Portable Air Compressor

I’m looking for a portable air compressor that is capable of inflating tires to 100 psi. I would love a battery powered air compressor but not sure they exist. I have tried a cheap (Amazon) 12 volt compressor and it does work but after airing up 2 tires it gets so hot I can’t touch it. I also bought a battery powered Dewalt combo air compressor/jump starter. This thing is a piece of junk. I had to replace it under warranty once because the compressor stopped working. Then one month later after warranty expired the replacement stopped working.

So looking for either battery powered or 12 volt.

Thanks!
I have a Ryobi tire inflator kit that comes with a 18V batt, charger and bag. You can preset the pressure up to 165lbs. I use it on my camper. I picked it up at Home Depot.
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I bought a Ryobi one that uses the standard 18v battery pack, it works well and it's nice that you don't need to lug extension cords around. If you are using it for bike tires, or for topping off your car or camper tires, then I think it's great. Not sure if it could inflate a car tire from flat to full in a normal amount of time because it doesn't put out that much air.
 
The Viair is excellent. It comes with extension hoses. With my truck anf 5th wheel hooked up, I can reach all tires when hooked up to battery on the 5th wheel. It is the 450-A EF. It has 100% duty cycle@100psi. It does get warm as it is running. Cools down quickly. There is an available 7-pin plug connector that you can get to plug in with the 7-pin on your truck. I like it! Just my 2 cents...
 
I just took a cheap one apart, it stopped working. The 12v motor, powered by the car battery, operates the compressor part. It had run for about 15 minutes before melting the plastic parts on the piston. After reading the directions it says “10 minutes maximum run time” 30-80 lbs in a truck tire could take over an hour letting it cool down every 10 minutes. It claims to be rated to 150 lbs. Definitely not the type for Truck and Trailer tires. All of the tankless ones I’ve had slow down as the pressure increases. I thought of putting 100 lbs. in my spare truck tire and using as an “air tank” to air up other tires. I’m sure it would air up a trailer tire from 30 to 80 lbs. in a few minutes.
 
I have a Ryobi battery compressor - its ok for car tires around 35 PSI you could maybe fill 2 tires on a single charge.

I tried to use it on my car trailer (dual axle) which is 80psi cold, battery died halfway thru the 4th tire. Its very slow compared to the ViAir 400.

I carry a ViAir 400 and a small 2 gallon compressor when pulling the 5ver.
 
I’ve seen the Viair units. For me seems like the design requires you have to walk back and forth from one tire to the battery under or near the hood to turn it on or off. Maybe I’m misunderstanding how it works? Also airing up tires on a 38’ RV would require an extension or installation of an additional terminal port near the wheels of the RV. This is the main reason I would love to find a battery powered unit that actually works well.
My Viair has very long hose and turns off at the unit. Also one can control the airflow from the wheel. Going strong for 5 years. I regularly inflate to 80 pounds, unit capacity says 150. Hooks directly to your TV battery with the engine running. Much faster than any of the units I owned before the Viair. Does get hot but cools quickly. Worth the money in my opinion.
 
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I have a set of train horns mounted where the spare tire on my truck was located. Bells, 2gal air tank and compressor. The one thing I was gonna do was install an air hose end at the end of the truck and carry a 25' curly hose for inflating tires etc. My compressor for this set up is a Horn Blasters brand. The Viair compressor is a great compressor as well and I'm going to upgrade to a dual compressor setup that delivers more CFM and a larger tank. Horn Blasters makes a portable compressor/inflator set up.
For right now I've been carrying my Craftsman battery powered inflator. I've used it a handful of times to inflate bike tires and bring truck and trailer tires up to the correct PSI.
I believe the hand held DeWalt one that Bookemdanno referenced is the same unit used in hand held train horn units. My Craftsman one has got to be 10yrs old or older and I'm sure the newer DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc., ones would outperform mine. If you got a completely flat tire you got bigger problems than a hand held or a complete air system will solve. Lol!

Heres a link to a pretty nice system from horn blasters.

And honestly, I wouldn't have to think twice about buying a hand held one either. They are pretty nice too. Either way, it's nice to have something with you when you need it.

Edit correction; I was wrong. The DeWalt hand held train horn is NOT made from a hand held inflator. It's made from their impact driver.
 
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Milwaukee M18 compressor. Love mine. Best purchase ever.
I’m impressed with the Milwaukee M18 compressor. However I sent an email to Milwaukee asking how or if I needed to register my air compressor for the 5 year warranty. I finally got a response today and learned because I bought the unit from Amazon there is NO warranty. I will likely return the unit and try something else. While I understand why I’m not in board with buying a product, especially a battery powered air compressor without a warranty.
 
I have a dewalt air compressor that's not dual purpose that I use to inflate tire on my 2500 hd dodge and camper set the pressure and let it go. Have not noted any heating problems. this is also dual power Battery and 12v
 
Milwaukee M-18 Portable Air Inflator. A bit on the pricier end but quality of the tool, charger & batteries are awesome!
 

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Milwaukee M-18 Portable Air Inflator. A bit on the pricier end but quality of the tool, charger & batteries are awesome!
Yeah but as I mentioned when purchased from Amazon (or EBay or other “liquidation” sites) there is no factory warranty. Nada.
 
I’m looking for a portable air compressor that is capable of inflating tires to 100 psi. I would love a battery powered air compressor but not sure they exist. I have tried a cheap (Amazon) 12 volt compressor and it does work but after airing up 2 tires it gets so hot I can’t touch it. I also bought a battery powered Dewalt combo air compressor/jump starter. This thing is a piece of junk. I had to replace it under warranty once because the compressor stopped working. Then one month later after warranty expired the replacement stopped working.

So looking for either battery powered or 12 volt.

Thanks!
Milwaukee M18 inflator. Works great. Love mine.
 
I’m looking for a portable air compressor that is capable of inflating tires to 100 psi. I would love a battery powered air compressor but not sure they exist. I have tried a cheap (Amazon) 12 volt compressor and it does work but after airing up 2 tires it gets so hot I can’t touch it. I also bought a battery powered Dewalt combo air compressor/jump starter. This thing is a piece of junk. I had to replace it under warranty once because the compressor stopped working. Then one month later after warranty expired the replacement stopped working.

So looking for either battery powered or 12 volt.

Thanks!
Try the M18 Milwauke air compressor, it's good for 150 psi. I used mine to pump up 4 tires at 90 psi, didn't overheat.
 
Yeah but as I mentioned when purchased from Amazon (or EBay or other “liquidation” sites) there is no factory warranty. Nada.
You can check out "The Tool Nut" online they're a certified Milwaukee wholesale/retailer and run really good deals all the time inluding the dicounts offered directly from Milwaukee wirh full warranty. I only screenshot the pic on the Amazon site for the pic to show what I was talking about. FYI I believe ALL Milwaukee tools are covered by a 5 year warranty and 2 years on batteries no matter where you purchase from. I have the Mq8 compressor and don't know how I lived live without it lol
 
You can check out "The Tool Nut" online they're a certified Milwaukee wholesale/retailer and run really good deals all the time inluding the dicounts offered directly from Milwaukee wirh full warranty. I only screenshot the pic on the Amazon site for the pic to show what I was talking about. FYI I believe ALL Milwaukee tools are covered by a 5 year warranty and 2 years on batteries no matter where you purchase from. I have the Mq8 compressor and don't know how I lived live without it lol
Thanks. According to the email I received from a Milwaukee representative that is ngoing t the case. I was clearly told there is no warranty on the Milwaukee air compressor I bought because I purchased it through Amazon. The representative stated Milwaukee tools must be purchased from an authorized retailer to be eligible for warranty.
 
If you already have a certain brand of battery operated tools it would only make sense to stick with that brand of compressor as they are all very similar and as long as it meets max. PSI required
Actually you can buy battery adapters to go from one tool to another for most brands. I have an adapter that allows me to use my Dewalt 20 volt batteries on my Ryobi 18 volt tools.
 
I think think as some have previously said the “duty cycle” is the most important factor when deciding what compressor to buy. “Continuous Duty” is more important than claims of “200” PSI. Most towing vehicles and trailer tires rarely have pressures of over 100lbs. The ability to set a pressure limit and “continuous duty” means you can set 80 lbs. and not be concerned with your inflator over heating. IMHO the type of inflator that connects to the vehicle battery is preferable.
It seems tool batteries are weak or near dead just when you need them. Make sure you can reach all your tires from the truck or trailer house battery or both. It’s easy to make a or buy a 12 volt extension cord. It’s not easy to charge a tool battery on the side of the road.
 
I think think as some have previously said the “duty cycle” is the most important factor when deciding what compressor to buy. “Continuous Duty” is more important than claims of “200” PSI. Most towing vehicles and trailer tires rarely have pressures of over 100lbs. The ability to set a pressure limit and “continuous duty” means you can set 80 lbs. and not be concerned with your inflator over heating. IMHO the type of inflator that connects to the vehicle battery is preferable.
It seems tool batteries are weak or near dead just when you need them. Make sure you can reach all your tires from the truck or trailer house battery or both. It’s easy to make a or buy a 12 volt extension cord. It’s not easy to charge a tool battery on the side of the road.
For me the duty cycle will rarely be an issue at least for $100 and up units that have a decent duty cycle. A must have for me is the auto shut-off. I typically connect the compressor to the tire, start the unit and walk away and do something else. Them come back after the unit is finished. Sometimes that’s within a minute or two and sometimes that may be 5 or 10 minutes.

I am not a fan of having to connect to the vehicle battery. In fact it’s a deal killer for me. I do really like the Viair with the 7 pin connector though. I can see that working well for me.

What works well for me may not work well for others.
 

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