12 volt air compressor

Mate

Remember the old saying ... "Ya buy for peanuts ... ya get monkeys".

For what it's worth I've had a genuine Maxair for over 10 years and it's still going strong. I can think of nothing worse than a cheap compressor giving up the ghost when you're out in the scrub and really need it.

I reckon this is a good example of going for quality, regardless of the brand.

Try this out...

http://www.4wdaction.com.au/sites/default/files/4WD169%20036-054%20FEATURE%20air_2.pdf

Hairy I have a Maxair II which is rated at about 72 litres a minute and also bought a EBay special for my son with a cylinder head about double the Maxair unit ( there are many of this shape available with various brand names) and it is rated at 150 litres a minute.
It is power hungry and works fine but is no quicker than the Maxair so would be dubious about their capacity claims

I have the big ARB twin unit mounted in my ute and it is a ripper. I had an ARB single in my last ute and it was still faster than the first two I mentioned

A lot of the hoses and fittings are poor quality as well and by the time you upgrade them at Pirtek etc your cheap compressor may not be so cheap anymore

There was a compressor comparo done a few years back in a 4WD mag with all the big names and some cheapies and as I recall the Projector Typhoon got a good wrap for being reliable and cheap with reasonable performance so offers excellent value for money if you can grab one on special at supacheap etc
They also pulled down some units that looked identical externally and found that the components and build quality varied between the brands

Hope that helps

For someone that air up 4 times a week from 4psi with big tyres I would go for an engine mounted belt driven unit.

If your going to put a cheepie Chinese thru such use then don't stray too far from a servo.

Unless you buy 2 at a time so you have a spare.

Why try a save a few bucks if it means you have to drive home at 4 psi and wreck a $1500 set of tyres.

Can't see the logic.

I bought a Chinese cheapie last October - a $99 special where I beat them down to $89 (local Chinese tool flogger - Mondis, they sell on eBay, too).
I wasn't interested in anything expensive or heavy, I just wanted reasonable air output and some appearance of reasonable construction.
It's one of the pretty standard double-ended Chinese jobs that appears under 50 different names and colours.
Supposed to be 150psi/150L/min and bulletproof, according to the sales blurb.

What I found;

1. Like all Chinese stuff, output is horribly over-rated. Displacement is NOT Free Air Delivery (FAD).
2. Cables get as hot as buggery after 15mins of pumping.
3. Output is possibly restricted again by small hose and fittings.
4. Plastic end cap for air filter cracked as soon as I assembled it.
5. Rubber mounting feet are cheap and nasty, and probably short life.
6. Case is cheap and nasty and compressor is poor fit in case. Stood it upright for travel, and compressor bashed holes in the case on corrugated gravel roads.
7. Can't imagine it would have a long life if I kept it, and worked it regularly.

The greatest disappointment was the poor air output. It took 25 mins to inflate a double air mattress, and 6-7 minutes to inflate a tyre.
You get what you pay for, and you don't get much for $80 or $90. This one did the job that I wanted it to do, and I'm going to quit it again, soon.

Most people only appear to use their 12V air compressor just a few times a year and it appears a lot are happy with the Chinese cheapies.
However, there's also a lot for sale on Gumtree and in pawn shops, thus showing they are either stolen a lot - or people are unhappy with them.
Being the trusting soul that I am, I prefer to believe the latter.

If you want a decent 12V compressor that will do what it says it will do, spend $250 or more.

Cheers, Ron.

We purchased the CKMA12 from ARB and installed it in the void to the right of out Outback drawers. The air outlet is mounted in the void cover. I also installed a 12V fan to ventilate the void when the compressor was running (pump on = fan on). We have used it up to 4 or 5 times a day when touring the Vic High country. Have towed a T-van and used it on 6 wheels without a problem.

Power is run to the comressor via a heavy duty cable from a dedicated fuse (30A) in our accessory fuse box (my install) near the auxillary battery through a 30A switch in the cabin.

Sample on ebay:
ARB AIR COMPRESSOR CKMA12 on ebay

G'day Hairy

What about the ABR Sidewinder MK5 twin cylinder for about $220 from Derek who is a business member on here ? I have one and it's as good as the $500 ARB one I also have ! You can check out the specifications on his site - www.sidewinder.com.au


Cheers

Gazz

I have an ALDI 150 l job which cost $99 and is identical in appearance to a dr air. I had cause to pull it apart recently as I had reverse polaritied it and burnt out the relay.
I was impressed with the quality of the motor, and alloy piston.
Weak points are the reed valves, and the wires are only twisted in the end cap, but mine has given no problems with hard use filling a 10 l tank to 120 PSI. And used for tyres for 3 years now.
If they failed the reed valves could be replaced by a bit of feeler gauge.
There are similar ones now advertised in 4WD Australia for $119.
The dr air has long warranty, and that is the only difference that I can see.
Regards Philip A

I noticed in an email from 4WD Action that they've got an offer on at the moment for the Tigerz11 Thumper compressor plus 13 issues of the magazine delivered for $129. You should be able to see this deal at magstore.com.au.

You should also be able to find the Thumper compressor on sale at the moment for about $120. The Thumper sale price at around the $120 mark is probably a better deal than the $190 I recently paid out for my Dr Air.

By the way, I haven't used a Tigerz Thumper, but reviews seem good.

Get the engine driven one that is based on an air conditioning compressor .
You will only buy it once and be long dead before it is worn out .
just ensure it only gets to take in clean air .

I have a Projecta Typhoon
very fast and I wouldnt say i use it heaps but ive certainly used it as much as ive needed. had it at least 4 years i think

replacing the fuse with a maxi blade is a common mod and Ive done this

meh if it craps itself ive still got my original compressor a truck air which will slooooowly get me out of trouble

Does anyone remember the Spark Plug pump, (Haaa not for diesels) , My Dad had one in the 1960's , carried it in the Vanguard Spacemaster , take 1 spark out, screw the fitting in where the Spark plug was and start the engine, it worked a treat.

.

Doug, I've still got a couple of the old spark plug tyre pumps.

They sure beat hand pumps in the old days - but you could boil the billy and have a brew, while you waited for the tyre to reach full pressure! LOL

A W.A. tyre-retreading bloke, by the name of Roy Menzel was the original inventor, and the Menzel air pump was the first of the spark plug tyre pumps.
Roy invented the spark plug tyre pump just before the start of WW2.
Here's an advert (below) from the West Australian newspaper, dated 4th September 1939.

Schrader bought a manufacturing licence off Roy and no doubt old Roy retired on a nice steady little income from Schrader royalties.

Cheers, Ron.

Hi Hairy

If you have not found one yet I saw this advert. Seemed like what you want.

No affiliations just thought you might like it.

Cheers

Serendipity

That's the exact same unit that I got, for $89!! - and they are still being sold under a dozen brand names at $89 on eBay!!
All that changes is the stickers, the colours and whether you get a case or a bag!

I don't reckon it puts out anything like 150L/min - and I don't know what size tyre they are using, that they reckon they can pump from 15psi to 32psi in a minute!

Mondis 12V air compressor - eBay

As I previously outlined, one of the plastic end caps that covers the air filter cracked as soon as I assembled it.
This is a bugger of an idea anyway, having the air filter virtually at ground level.
The ones with the air filter mounted on top of the head are a better setup.

Note the cheap little rubber plugs that hold the compressor to the base plate.
Some of the better versions have proper little rubber mountings with bolts and nuts in them, holding the compressor to the base plate.

Cheers, Ron.