Can anyone recommend a really, really good air compressor I can use at home to add air to my tires? Thanks!
I use a pancake type compressor. Will run nail guns, impact wrenches, etc. plus pump up tires. Here is an example. YMMV Shop PORTER-CABLE 0.8-HP 6-Gallon 150-PSI 120-Volt Pancake Electric Air Compressor at Lowes.com
And don't forget brass quick connect couplers for the air hose. Makes swapping tools and nozzles a breeze, and much safer at most operating pressures.
You haven't really said what your criteria for "really, really good" are. Is this something you only want to use to air your tires? Do you have other things you would use a compressor for? Does "really good" for you have to do with weight/portability, air delivery capacity, durability, or what combination? I've had disappointing experiences with the small 12V "tire inflator" products ... very slow to inflate a full-sized tire, and one I had wore out and self-destructed much sooner than I expected. Next I bought a regular-guy red 120-volt pancake compressor rated somewhat better than 4 SCFM at 90 psi ... so able to run some small tools, at least in short bursts. The compressor industry is really sleazy about rating air delivery capacities, you can find whole web sites explaining how hard you have to work to make meaningful comparisons. I still have that thing, but I'd be hard pressed to say I've used it enough to justify it. If you will be using a compressor rarely, everything about it is inconvenient. All you want is to air your tires, so you lug out the compressor, plug it in, wait for the tank to fill, do the thing you wanted to do, then drain the tank! You can't leave it pressurized, because usually the tank is steel, the humidity that got compressed into it along with the air will rust it from inside, until at some point its safety is compromised. The sweet spot currently for me is a heavier-duty 12 VDC compressor like these. These are often sold to the sorts of people who want bouncy suspensions or train horns for their trucks. Unlike the chintzy 12V "tire inflators", these are made for actual work, and air delivery and duty cycle specs are given for them, some not far below the low-end 120 VAC pancake compressors, while being a lot smaller and lighter, so you could actually consider tossing it into the car before a road trip if you wanted to be sure you could get air. Also, because you can get capacities not too far below the specs of entry level pancake compressors, you still have the option of running small tools ... if you provide a tank, and don't mind using the tools in short stints and waiting to refill. Unlike the pancake products, these usually don't come with a tank preattached ... but that gives you the option to get an aluminum one instead of the steel one that you can't help getting with the pancake. An aluminum tank, which won't rust, you could conceivably leave charged, and so have air for quick purposes when you want it, instead of going through the whole drill of waiting to fill a steel tank first, then using a little air, then draining it. Anyway, that's the path my own thinking has taken over the years.... -Chap
Thanks all for your thoughts! I basically just want to inflate my tires, but I want something that will last a long time, and that will inflate them relatively quickly.
A pancake compressor will last a long time if you take care of it. And generally one will inflate tires "relatively quickly". Factors that will control that is the diameter of the air line connected to the compressor. 5/8 to 3/4 ID hose is preferable over 1/2 inch. What ever you get invest in the quick connect couplers for the air lines and attachments. You can find them just about anywhere including hardware stores.
Typical pancake compressors are in the low-single-digit SCFM capacity range ... by any hose sizing guide like this one they are off the low end of the chart. Using 1/4" line you might lose all of 0.8 psi over 50 feet of hose; 3/8" would reduce that to 0.35 psi or less. Even 1/2" hose would be sort of extravagant for such purposes, and 3/4" would just have you hauling around crazy heavy hose for not much demonstrable benefit. You can optimize your pancake more cheaply and effectively by having a regulator at the distal end of your hose, setting the tank regulator to its maximum pressure, and only downregulating it just before the tool itself. Then you don't really care about the pressure drop through the length of the hose. Also, think about how not to have too many of those quick-connect couplings. They are super handy, but each female one has a valve pintle that is right spang in the airflow path and each one restricts your flow as much as a good length of hose. You might save one at least by deciding to attach a hose permanently to your tank, in place of the quick-connect that's there from the factory; just move that to the far end of the hose. There are also other designs of quick-connect that do not restrict the flow so much, but they aren't as easy to find. All of this is probably a bit beyond what the OP was needing.... -Chap
A pancake compressor is very nice. With a long spray nozzle it will serve double duty when detailing your "C". Compressed air is wonderful for cleaning areas you can't vacuum i.e.: seat rails, tight spots in engine compartment, places where leaf detritus build up.
It is also very useful for those who want to clean out desktop computers that have not been maintained properly. It is amazing how much dust can build up in one of those over time.
