Any of you guys have a home air pressure pump? did a search on this subforum and nothing came up. Found a thread here about someone considering grill blocking and he used a bicycle pump. Is this acceptable?
Search for 'air compressor' if you want an electrically powered pump. Yes, muscle powered bicycle pumps are fine. Use the floor pump variety, as the smaller hand or frame variety that cyclists carry while pedaling are much too slow.
For everyday car use, I have a 12V jump box that I carry in the back of my Prius. It does nicely for topping the tires, and is handy if you need to jump start someone else's car, or even your own Prius. For bigger jobs I have a smallish 120V portable compressor and a larger tank model. It all depends on your needs? What is your intended application? Tom
I have a Porter Cable pancake compressor that works well. Got it for nail guns and light paint spraying but with the side benefit of tire pressure top offs. Once you have a compressor in the house you never get tired of finding ways to use it. This one's similar to what I have, but nicer looking:http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B000O5RO1Y?tag=priuschatcom-20 D
I too have a Porter Cable pancake compressor and it works well. However, I'm not sure I'd spend $150 on an air compressor solely to pump up my tires. If you want an air compressor solely for that purpose, I'd go to HarborFreight.com and get one of their $60 pancake compressors. But, if you will use it with a nail gun, etc., then I'd spend the extra money for a better quality product like the Porter Cable compressor. Mike
And advantage to a compressor with a tank and water drain on the tank is that moisture condenses in the tank and you can drain it out. With a bicycle type pump or a 12v car pump without a tank, all the moisture that was in the air gets pumped into your tires and can condense there.
This is a very good point. The air out of a tank isn't dry, but it's a lot drier than straight from the compressor. Tom