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air compressors

Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 13:28

ROBERT

i have checked the arcives cant get the answer i need going on a six week trip though central australia birdsville dont want to spend 400.00 on a air compessor seen mixed reports on the grunter am ibetter off buying one of these or trying to find a company that hire the better quality ones pls help as im very confused very confused
ThreadID: 4758 Replies: 8
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AnswerID: 19257   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 14:12

bruce.h replied:

robert
if you dont know what you want buy 2 cheep ones from any out let & save your money till you do by buying 2 you will have a spare if the other one dies or while one is cooling down you can be pumping with the other or pumping 2 tyres at once , every $ you save you can spend on a few extra kms you may want to travel
jm2cw
Regards Bruce
Reply 1 of 8
FollowupID: 12094   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 16:07

Leroy posted:

Robert,

Super Cheap have got a compressor for $120 and it comes with hose with guage etc and pumps up very quick.....faster that my ARB but it's not built to last as long. It's cheap but completely nasty and I have seen them on sale for $90!! If I had nothing I would consider one. Much better than buying 2 cheapies!

Leroy
FollowUp 1 of 4
FollowupID: 12095   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 16:08

Leroy posted:

I meant to say "it's cheap but NOT completely nasty"........I should proof read before I post :-)
FollowUp 2 of 4
FollowupID: 12101   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 17:47

bruce.h posted:

that makes 2 of us re proof reading when i say cheep i dont meen $20 pumps it should have read cheeper,but having said that if it puts air into the tyre its a pump.i have seen cars where people spend upward Of $20k
on accesories that do everthing but light your smoke when you get where your going & the funny thing is that at the end of the day we are all sitting around the same fire relaxing figer that one out
FollowUp 3 of 4
FollowupID: 12116   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 21:07

Leroy posted:

That's why I bought an ARB....at the end of the day everyone is sitting around waiting for the lowest commond denominator to pump their tyres. Having a chat and a beer or what ever it really doesnt matter if you have the slowest compressor cause everyone is going to wait for you......
FollowUp 4 of 4
AnswerID: 19268   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 15:20

Johnad replied:

I would not buy any of the cheap ones, its just false economy. If you buy a cheap one and it breaks in the middle of nowhere, then you're stuffed...could end up expensive. I purchased the big red for two reasons, reliability and price. It received very good write ups in the mags and I got it at a great price. It works like a charm. Good luck and safe travels.
John
Reply 2 of 8
FollowupID: 12093   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 15:46

Robert posted:

Whether it be a cheap or expensive compressor, if it stops your equally stuffed. I would take a foot pump or hand pump as a back up.
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 12098   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 17:33

bruce.h posted:

agreed it doesnt matter about the cost if breaks your stuffed , in 20 odd years of 4wding i have never had an expencive tyre pump always a cheeper model & have never been stranded or had to be rescued due to pump failer price dosn't instantly meen that you get quality just that it is marketed better & i agree a foot pump is also ahandy back up
jm2cw
bruce
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 19273   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 16:17

Member -BJ (Sydney) replied:

Personally I'd Buy a good one had my ARB for 3 years no prob's but if you want to buy a cheapy such as supper cheap & it fails you wont have to wait to long for help in the bush to long these days as long as you aren't in to remote a spot.

Have a safe trip
Wish i was still here / Gulf in July
Reply 3 of 8
AnswerID: 19291   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 20:19

Member - Martyn replied:

I bought a "Truckmaster" air compressor and it has worked well when asked too, it was a cheapie relatively speaking at around $120. I did have a problem with it when on an extended trip, the problem was around the air filtration getting into the cylinder, the suction valve started sticking occasionally. Small things like the air filtration and quality of lubrication are what you pay the extra for. I had to strip the pump down clean it and put it back together one night instead of having a coldy, the pump worked fine afterwards, depends where your priorities lie, I personally viewed the pump as critical to reliability and could be the difference between a good trip and a great trip. On my return three years ago I purchased the ARB compressor and mounted it under the passengers seat. Haven't touched the compressor or worried about reliability since. If you look at life cycle costs, spending that little bit extra pays of in the long term. I was also planning on adding some accessories that required the air compressor so I was sort of forced into the purchase, if you know what I mean. Keep the shiny side up
Reply 4 of 8
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AnswerID: 19308   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 22:17

Member - Rohan K replied:

Robert, if you don't want to spend $400, how much (reallistically) do you want to spend?

I paid $240 for a Bushmaster that is a solid, middle of the road model. So it takes 2 minutes longer to pump 4 tyres than a Blue Tongue or Big Red. So what? It did some hard yakka over easter - several times pumping 8 tyres from 20 psi to 45 psi, with barely a rest (except when being moved between vehicles). Didn't once get too hot to touch.

Before buying though, ask yourself - will I ever use it again? How often? If not, then hire. However, you'll likely find that a 6 week hire will cost you as much as your own.Be good, or be quick.
Rohan (Sydney)
Reply 5 of 8
FollowupID: 12129   Submitted: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 at 22:39

diamond posted:

well said how much do you really want to spend.
i spent $96at repco for the cyclone(same as bushranger i believe)
went away at easter for a week and between my friend and i we let our tyres down to 18psi and back up to 35psi 5 times while we were away.on average it took about 30 mins for 8 31x10.5x15 tyres.not to bad.i think if your letting your tyres down and back up all the time go an expensive unit but for occational a good quality cheaper unit is good economics.
FollowUp 1 of 2
FollowupID: 12194   Submitted: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 at 20:00

Member - Rohan K posted:

Whoops. That should have been Bushranger, not Bushmaster (who's ever mastered the bush, eh?).Be good, or be quick.
Rohan (Sydney)
FollowUp 2 of 2
AnswerID: 19322   Submitted: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 at 01:24

Member - Allan replied:

I have an permenantly mounted ARB compressor in my rig but it has let me down when the pressure switch failed (Luckily it could be bypassed). I have since bought a second unit but this time selected the Mega Grunter which comes with gauge, flexi hose and carry bag all for under $100. It is actually faster than the ARB. If I had to do it all again and had no intention of installing air lockers later, I would buy two cheaper units (one with accessories and one without). Mount one under the bonnet and keep the other in a bag with punchure repair kit as a backup.
Good luck with your decision.Cheers
Allan
Reply 6 of 8
AnswerID: 19343   Submitted: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 at 10:30

ROBERT replied:

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP INFORMATION HAS BEEN GREAT I THINK I MIGHT GO FOR THE GRUNTER CYCLONE OR BUSHRANGER THANKS AGAIN
Reply 7 of 8
AnswerID: 19426   Submitted: Thursday, May 08, 2003 at 12:11

Member - Melissa replied:

Robert,

After hearing good things about them, we bought the Cyclone from Repco. Normally about $120 with hose, gauge, bag etc but we got it on sale for $90. Excellent unit. On a recent trip away we pumped 6 tyres from 18 to 36lb in a bit over 20 minutes without cutting out. Our travelling companion had just forked out big $$$ for an ARB compressor and when we got our "cheapy" compressor out he said, "as soon as I've finished I'll do the rest of yours for you". Had a bit of a snigger when we finished first!

Agree with comments above re having a back up if your compressor breaks down. Failures can occur regardless of the make. We carry a $20 Kmart jobby as our backup.

:o) MelissaPetrol 4.5L GU Patrol &
Camprite TL8 offroad camper
Reply 8 of 8
FollowupID: 12218   Submitted: Thursday, May 08, 2003 at 12:16

ROBERT posted:

THANKS MELLISA GOING TO GET ONE THIS SATURDAY JUST CANT MAKE MY MIND UP BETWEEN THE MEGA GRUNTER AND THE CYCLONE
REGARDS ROB
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