if one breaks, know that it can be replaced cheaply.Andy Baird
Re: Air compressors Reply #13 – June 13, 2008, 10:29:13 pm Yahoo Message Number: 93415QuoteOk, I know I don't always get it, but is there a reason to get an air compressor that connects straight to the battery? Don't 99% of us have generators? Can't we just fire up the genny and run the compressor from the AC ? What am I missing here (I'm usually missing something right in front of my nose) Kate, there is no reason at all to get a DC powered compressor that I know of, unless one does not have a generator. All we all need is a compact, lightweight, low priced, reliable compressor that has enough umph to inflate our tires in a reasonable amount of time. Whether the chosen compressor is AC or DC powered does not matter much. In fact, many DC compressors are just not up to the task. This one, I understand, is. And it is more compact than most AC jobs I have seen.Tom Johnston
Topic: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor (Read 8 times)
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Topic: A "GOOD" 12 Volt Air Compressor (Read 8 times)
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