Tire inflators, quick comparison

[gluaisrothai]

I had a few minutes to spare, some beer and three different tire inflators. VIAIR 073, 088 and 30033.

Tires were all identical KO2 285/65/18, deflated to 15 PSI as measured by a decent analog gauge. Target pressure was 42 PSI. Power supplied by a 30a DC switching supply.

Results:
Model 073:
6 minutes 29 seconds, 12.2-13.7 amps.

Model 088:
4 minutes 0 seconds, 19.3 amps

Model 30033:
2 minutes 59 seconds, 23 amps

Added in one other option which turned out surprisingly fast with the same inflation parameters:

The Milwaukee got the job done in 3 minutes 5 seconds. Battery still indicating full charge- it’s the 5.0 Ah M18 XC. So nice to have the pressure preselect feature.


Conditions were sea level and 60F. Obviously at higher temps/elevations the time differences would be much greater.

 

[kcjaz]

I love beer science.

 

[Sandroad]

What are the 3 tire inflators sitting on in the first photo?

 

[gluaisrothai]

What are the 3 tire inflators sitting on in the first photo?

Piper Saratoga. PA32R-301T.

 

[Omega3651]

Just get a Morrflate unit and then you can air up, air down and equalize all four wheels at the same time.
https://morrflate.com
The ability to equalize all four wheels simlutaneously is a game changer. Much faster, more precise and it saves time.

 

[DrivenLyfe]

Just get a Morrflate unit and then you can air up, air down and equalize all four wheels at the same time.
https://morrflate.com
The ability to equalize all four wheels simlutaneously is a game changer. Much faster, more precise and it saves time.

I went with ez flate but same concept and yea it is awesome. Not nearly as long of a process to air down and air up.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Added in one other option which turned out surprisingly fast with the same inflation parameters:
View attachment 3831164
The Milwaukee got the job done in 3 minutes 5 seconds. Battery still indicating full charge- it’s the 5.0 Ah M18 XC. So nice to have the pressure preselect feature.

Yup! I have both the ARB dual and the M18 cordless.

I use the M10 99% of the time.

Absolutely amazing performance and features for the size, price, portability.

In fact, i just bought a second one for my other truck

Baffled it dont get more love here.

 

[dudemancool1904]

Yup! I have both the ARB dual and the M18 cordless.

I use the M10 99% of the time.

Absolutely amazing performance and features for the size, price, portability.

In fact, i just bought a second one for my other truck

Baffled it dont get more love here.

I picked up a brand new in box off road compressor (HF brand) off Facebook last year but I hardly ever use it. The Milwaukee is set and forget which at the end of a trail day is awesome. Plus I don’t have to leave my truck running to power it. And I have a built in Milwaukee charger in the back plugged into the inverter for the zip gun anyway.

 

[gluaisrothai]

In the interests of science- and beer- I decided to investigate the Milwaukee further. I ran it through a series of inflation cycles to see how many times it could take a 285/75/18 KO2 from 15 to 42 PSI.

Did I mention it is extremely wet and definitely not flying weather here?

Anyway, the M18 inflator with a fresh XC5.0 battery took a 285/65/18 KO2 from 15-42 PSI 8 times, and the 9th attempt crapped out at 29 PSI. The spec for this battery is 5.0 Ah at 18V, implying 90 Wh of energy is available. Considering that a single inflation from the Viair came in at 180 seconds, 14.1v, 23 amps so about 16 Wh worth of energy, the Milwaukee seems to be over delivering on battery capacity (16 x 8 inflations = 128 Wh) or is just a really efficient compressor (maybe the active cylinder cooling helps).

Again, all of this is at sea level on a cool day....so the density altitude is low. Compressor suck at high DA, so if you're at 8k feet in the summer in Denver, count on far less performance from any compressor.

And everything including me is very wet.

 

[Boston Mangler]

In the interests of science- and beer- I decided to investigate the Milwaukee further. I ran it through a series of inflation cycles to see how many times it could take a 285/75/18 KO2 from 15 to 42 PSI.

View attachment 3831882

View attachment 3831883Did I mention it is extremely wet and definitely not flying weather here?

Anyway, the M18 inflator with a fresh XC5.0 battery took a 285/75/18 KO2 from 15-42 PSI 8 times, and the 9th attempt crapped out at 29 PSI. The spec for this battery is 5.0 Ah at 18V, implying 90 Wh of energy is available. Considering that a single inflation from the Viair came in at 180 seconds, 14.1v, 23 amps so about 16 Wh worth of energy, the Milwaukee seems to be over delivering on battery capacity (16 x 8 inflations = 128 Wh) or is just a really efficient compressor (maybe the active cylinder cooling helps).

Again, all of this is at sea level on a cool day....so the density altitude is low. Compressor suck at high DA, so if you're at 8k feet in the summer in Denver, count on far less performance from any compressor.

And everything including me is very wet.

Thank you for your service and contribution to science sir

 

[TeCKis300]

Good to see these new generation of battery powered inflators have some gumption.

Wonder if team Yellow (Dewalt) has a comparable unit?

 

[hoser]

Yup! I have both the ARB dual and the M18 cordless.

I use the M10 99% of the time.

Absolutely amazing performance and features for the size, price, portability.

In fact, i just bought a second one for my other truck

Baffled it dont get more love here.

The Viair 30033/300P is a good, reliable compressor but it's not considered a fast compressor. In this test, the Milwaukee was a tiny bit slower than the 300P. That's probably why it's not getting more love.

 

[TeCKis300]

The Viair 30033/300P is a good, reliable compressor but it's not considered a fast compressor. In this test, the Milwaukee was a tiny bit slower than the 300P. That's probably why it's not getting more love.

Yup. Viair themselves will tell you that the 300P is only good to about a 33" tire. Which is where the Milwaukee probably plays.

Above that size, will generally want to bring more firepower to the game for reasonable inflations times. x4.

With 34"+ tires and associated air volumes, octopus hose kits can really help to work around Schrader valve flow limits. For both inflation and deflation.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Wonder if team Yellow (Dewalt) has a comparable unit?

Yes and no…

They have one that’s a double duty jump pack. We have them in all our trucks at work.

They do the job, and are very handy, but it’s not a comparison really, performance wise

BGLDXAEPS14 by Dewalt - DEWALT DXAEPS14 Professional Digital Power Station, Jump Starter, and Air Compressor | Page Hardware & Appliance Co.

BGLDXAEPS14 in by Dewalt in Guilford, Madison and Branford - DEWALT DXAEPS14 Professional Digital Power Station, Jump Starter, and Air Compressor.

www.pagehardware.com

 

[Boston Mangler]

The Viair 30033/300P is a good, reliable compressor but it's not considered a fast compressor. In this test, the Milwaukee was a tiny bit slower than the 300P. That's probably why it's not getting more love.

Yes. But there’s a lot more factors than speed

A lot of folks here are hyper focused on how fast can air down and up. I don’t travel in a rush, and never will. For each is own of course.

M18 Pros:
-size/shape (easily fits anywhere for storage)
-battery life lasts forever
-considerably quieter than most compressors (this comes into play often with me, as my camper is on bags and we releveling rig to leave camp first thing in AM, I don’t wanna be the ahole making a racket),
-set pressure and do other tasks instead of constantly keeping an eye on it, don’t think many people grasp how handy this is
-don’t need battery leads and 12v source, this has proven itself very handy around camp air up friends air mats, etc without them having to drag it over to truck
-it’s red, and red tools are the sexiest

 

[hoser]

@Boston Mangler

Speed is a preference. There’s nothing great about waiting up to 20 minutes to air up…. 40 minutes if you have to use one compressor for two vehicles. Sometimes I air up more than once in a day.

That battery lasted 8 average sized tires, and so you would probably want to bring more than one battery, a bigger battery or a charger.

These tire compressors don’t work great for air mattresses or inflatable boats. The little high volume handhelds do a better job.

People say the noise on these Milwaukees are higher pitched than most compressors… so maybe equally as annoying, I don’t know.

Lithium Ion batteries can be a fire hazard… especially stored in a hot vehicle. Nothing sexy about that.

The auto pressure is nice. But other, faster compressors have that feature too.

MORRFlate TenSix™ PSI Pro™ 12v Portable Compressor - Gen2 • MORRFlate

Set Your Pressure™! Air up a set of 35" tires from 10 to 40 psi in under 5min (when combined with a 4 Tire Hose Kit) 10.6 CFM dual cylinder compressor at 0 PSI 6.5 CFM at 30 psi 10-120 psi in Auto Mode 1-150 psi in Manual Mode Thermal Cutoff Switch & Purge Valve 80% duty cycle @ 0psi...

morrflate.com

 

[Boston Mangler]

@Boston Mangler

Speed is a preference. There’s nothing great about waiting up to 20 minutes to air up…. 40 minutes if you have to use one compressor for two vehicles. Sometimes I air up more than once in a day.

That battery lasted 8 average sized tires, and so you would probably want to bring more than one battery, a bigger battery or a charger.

These tire compressors don’t work great for air mattresses or inflatable boats. The little high volume handhelds do a better job.

People say the noise on these Milwaukees are higher pitched than most compressors… so maybe equally as annoying, I don’t know.

Lithium Ion batteries can be a fire hazard… especially stored in a hot vehicle. Nothing sexy about that.

The auto pressure is nice. But other, faster compressors have that feature too.

MORRFlate TenSix™ PSI Pro™ 12v Portable Compressor - Gen2 • MORRFlate

Set Your Pressure™! Air up a set of 35" tires from 10 to 40 psi in under 5min (when combined with a 4 Tire Hose Kit) 10.6 CFM dual cylinder compressor at 0 PSI 6.5 CFM at 30 psi 10-120 psi in Auto Mode 1-150 psi in Manual Mode Thermal Cutoff Switch & Purge Valve 80% duty cycle @ 0psi...

morrflate.com

Valid points sir…

My ARB dual in my Ram draws 50amps+, which is a substantial draw. In my particular usage here, it is not a concern to me because I have a huge house battery bank, but…

I can’t see how drawing that much repeatedly from a starting battery connected to a complicated and intricate vehicle is a good thing

Me personally, I never connect aux anything to my main starting battery, but that’s me…

Note: I’m not an electrical engineer

 

[hoser]

Any compressor that draws 20-50A should be ran with the engine on. The 14V alternator output will also run the compressor faster.

I have no way to test it but your vehicle probably only draws 60-70% of what your alternator can put out at idle. So there is certainly capacity for the extra load of a compressor… probably most of it, maybe all.

I have not seen it be an issue but if concerned, then a fast idle switch or knob would be in order.

 

[bloc]

Morr and EZ flate would be a lot more attractive if they weren’t so bulky when not in use. For that space savings I can deal with the increase in time and drop in convenience.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Morr and EZ flate would be a lot more attractive if they weren’t so bulky when not in use. For that space savings I can deal with the increase in time and drop in convenience.

This