Light-use Compressor recommendations

    Looking for some advice. With 2 kids, 3 vehicles, 4 bikes, and an assortment of sports balls and inflatable kids toys, it's pretty necessary to have a lightweight compressor kicking around the house.


    This is the one I had.



    Had it a couple years, but it finally gave up the ghost after inflating the truck/car tires one too many time, I guess.


    I liked it because it had the ability to set a pressure and just push the button and it would stop at the preset pressure. It also ran off of 110 VAC or 12vdc, which was nice.


    Is there anything you guys would recommend for a replacement? Don't need anything too big, as I have no air tools (nor any intention of getting any), but the ability to inflate the tires to 75 PSI or so is required.

    I've been using a combo air compressor/battery charger for several years. It'll inflate tires, and jump start my mowers. Mine is old so I can't find the specific model, but it's similar to this 203277095?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|google|&mid=sGGzTBmKX|dt_mtid_8903tb925190_pcrid_111416414825_pkw__pmt__product_203277095_slid_&gclid=CjwKCAiApdPRBRAdEiwA84bo33gEuyDR4LLhg83wQ9lncPNpv6jsowBQcHfXhNUE7lYgaRyrXO24qRoCuDQQAvD_BwE

    I bought this stanley last year during black friday sale at menards for 29.99, all I wanted out of it was the ability to inflate on the go(12v) and it had to reach over 100 PSI (Road Bike tires).


    After using it for over a year I have to say I am quite pleased with it and totally worth its retail price(but if you get it cheaper even better), we used it quite frequently during summer on bikes/cars and water diving platform(gigantic one from costco) and it never disappointed.

    Is not that I am mean, I just don't sugarcoat what I say.

    That's the same one I have as a back-up for my trailer (airbag suspension) in case I have the compressor fail. I love it and use it for all my vehicles. Just dial in the pressure you want, and walk away and it stops once the pressure is reached. Well worth the money. I haven't plugged in either of my two bigger compressors since the early spring

    Nobody gets outta here ALIVE

    Pay for a good one, in my experience the compressor is the first thing to go.

    Quote from funinthesun

    That's the same one I have as a back-up for my trailer (airbag suspension) in case I have the compressor fail. I love it and use it for all my vehicles. Just dial in the pressure you want, and walk away and it stops once the pressure is reached. Well worth the money. I haven't plugged in either of my two bigger compressors since the early spring

    I loved it too, right up until it died. Probably one too many truck or Traverse tires - those things are not insignificant.

    I had a Bostitch 6 gal 150psi pancake-type compressor, but just donated it to Goodwill as I bought a new Sear upright 20 gal unit. I have 100 ft of HF air-hose on a HF reel to reach all of my vehicles w/o having to move any of them from their normal parking spots.


    If you already have any Ryobi One+ 18V tools, Ryobi makes a handheld air compressor that looks like a small drill and uses the same battery. About $20-25 at Home Depot. Ryobi has several compressors for air mattresses/pool toys to tire inflators, just pick the one that best suits your needs. If you also need the battery and charger, that adds a lot to the cost, but if you are considering buying more than one type of battery-powered tool, the Ryobi One+ 18V collection is not bad.

    The pancake compressors (Porter Cable is another manufacturer) offer good power for the size and cost, and they recharge quickly. If I was looking for a garage compressor for airing tires only, I would likely go that direction. Anything smaller is cabbage patch in my opinion.


    Note: When I air tires I often do 20-30 at a time: Slingshot, truck, wife's driver, wife's Mustang, mom's Subaru she passed on to me, motorcycle, 4 trailers (1 single-axle, 2 tandem axle, 1 triple axle), tractor, zero-turn mower, 2 quads, 2 mountain bikes, probably something else I'm forgetting).


    My wife is right - I'm a vehicle whore/hoarder!

    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    Quote from SlingLow

    The pancake compressors (Porter Cable is another manufacturer) offer good power for the size and cost, and they recharge quickly. If I was looking for a garage compressor for airing tires only, I would likely go that direction. Anything smaller is cabbage patch in my opinion.

    Do those have a gauge or auto shutoff on them, or do you have to inflate with one hand, and run a handheld gauge with the other?

    Quote from KayTwo

    Do those have a gauge or auto shutoff on them, or do you have to inflate with one hand, and run a handheld gauge with the other?

    The ones I have used require a handheld gauge but I haven't bought one in some time. They may make them with auto-shutoff in this century. That being said, I'm a little OCD about my tires and would not trust them to be, or stay accurate. I have a gauge with an auto setting for air release and I still double check it.

    Remember folks - this isn't a rehearsal, this is The Show!8)

    Quote from KayTwo

    Do those have a gauge or auto shutoff on them, or do you have to inflate with one hand, and run a handheld gauge with the other?

    I have this one. I love it so far. Much quieter than the Harbor Freight one I had(it did last 12 year's through roofing, building and trimming houses).



    This one holds a constant 180-200 psi in the tanks and you can set the pressure for the two hose fittings(not independantly). It's great for filling tires or any air guns and tools. You are unlikely to slip below the set pressure from quick succession nailing, long drilling...


    I understand this is overkill for the OP's purposes. ;)


    RIDGID 200 psi 4.5 Gal. Electric Quiet Compressor-OF45200SS - The Home Depot

    Fixed it for you

    Quote from WOLF

    I have this one. I love it so far. Much quieter than the Harbor Freight one I had(it did last 12 year's through roofing, building and trimming houses).

    This one holds a constant 180-200 psi in the tanks and you can set the pressure for the two hose fittings(not independantly). It's great for filling tires or any air guns and tools. You are unlikely to slip below the set pressure from quick succession nailing, long drilling...


    I understand this is overkill for the OP's purposes. ;)


    RIDGID 200 psi 4.5 Gal. Electric Quiet Compressor-OF45200SS - The Home Depot

    @KayTwo really this is the one that you should buy @sideseatdriver where she could start buying some air tools to use.

    When filling vehicle tires, I generally leave the compressor set to its highest output pressure and use a Slime digital air pressure gauge to monitor the tire inflation process. About the only time I ever adjust the air outlet pressure is if I'm filling an air-mattress or similar low-pressure flotation device. Tires can handle a brief over-pressure situation much better than air-mattresses or pool floats which tend to quickly blow-up (literally) when over-filled.
    I recommended the Ryobi handheld air compressor above IF you already have a Ryobi One+ tool and charger or plan on buying several battery-operated tools. For filling an occasional bicycle tire or ball, a handheld unit fills the bill, IMHO, but for larger tires or multiple tires a larger compressor is better. The larger the tank the less the pump needs to fill everything back up during a multi-use cycle, but if you leave the compressor unpressurized and start it when you need it, the pump may end up running longer just to fill the tank.

    I got tired of all the crap compressors out there and I bought this one. I have had it for 2 years and it had medium usage with no problems. The only negative is the air pump itself gets hot when run for more then 10 min.
    142369944464



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    Quote from Volley37

    I got tired of all the crap compressors out there and I bought this one. I have had it for 2 years and it had medium usage with no problems. The only negative is the air pump itself gets hot when run for more then 10 min.
    142369944464

    Nice little rig, but I have to get above 60 psi, so that wouldn't work out for me. Neat to see the options out there, though. I hadn't even heard of them before.