Portable air compressor

[maggie blair]

Could anyone recommend a lightweight portable air compressor for pumping up my tires? I need one that isn’t to heavy and that tells how much air I have in the tires. 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. 

Maggie

[rynosback]

Usually the air compressor does not read the pressures in the tire, just in the tank or what you have the compressor regulated to. You would need a separate air gauge that can check the pressure and then squeeze the handle to add air.  There are tones of them on Amazon.

[ogaddcb]

For the last five years I have had good service from this link to Viair air compressor for my trailer tires.  It does read tire pressure.  I modified the power cord with 2 pin 10-gauge SAE power pig tale so I can plug it into the trailer battery so I don’t have to use the alligator clips every time.

[Kirk W]

There are three2 critically important things to consider when you buy a portable  air compressor. First is the power source that it will operate on, the second is the pressure it can supply, and last is the duty cycle. The smallest compressors do not have an air tank and send the air directly into the tire and that is sufficient if tire inflation is the only purpose of the compressor, but those also tend to take the most time to do the job. If you have an onboard generator for 120V power those compressors are by far quicker than one powered by 12V electricity because they have more power available to operate but if you do not then you will ned one that can work on 12v. Tire size should also be considered as the larger tires require a long duty cycle for a small compressor to fill repeatedly. In my car I carry one that has dual power supplies similar to this one from Amazon, For the RV we carry one that has a small tank and requires 120V power like this one from Amazon. If you do get one with an air tank it will do the job much more quickly but you do need to realize that those have a pressure where they shut off and one where the compressor starts again and the restart pressure needs to be higher than the maximum pressure that you will ever need in your tires. For checking the tire pressures, I suggest a good digital gage like this one.

[jc2]

Several years ago, I bought one of these ac power compressors, https://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-CMB15-Oil-Free-Shrouded-Compressor/dp/B006CVXGR0/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3GH350H0LOZ1O&keywords=craftsman+air+compressor&qid=1567086834&s=hi&sprefix=craftsman+air+compressor%2Ctools%2C239&sr=1-6 which has never failed to pump up our 130 psi Class A tires.  Plug in to ac power or use your rv generator if no plugin is available.  We also have a digital gauge for checking pressure similar to one mentioned by Kirk.  12v compressors will usually handle pressures like class C tires or smaller but my pass experience shows them to be severely lacking for the big stuff. 

Edited August 29, 2019 by jc2

[maggie blair]

2 hours ago, Kirk W said:

There are three2 critically important things to consider when you buy a portable  air compressor. First is the power source that it will operate on, the second is the pressure it can supply, and last is the duty cycle. The smallest compressors do not have an air tank and send the air directly into the tire and that is sufficient if tire inflation is the only purpose of the compressor, but those also tend to take the most time to do the job. If you have an onboard generator for 120V power those compressors are by far quicker than one powered by 12V electricity because they have more power available to operate but if you do not then you will ned one that can work on 12v. Tire size should also be considered as the larger tires require a long duty cycle for a small compressor to fill repeatedly. In my car I carry one that has dual power supplies similar to this one from Amazon, For the RV we carry one that has a small tank and requires 120V power like this one from Amazon. If you do get one with an air tank it will do the job much more quickly but you do need to realize that those have a pressure where they shut off and one where the compressor starts again and the restart pressure needs to be higher than the maximum pressure that you will ever need in your tires. For checking the tire pressures, I suggest a good digital gage like this one.

I found it. Thanks so much!