Check Project Farm on YouTube he reviews that sort of thing. https://youtu.be/jlK7UWHD3sY
I’ve got a DeWalt one. It doesn’t plug into the cigarette lighter but it does take a 20 volt DeWalt battery and it will fill up my tires with no problems. Plus it will still run my nailer which is helpful for me because I use it for work
I’ve never had any luck with the plug-in 12v compressors, personally. Seemed like every time I needed to use them the 12v outlet in the car would fail at that exact moment.
The 3rd time that happened, I bought the first gen of Ryobi’s 18v air compressors. It’s a reliable piece of kit. That was 12ish years ago. Currently that one is in my wife’s car and I picked up their latest generation for my car. I’ve used the new one a few times so far. Neither one has failed me yet. The older compressor with a full 2ah pack would fill a stock F-150 tire from 0 psi to 32psi, just. Recommend a 4ah pack if you have a pickup. Newer one seems more power efficient, but haven’t used it enough to be sure.
Looking at Home Depot, it looks like there are battery powered compressors available in all your favorite colors. I would imagine they are all similarly reliable.
If I had to pick a plugin compressor, though, I would probably pick Husky simply based off of my history with the brand. They’re not flashy, but generally make good kit.
I had an Aldi one for like 2 years believe it or not. It would get super hot, but I could do 35 psi in my Tundra if I wanted. Then it literally all just fell apart. And now here we are 🫤
I also have one of the newer gen Ryobi pumps and can confirm it’s great. Never had to use it for a fully flat tire but have used it to get to a tire shop when I ran over a nail. And the amount of accessories it comes with lets you inflate lots of different things.
I rotate the battery with other tools so that it’s not left fully charged for too long but it otherwise lives in the car.
Does it hold a charge well in cold weather?
It doesn’t get massively cold in Britain but I can’t say I’ve had any issues with it.
I believe it, I’ve just never had any luck with plugin compressors, or really, any automotive 12v device. They’ve all either been a bit knaf or killed the outlets.
Spec sheet on the Ryobi pump says it can do 160psi, though I’ve never had cause to test that. Highest pressure tire I have is on my yard truck at work (100 psi), and they have a built in air compressor. At some point I should see if the Ryobi can actually bring those tires up to pressure.
We had a power outage last year and I ended up buying one of these. Sure, it wasn’t great overall for the situation I bought it for, but it’s been amazing for just having on hand 🙂
I have one in my car. Husky maybe? I got it probably 7-8 years ago - just grabbed one off the shelf at Target, I think. It’s been pretty handy for filling up my tires. Best $20 I’ve spent on my car, really.
I bought a regular pancake compressor for that, with a plug. Once full you can just unplug and fill tires with the tank pressure. I bought it specifically for inflating tires, however I’ve used it for many cleaning jobs as well. Paid itself back several times over now. I’ve seen 12V mobile versions that differ greatly in construction. Look for something that’s heavier then most I’d say.
What would you use it for? Mine needed to inflate various sports equipment and bicycle tires, in addition to topping off a car tire if necessary.
I bought something at Costco with all the ends and adapters that plugs into either the wall or a 12v supply, and has a pressure gage built in. Unfortunately I’m not near my car to see brand but I didn’t look at brand when buying it so I guess that’s fair.
The only problem I had was inflating kiddie pools where it got hot so I had to keep giving it breaks to cool off. I imagine the all do that though
Just to inflate my truck tires honestly. Like the temp just dropped to where it lowered the air pressure, and I prefer to be able to do it myself rather than have to go to the gas station.
