Portable Air Compressors - Which is best

Ive got the one that now costs about $70 from super cheap, its hooked up to a small air compressor via some jiggery and then attached to the second battery power outlet...

runs like a normal air compressor and while its only good for bursts from the tank Its inflated dozens of tyres, and with a full load in the tank runs the rattle gun enough to do a tyre change.

my total cost was $99 for the little 1hp compressor from kmart and about $160 for the compressor from super cheap (this was bout 3 years ago now)

as a bonus If i can pull up where there is 240v power I can run the little 1hp compressor. My only annoyance is that the little 600w genset Ive got hasnt quite got enough go to run the 240v compressor properly.

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Originally Posted by rocky2509

I bought mine for $80 from Big W. It's identical to the Max Air one from Bushranger.

http://www.bushranger.com.au/maxair_compressor.php

I bought it about 12 months ago and it hasn't let me down since.

Cheers,

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I got the same one at the local tool shop for $70, Supacheap sell them on special for $140 and everyone else wants $180+

I have the bushranger max air and it is fantastic, very impressed with it and I moved from it's little brother the power air. Most club trips involve me pumping my tyres back to full pressure again and then doing the same with a couple of other cars as it is much quicker than theirs.

Have no experience with the imitations but I will always spend $ to reduce the risk factor of it letting me down when I need it.

Just my thoughts

I've had 3 compressors over several years. The first was a truck air and frankly it wasn't up to it. I then had an ARB which was OK and now have a Blue Tounge II which is very good.

The key issue with the ARB was heat on a 30C or hotter day this would struggle to do 4 tyres from 25psi to 35psi without breaks and you could spend 1/2 an hour pumping up the tyres, 2 vehicles was going to take for ever. The Truck Air just could handle the heat and took forever on even 2 tyres.

Just the other day I did 2 cars (20psi upto 40psi) with the Blue Tounge in reasonable time. One of the other guys had an ARB that was newer than my old one and this also worked OK but was slower. The biggest issue is heat as this seriously impares the performance, the thing to watch for is a thermal cut out so that you wont damage the unit. Other than that it just takes time depending on the output of the cheaper units so you get to explore the contents of the Engel:)

I think that the interesting common denominator here is that everyone who owns one is also pumping up other people's tyres...not that I mind sharing my air.

I've got a max-air copy also from ebay... about 80 bucks.
You can't go wrong... you'd need to go thru 3-4 of them before you get close to the amount you pay for a max-air

... Scott

i got a max air....great unit......
cruiser has a copy.....they both look identical since the steicker has come off mine.....

i can start inflating my tyres after he has already done one of his.......
and finish before him and inflate his last one for him......

the genuine max air is definitely faster than the copies......
as for reliability....too soon to tell.....they do have a 5 year warranty.......
so i guess it will last for at least 5 years.....

dunno about the copies though.......

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Originally Posted by one_iota

I think that the interesting common denominator here is that everyone who owns one is also pumping up other people's tyres...not that I mind sharing my air.

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This has answered one of my wife's queries... The domestic Gestapo is demanding a financial expenditure justification report and asked "well what does everybody else do when the go beach driving and let their tyres down?"

Answer: They all have a compressor, or a mate with a compressor. We are travelling alone this week-end, ergo we need to buy a compressor honey.

Thankyou all for the information and ammunition against SWMBO.

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Originally Posted by solmanic

This has answered one of my wife's queries... The domestic Gestapo is demanding a financial expenditure justification report and asked "well what does everybody else do when the go beach driving and let their tyres down?"

Answer: They all have a compressor, or a mate with a compressor. We are travelling alone this week-end, ergo we need to buy a compressor honey.

Thankyou all for the information and ammunition against SWMBO.

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It is undeniable bloody logic...and grounds for also purchasing a set of Staun tyre deflators..unless SWMBO is good with a bit of stick and a very expensive air guage (optional).

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Originally Posted by MickG

I have the bushranger max air and it is fantastic, very impressed with it and I moved from it's little brother the power air. Most club trips involve me pumping my tyres back to full pressure again and then doing the same with a couple of other cars as it is much quicker than theirs.

Have no experience with the imitations but I will always spend $ to reduce the risk factor of it letting me down when I need it.

Just my thoughts

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Same here, have the ARB fixed in the RR but bought a Max Air for the Disco as I try to put in quality gear that I believe will have less chance of failing when in remote areas