Which portable air compressor

[jondle]

Why is Powertank so expensive? Are you paying for the name or is it a lot faster to fill?

It is certainly not faster to fill. It does have a variable regulator, so you can adjust the output pressure precisely. That would be important if you were running pneumatic tools, which is very doable, but I never have so it is kind of useless to me. I sometimes use it to lower the pressure so I don't ruin the gauge on the inflator, but I always get tired of waiting with it set to 150psi and say "f it" and crank it up.

 

[dewalt]

A bridle to do 2 tires at a time should speed things up with CO2.

 

[Donovan]

Good info in here. Will consider the 400P for sure.

 

[vegascarnut]

So after airing down, other than on-board air, which portable air compressor do you use to air back up? I was looking at the Smittybilt 2781 5.65 CFM Universal Air Compressor
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004K25GMG/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

or:
VIAIR 400P Portable Compressor
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000X9AXR8/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

Would like to stay around $200 as I won't need it a lot.
Any experience on fill rate would be helpful.

thanks,

Actually I use this very compressor. The Smittybuilt. I aired up all 4 of my tires last weekend from 25 to 44, and it worked great. I have used it many times. Takes about 3 minutes per tire. Used it on mine, then on my buddy's and it never shut off once. Never has actually. Make sure you leave the engine running when you use it—runs faster.

 

[vegascarnut]

Neither, they are light duty compressors and will shut off and restart multiple times before tire fill up. Those two would probably take you at least 30 minutes to fill all 4 tires from 18 lbs to 35 lbs. You need something bigger like this from VIAIR or you should consider a CO2 or HPA system. All will run over $200 though.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000X9BXQS/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

Nope! I use the Smittybuilt about once per month, and as I replied to the OP, it works great. About 3 minutes for 1 tire, from 25-44. Not as fast as some, but well worth the money, and it NEVER shuts off.

 

[AZRaptorDriver]

I bought this one based upon a friend’s recommendation. He used it on his Jeep and aired up each tire in under a minute each.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0023Z85VQ/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

 

[vegascarnut]

I bought this one based upon a friend’s recommendation. He used it on his Jeep and aired up each tire in under a minute each.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0023Z85VQ/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

Wow! That looks like a deal with the twin pistons, BUT I just did the math on Cubic Inches per minute vs CFM on the Smitty, and the Smittybilt is rated at double what this one is. Not sure. It's the same price as the SB unit on Amazon.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

Ok, I was looking at the 400, might go with the 44o VIAIR, thanks

i have an onboard air system and i use 4 of the viair 400c compressors. they are a 33% duty cycle so you can use them for 20 min and then they need to cool down for 40 min. they put out 2.5cfm at 0 load per compressor. when looking at compressors look for the cfm rate but also at the cfm under load. some compressors state a certain cfm but under a 30psi load the cfm will be much less.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

forgot to mention. all constant duty air compressors will have a lower cfm, but are designed to run continuous so theres no cool down time. a mod i have been looking into, is a belt driven compressor but that requires a bit of work. the best compressor to get is an oasis however the price point at which these start, are quite high

 

[MH23]

I went inexpensive and it took my stock from 25 to 38 pretty quickly:
Viair 00088 88P Portable Air Compressor
$66 on amazon