Air compressor

pmcdonald said:
OMG, I'm such a cheapskate if I get a whiff of a budget tool that does the job I'm there! I have a tub full of Ozito cordless tools that work for me just fine. TBH given I'm the least handy person I know anything quality would just be wasted on me 😄 For occasional use if something does 80% of the job for a third or quarter the price that sounds about right to me.

So to recap:
* I don't need a massive tank, 10-15L should inflate a tire/tyre/opana
* a presta attachment may not be necessary
* buyer beware with cheap brands (but they might be fine)

That sound about right?
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To be honest, you don't even need 10 l . Anything that can provide a quick burst will do , it's more about the flow rate than the total volume. If you look at the manual pumps with volume attachments for seating tubeless rubber, they only have 2/3 litres. Short thick tubing helps - bernoulli knew his stuff.

nb If you want to go hard core budget, just buy a truck / tractor tube and make a valve to valve adapter. ( ie a bit of hose with the inflater attachment at both ends) . Pump up that tube by hand / cheap 12 v pump, then use the high flow to seat the bike rubber. Some hard core 4x4 drivers use their spare wheel for this - pumped up at silly pressure, it can be used to quickly reinflate the other rubber as needed. I'm willing to bet that a $100 supercrap compressor looks like good value after you hand inflate a tractor tyre :)
 
I use the higher end Harbor Freight wrenches and sockets, etc. A friend provided a HF roofing nailer that worked great for the two roofing jobs I did. But I am reluctant to buy expensive power tools there. I stick with yellow or red (DeWalt or Milwaukee).
 
Since I already have several DeWalt cordless tools, batteries & chargers, I bought this portable compressor:

www.homedepot.com

DEWALT 20V MAX Cordless Electric Portable Inflator (Tool Only) DCC020IB - The Home Depot

Finish all your odd work quickly with the selection of this affordable DEWALT MAX Inflator. Heavy-duty rubber feet help reduce walking when in use.
www.homedepot.com

It's great on the go for tires, beach balls, air mattresses, etc. but the volume is too low for cleaning jobs or air tools. For that, I use my shop compressor:

www.homedepot.com

DEWALT 15 Gal. Portable Electric Air Compressor D55168 - The Home Depot

The DEWALT 15 Gal. Portable Electric Air Compressor is ideal for sanding with a dual-action sander (not included), fastening with impact wrenches and ratchet wrenches (not included) and lacquer spraying
www.homedepot.com

When shopping for one, consider an oil-less model for ease of maintenance. There is less risk of oil contaminated air which can affect spray painting. Wheels also make it easy to move around instead of using long lengths of air hose to get to the job. Wheels also make it handy to roll the compressor outside to minimize indoor noise.
 
Rome said:
How about this one. It's portable and if you have Tacoma pickup truck it will plug into the 120v outlet.
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You got me wondering about Australian equivalents - we're 240 v and only drive utes - my ford ranger has a 240 v x 150 w inverter as standard - NOT enough to run even my super scabby small unit.

I did come across a ryobi 18 v with volume tank, so might keep an eye out for these on special - I have a mix of ryobi and stihl lithium equipment. https://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-18v-one-3-8l-air-compressor-skin-only_p0209835

More importantly, the OP is an ozito fan - so he could buy an ozito to ryobi adapter, or just stick with a 240 v unit - this looks similar to my super scabby unit and comes with the basic attachments at a reasonable price. https://www.bunnings.com.au/ozito-6l-1-5hp-air-compressor-kit_p0048827
 
Deacon Blues said:
A bit off topic, but I've been looking for a portable electric air pump that has a dedicated Presta valve connection.
I have an Amazon 'drill' styled electric air pump, that comes with a Presta valve adapter, but it only work on approximately 40% of my Presta valves.
It's frustrating, because I haven't a clue as to why it works on some Presta valves and doesn't work on other valves.

The Park Tool air compressor tool looks promising, but it's expensive and presently hard to get.

So, my question is, has anyone come across a cordless, electric air pump that is designed exclusively for Presta valves?
Click to expand...
Not sure if it's what you're after but I have a Fumpa pump. It works well for transport in my trunk bag.
 
Gionnirocket said:
Another alternative for portable but not sure about heavy use or setting a beads


I believe @m@Robertson has one on one of his buildd.
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Have the same model. Stripped down. Copied fechter.
6C376A76-B9E9-458C-8922-58E3B32AF15D.png
 
pmcdonald said:
That worked for my commuter Pathfinders and one of the Minions but the Assegai defeated me. Spent two hours and every technique I could find wrestling with that tire! I swore that was the last time I'd put myself through that.
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I feel your pain on the Assegai. I got mine to work eventually as tubeless as there was no way I could possibly get a tube in under it.

I've used Muc Off tubeless valves on my last couple of tubeless setups. But I have also had 100% success with Orange Seal valves. Both are one hell of a lot cheaper than the Chris Kings linked above. I think the secret ingredient to success with a tubeless valve is if they have a metal lip on the bottom that lets the gasket smoosh down and seal tight without ever having the possibility of pulling thru. If the valves don't have that then they will never hold long-term.

Gionnirocket said:
I believe @m@Robertson has one on one of his buildd.
Click to expand...
I think I have three of them, actually. Stuck an XT60 on the end and it plugs right into my main bike battery. But since then I have switched wherever possible to one of two self-contained pumps whose internal battery is about 3x the size of most competitors.

This is the pricier one. Wait around long enough and you can get a coupon that gets it down to around $35.


This is the cheaper one. Same company selling it. It doesn't have a metal case, and its a little bigger. Has a 12% off coupon now too.


Both come with a screw-in presta adapter that I just leave on forever. These work so well I have abandoned my use of compressors unless I am trying to seat a tubeless tire, and even then the damn things usually already fit so tight I can just use a slow pump and not worry about it. I pump the tire fully with the little battery-powered compressor so the bead seats, then let the air out, remove the valve core, inject Flatout thru the open valve and reinflate. Job done.

Its not like I don't have alternatives vs. these little things, which after a year I finally feel comfortable relying on. I also have a 3 gallon compressor from Lowes that will blast anything and has a presta inflator on it, an M12 compressor just like the one shown above (although I use that for my car), and a supercalifragilistic Topeak Booster pump that has a tubeless charging canister on it. Godawfully expensive if purchased today.

I pretty much use only the portable battery pumps or the Topeak pump when I don't feel like digging a pump out of my tool bag.
 
m@Robertson said:
I've used Muc Off tubeless valves on my last couple of tubeless setups. But I have also had 100% success with Orange Seal valves. Both are one hell of a lot cheaper than the Chris Kings linked above. I think the secret ingredient to success with a tubeless valve is if they have a metal lip on the bottom that lets the gasket smoosh down and seal tight without ever having the possibility of pulling thru. If the valves don't have that then they will never hold long-term.
Click to expand...
ya I bought the stands valves and they don't have the metal flange so I may have to replace them. I did not want to spend a lot as I didn't to even know if it would work and the tires were 76.00 each. I am using the new flat-out thinner for regular bike tires and it seems to seal well. but you can get the Chris kings for only around 5.00 more then muk off and they have a lifetime warranty.
 
fooferdoggie said:
ya I bought the stands valves and they don't have the metal flange so I may have to replace them. I did not want to spend a lot as I didn't to even know if it would work and the tires were 76.00 each. I am using the new flat-out thinner for regular bike tires and it seems to seal well. but you can get the Chris kings for only around 5.00 more then muk off and they have a lifetime warranty.
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The problems I had with pulling thru were with Stans valves. I just checked the Amazon price on the Chris Kings and some versions are the same price as the Muc Offs. I had seen $50+ prices on those elsewhere so I wrote them off.

I replaced my Stans valves with these $15 MBP valves. Same deal they have the lower lip. Never had a problem with them and they were the first ones of this type I tried. they didn't used to come in a larger size (they do now) and thats why I tried Orange Seal in 65mm for my deep dish Nextie wheels.


The OS valves come with a ton of spare bits including a very neat valve remover that threads onto the base of your valve not as a cap, which has always been my favorite.

 
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m@Robertson said:
The problems I had with pulling thru were with Stans valves. I just checked the Amazon price on the Chris Kings and some versions are the same price as the Muc Offs. I had seen $50+ prices on those elsewhere so I wrote them off.

I replaced my Stans valves with these $15 MBP valves. Same deal they have the lower lip. Never had a problem with them and they were the first ones of this type I tried. they didn't used to come in a larger size (they do now) and thats why I tried Orange Seal in 65mm for my deep dish Nextie wheels.
Click to expand...
I am not worried anytime soon they fit really tight. I used dt-swiss rim tape on them that was the really important step I don't want to repeat.
 
fooferdoggie said:
the Chris kings for only around 5.00 more then muk off and they have a lifetime warranty.
Click to expand...

I had no idea there was a warranty on these, thanks.

Most other brands I've replaced when sealant gets between the rubber and the rim , which I suspect is user error - not getting them to seal well enough the first time. ( This stopped happening when I started using chris king, but it might be my technique was improving )

m@Robertson said:
The OS valves come with a ton of spare bits including a very neat valve remover that threads onto the base of your valve not as a cap, which has always been my favorite.

Click to expand...

Learning heaps today - I lost a few of those valve tools because I didn't realize they screwed onto the valve, thanks! Admittedly all my bikes now have the valve tool as a cap.
 
It is not really driving on the wrong side of the road if you are upside down.
1672092458213.jpeg
 
PDoz said:
I had no idea there was a warranty on these, thanks.

Most other brands I've replaced when sealant gets between the rubber and the rim , which I suspect is user error - not getting them to seal well enough the first time. ( This stopped happening when I started using chris king, but it might be my technique was improving )



Learning heaps today - I lost a few of those valve tools because I didn't realize they screwed onto the valve, thanks! Admittedly all my bikes now have the valve tool as a cap.
Click to expand...
I do work for Chris King I should talk them into some of these. I am sure I will find I missed up on this first attempt to go tubeless so far it's going good but I need to see how long they will hold air.
it was frozen and snow when I did the wheels so I would pump them off and swirl them around next day they lost air and I keep doing that till I saw no more sealant coming out around the wheel. real entertainment. :D the valves are the only good deal from christ king. I cant believe how much they raised the price on the item I made them.
 
Update, after watching the used market for a while and seeing plenty of dusty options for $50 - $100 a new unit came on sale for $99 nearby (plus attachments). Its very budget and quite noisy but seems to do the job. Purchased with a basic Ryobi inflator hose and gun. I broke the bead on my commuter to test. It was never a hard tyre to seat but popped on easily enough with the valve core removed (I need to buy some more cores). I feel the inflator could have a bit more oomph but the real test will be how it handles the mtb tyre. I'll try reseating it when I've got some spare time to troubleshoot if it goes sideways. Last bike tool purchase, I swear 😅
IMG_20230110_124139_edit_17011330659382.jpg
 
I cracked open my poor tortued wallet to get the make since this is inside the house I needed quiet. it seated my 1.5" tires just fine. but much bigger and it could not do it I one go since t only has a 1 gallon tank. it was a bear to get to home on my bike but I got it at a local hardware store for 10.00 less then amazon.
IMG_1295.jpg
 
Both those compressors have a long thin coiled hose - get yourself a nice short thick hose so you can dump a lot of air quickly when seating tubeless tyres.

Sorry I didn't show this properly in my original photo - I have 2 sections of hose, a short one hooked up to the air gun for seating tyres, and a longer one hooked up to a tyre connection for inflating / reaching anything in the shed
 
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