Best small portable air pump?

Moab

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I don't have the budget for onboard air. And I keep a fair amount of emergency and survival gear in my Jeep. Vehicle specific stuff and a GHB (get home bag).

The only secure space I have is an Instatrunk, Tuffy security glovebox and I do plan to add an ammo can to the engine bay.

But its not alot of secure space.

What's the best smallish, portable, electric airpump for inflating flat or low tires?
 
The Dewalt for about $99 at Home Depot- check it out -

I’ve been using mine for a couple of years I guess and it is really great.

It will inflate to whatever psi you set, has a light and plugs in or can use a dewalt tool battery.
 
“Best” has different meanings for different people, as in performance, cost, availability, etc.


For airing up larger tires on a Jeep you need a compressor that connects directly to the battery and not to a 12 Volt power power port / cigar lighter. I have two MF-1050 portable compressors and they have worked well. They will aiir up my 32” tires from 5psi to 25 psi in under 3 minutes. After the trail I air up from 12 to 25.
 
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Best” has different meanings for different people, as in performance, cost, availability, etc.

Wise words- best, quality, etc are subjective-

The Dewalt is no speed demon, just handy and functional, and I like the battery option- but I’m a remodeler and have batteries hot all the time-

Speed may be more important for a 4 tire air up- I use my on board for that.
 
I'm just looking for something economical I dont mind leaving in the car. For like a flat tire. Not offroad airing up.

Not a pos. I guess something good enough that doesnt take up alot of room. I don't have much space.

I honestly don't remember the last time I had a flat. Just want to have a puncture fix kit and means of airing up on board.
 
I use a Ryobi inflator and it has been fantastic for a few years now. Can get them on sale cheap as well as a battery. I can inflate about 3 Jeeps with a single 4ah pack and it has no problem handling 35s. Not the fastest but has been reliable. I previously used a viair unit that plugged to the battery but hated the cord and need to have the engine running.
 
Just avoid cheap compressors that only talk about how high of a PSI it can pump up to. PSI is not its important specification, an adequate CFM (cubic feet/minute) is what you want to look for. Even a small bicycle hand pump can pump up to a high PSI but they don't put out hardly any CFM at all which means it'd take all day to refill a big tire. It's CFM that is the difference between a compressor being able to refill a big Jeep size tire in a minute or so or taking 10+ minutes per tire.

At least 1 CFM is what you want for smaller jobs or refilling tires but the higher the CFM the better. Cheap compressors won't likely even mention a CFM because they don't put out enough for it to be a selling oint.

And one more thing about CFM... some companies give a misleading CFM rating that doesn't specify into what working pressure that CFM was measured. For example, our lungs can probably put out 8-10 CFM into the open air, or a 0 psi resistance. But how much CFM could our lungs put into a tire that is resisting being refilled? Zero. So for a CFM to be meaningful, it has to have a PSI attached to it like 2 CFM into 30 psi. The better and more usable a compressor is the more likely it'll give a meaningful CFM.

I learned this the hard way on my first multi-day offroad trip in 2000 when we would air up our tires in the afternoon after offroading all day to get back to camp. My Truckair compressor seemed like a good compressor when I bought but it took 45 minutes for it to refill my tires from 12 psi to 28 psi. My buddies got tired of waiting and started bringing their compressors over to help get my tires aired back for the drive back to camp. That's when I learned what effect a low CFM compressor has on its usability in more than casual uses like refilling a basketball where it doesn't really matter.

And it'll have a low CFM rating if it plugs into a cigarette lighter but have a higher CFM rating if it attaches to the battery with alligator clips.
 
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I'm just looking for something economical I dont mind leaving in the car. For like a flat tire. Not offroad airing up.

Not a pos. I guess something good enough that doesnt take up alot of room. I don't have much space.

I honestly don't remember the last time I had a flat. Just want to have a puncture fix kit and means of airing up on board..

A lot of people have liked the Viair 88p. I use it for up to 33” tires for 35’s a Viair 400p
 
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I use a Ryobi inflator and it has been fantastic for a few years now. Can get them on sale cheap as well as a battery. I can inflate about 3 Jeeps with a single 4ah pack and it has no problem handling 35s. Not the fastest but has been reliable. I previously used a viair unit that plugged to the battery but hated the cord and need to have the engine running.

Which one do you use?
 
A lot of people have liked the Viair 88p. I use it for up to 33” tires for 35’s a Viair 400p

Ya. I saved the 88p in my Amazon list. It looks like the premium offering. Although I will consider that Ryobi that was posted. Depending on how it compares to the 88p.

The thing is I really don't do any offroading that requires me to air all my tires down or up. So even a slower inflator would be fine. I just want it in the rare emergency that requires me to repair a puncture. And then air the tire back up.

Plus it needs to fit my tiny instatrunk. Or it will for sure get ripped off. Car breakins have gone up a bunch here in the last couple years. And I live in a really safe overly policed town. Plus I have a ton of other shit I have to fit in there. I do have a tuffy security glove box. But the size is same as stock. So not much room.
 
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Do you know the CFM soecs on that unit? I don't see it listed.

How long does it take to pump up a 33 inch tire?

They are $57 used very good on amazon warehouse. Which battery do I need?

Nope. I just know that it works. Takes about 15-20 minutes to get all 4 of my 34s from 12 to 28.
 
I used that Viair 88P for a few years with no complaints. When I put together an on-board system in the Jeep, I moved the 88P over to my truck.
 
The Viair 88P is popular for up to 33" tires, but in my opinion the CFM rating of the 88P is better suited for "up to" 31" tires (1.47 CFM @ 0 psi, 1.25 CFM @ 30 psi).

For general use, and for filling 33" tires and "up to" 35" tires, I have found my Viair 400P to be efficient and reliable (2.30 CFM @ 0 psi, 1.86 CFM @ 30 psi).
(I also have a Viair 400H hard-mounted in my jeep.)

I replaced the supplied coiled air hose with a 25' 1/4" Flexzilla hose and open flow European style locking air chuck.


Viair bag with Flexzilla hose.jpg
400P-40043_I-Beam-Sandtray-600x600.jpg