Do NOT Buy The Amazon Basics Air Compressor | Buy This Budget Compressor Instead!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2019
- We take a closer look at some air compressor options so you know the best way to stay on budget when buying one.
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#AirCompressor #GearReview #AirDown - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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Interesting to know that CFM ratings aren't accurate with the Amazon unit. Pittsburgh unit airs up faster at 1.35CFM but the Amazon says their unit is 2.12 CFM. I personally use a Viair 88P rated at 1.47 CFM. For anyone that is new to using "tire inflators", make sure you keep them off the ground. The vibrations from the tire inflator will kick up dirt and sand. I have personally seized up a tire inflator because it sucked in dirt particles causing the compressor to seize up. Find a safe place on top of your engine bay to mount your tire inflator while you air up. Don't take chances! Be safe and have fun on your adventures!
Good video, rather save 400 bucks and just wait the extra 10 minutes for 4 tires to fill
only a problem when its the only unit for all your mates to use also so its 10mins x number of vehicles.
You can use the time it takes for smoke break or toilet stop etc.
not a huge issue either way
With the 400 bucks you can buy an extra unit and run both simultaneously ;-)
ChevyNglockMan Hahahaha I’m with you mate, I like my $400
Fernando Briseno exactly right mate
hi C...
'
who is a word - BUCKS -...
bucks are the animals and names of males...
44 tires are alot of tires...
44 tires are equal 11 vehicles
You shouldn't subtract the time to check with the on-board, it's part of the test since you have no choice to check it as it goes since it doesn't have a in-line pressure gauge the other two have. Also, great video and review, very helpful!
You can add in inline gauge or simply time yourself filling up a tire from you’re preferred deflated pressure to driving pressure, then you wouldn’t need the gauge.
I agree. If your compressor is $500 and doesn’t come with a simple in-line pressure gauge then they are greedy.
Good Video. Forgot to mention about the duty cycle and that can be a huge factor
I bought the Pittsburgh last year. It’s great for the half dozen trips I do per year. Definitely a good way to save money as you build your off road kit.
I liked how you started the Pitts HF AC before attaching to fill, just as owner’s manual instructed. Nice comparison. My Pitts HF seems to work fast & fine.
This Young Man is a Great Addition To The Team at TFLoffroad. Super Job!!!
Freedom Quest Network look how thin he is?
SSG Squidward -listen to how dumb you sound
Thank you for reviewing gear people can actually afford
I got a 40$ hypertough air compressor that looks very similar to both of these from Walmart a year ago and it still works great.
I literally just bought the Pittsburgh and w/ a 20% Coupon it was right at $50, so great deal for sure. I was using an old Stanley Compressor to air up after Off Roading. This Pittsburgh smokes the Stanley (of course the Stanley is a multi use unit). Great Review!
Really awesome detailed review like I was right with you. Every time you got a result you showed it to us the camera. Fantastic! Hope your getting paid, cause I'm buying the harbor freight one
Excellent, thorough review Alex. Nicely done. IF the ARB had a gauge on the hose where you connect, it would be worth the money to me.(provided I wanted/needed such things) Since it does not, the runner up is the one with the gauge on the end of the hose. You say speed is the name of the game here. Speed of ARB wins, however, for me, convenience is primary. I don't want to be taking the chuck on and off repeatedly and then having to re-adjust because I went over, or under.
Quality video. I'd like to see the harbor freight compared to other compressors now. And also a comparison of winches, and lights.
Lol I bought this compressor at Harbor Freight today! The guy at the cash register warned me not to get the cheap ass one. He was right as the $65 one pushes 5X as much air. You have to hook it directly to the battery. I’ll be testing it out around Telluride this weekend. Oh yeah the Pittsburgh is $56 with the coupon.
Have you been still using the air compressor? Looking to get this one haha. Was wondering if it’s holding up
sounds like buy 4 of the HF units, pump up all the tires simultaneously plus have 3 backups in case one fails and you still spent about 1/2 the price of the ARB. Hmm.
The ARB has 2 motors, so why not have 2 of the harbor freight compressors going?
Who is going to carry 4 compressors?
Could also get 12 compressors, use 4 simultaneously and have 8 + 3 spares with you.
Good luck attaching four compressors to the battery terminals simultaneously lol! Still a good point...
For about $150 you can buy a smittybuilt portable air compressor that puts out 5.35 cfm. That's 4 times the output of the HF compressor. They also have portable dual piston air compressors in Australia that put out 10+cfm for the same $150usd.
Ok let's up the budget a bit to the smitty built, tuff stuff 4x4 and and vivar models i.e. compressors that run 120 to 150 and compare them to the 500 compressor.
I have the Smittybilt and wouldn't buy it again. The Smittybilt gets extremely hot and isn't all that fast. I'm going to install ARB on board air and be done with it.
Shitty bilt sucks. Plastic where there should be aluminum as in the "heat sink". Slow. Poorly built. Garbage.
Don't buy anything connected with 4WP. They're a rip off. I'm not sure if Smittybuilt is still connected with them anymore. I spent several thousand dollars with 4WP on parts only for a complete makeover on my rig. I do my own wrenching. I bought 5 tires and they wanted to charge me extra to mount the 5th tire afterwards. Theyve lost my business for all time.
@@quintili1 Well go ahead and spend that $500 dollars, you got it. To me that was an unfair test. of course the 500dollar unit is going to be BETTER, Why, because those others are Budget Units. Why do they call them budget compressor units. Because that's what they ARE. Not to be compared with Top performance units. (An unfair TEST). So Money Mann. if you were on a (Tight BUDGET) Which one would BUY. I Put my money on the Harbor Fright or ALL-TOP Heavy Duty Portable 12V Air Compressor Kit Inflate is a good one as well. From Amazon. Hum, Which One would you PIC... Money Mann, We all would like to KNOW. PS. The dude that did the test, got his money from TH-cam videos and other lite duty things, that's how he was able to afford that unit (he didn't have to work hard) for that unit. WE DO.
Good video, I’ve used these types of compressors for years. Regardless of the brand I find you’ll want to find an air source at the park if at all possible, they’re all kinda slow
You need to check out the midrange compressors. Superflow MV50, TJM, etc. I've found the superflow is actually a little faster than the ARB for me.
The little compressor that came with my wife's Jeep works as well as the harbor freight model.
Nice job thank you, i previously saw ur vid some time ago but i recently picked up the Harbor freight unit. I'm on a budget and i normally do not go off roading too much but it will serve its purpose. Thx again
I like these tech /gear reciews.
I currently have this model Harbor Freight pump in my truck. I have no complaints so far.
In the real world all 4 tires need to be aired up. A good test to include would have been filling up all 4 tires to see if either budget compressor would have overheated and shut down, making you wait for it to cool off before you could continue airing up again. If "speed is the name of the game" that could add SIGNIFICANT time to the process. Some budget compressors may need as much as 20-30 *minutes* to cool down. It would be really interesting to see that test.
Great points.
Picked up the HF compressor today with a 25% off coupon. Thanks for the video and recommendation.
I have one of those Pittsburgh air compressors and it does pretty well and so far has held up. I will tell you though that after airing up two of those tires, it would be very hot. If I run mine for at least ten minutes it get extremely hot to the point that I turn it off when I'm done and let it cool off outside before I can put it away.
Overall a very good review. Another point in Harbor Freight's favor is the placement of the air gauge. If for some reason you do need to string it out, having the gauge where the air is being input is much more convenient than on the body of the air compressor. One thing that could have been addressed in the review is the relative quality/strength of the clamps for attaching to the car battery. TFL Reviews was a good addition to their "franchise".
looks like you can set the gauge on the amazon one to shut off at desired pressure.
It appears that the gauge is helpful. But it only gives you an idea. I'm pretty sure the Harbor Freight manual says you need to have it running before attaching it to the tire. So you are not supposed to turn it off, look at the pressure on their gauge, and then turn it back on all with it all connected to the tire. I would use the gauge as a close guys and over do it by a few pounds. Then I adjusted it back down with a separate gauge. That is until my Harbor Freight compressor broke.
Just mount one of these in your trunk/cab/box. Buy a cheap car stereo wiring kit to run it to battery(for the heavy gauge battery wire) I see them for $10-20 all the time at liquidation stores. Grab a 25ft hose from harbor and run it right off there.
Make a quick disco clamp on the compressor and on the wiring connection that allows the use of battery clamps as well, in case it needs to be portable again.
Ive had the Harbor freight unit hard wired under the hood in my 'Yota for a few years. Pretty darn good for the $40 or so I paid. I shared it with a few guys in our club once and it overheated and automatically shut down once or twice. It's still working fine. I also have an ARB locker and I will eventually use that as a back up compressor or a means to reinflate tires quicker.
I don't see the point on spending hundreds on a high end unit unless time or airing up numerous rigs is a major factor.
For Running air tools or reseating tires I'd probably get a tank type system.
I had one for a year when it shut down . Replaced the fuse to no avail. Was hopeful it was a good one
you can buy 4 pittsburgh air compressors and fill all four tires at the same time and still spend less than half of what a arb compressor costs. great video
Max flow is more important for reseating beads or limping home if you've got a puncture on the trail. You'd have to wire up a pair of the HF pumps to keep up with the ARB.
I own the Harbor Freight compressor and it has worked very well when needed.
When the truck engine is off, the battery voltage will drop around 2 volts (from 14.4 to 12.7V) impacting the compressor performance. So your ARB compressor is probably better, but the test was not quite perfectly accurate
The others are probably supposed to have the engine running too.
AndreS123_03
I agree! And was the Discovery’s battery fully recharged before using the second (Amazon basics) compressor? The amazon basics definitely has nicer looking battery clamps though.
Engine was running!
The Fast Lane Car
Ah, that was not stated in the video.
theturtle2121 you could see him turn the key to start the vehicle and you could gather from how shaky the camera was when he was hooking up the clips that the engine was running. No not stated but implied
This Dude Looks Like Sid from Hey Arnold🤣
Is he wearing Beatle Boots?? =))
While I was sure the arb would win, you can't subtract the time you used to check the pressure, and you need to add an air gauge into the price of the arb unit.
totally agree! I was thinking the same thing.
Yes and also why not screw the other ones on then hit the start switch and timer 🤦🏻♂️
Nothing stopping someone from using a regular air hose with 1/4 fitting to a tire filling chuck with integrated gauge on the ARB, so the time can and should be subtracted so we're comparing apples to apples (results as if they all had a gauge, not counting the variable created by a different method of checking tire pressure).
Except time isn't imaginary and you have to count the actual expenditure of time in filling the tire. He didn't have a gauge installed on the ARB so you can't use the excuse"if I had a gauge it would have been this fast" because it wasn't.
@@centrice12 Actually, you can use that excuse and it's perfectly valid for making an apples to apples comparison of air filling rate, not of air pressure checking rate.
Shouldn't you have tested the 2 budget compressors with the engine running to be a fair comparison to the ARB?
Considering the underhood noise when connecting the battery clamps, I'm assuming the engine was running due to power draw.
Def had to be running otherwise yea the battery would have died like halfway through, if they are using a nice microphone it wouldn’t pickup much noise anyways as the exhaust is facing the rear of the car lol
Good Stuff & Great Tips 👍 Thanks!
videos like this are why you guys are the best!
I use a SuperFLow MV90. About twice the price/weight/speed of the compressors in this comparison. Good size for airing up 35" rubbers. Takes a few minutes per tire. Better value than the ARB option but not as compact/integrated.
An important factor is the compressor cycle time. Most need a cool down period between uses, say 40mins run time VS 20mins to cool. I have the Smittybilt 2781 (5.64CFM) and it takes me 4mins to get 4 285/70R17 tires from 20 to 30psi with a M.O.R.R. Flare 4 tire inflate / deflate kit. Speed is important when you get caught in the rain or have other things to do than look at a cheap air compressor.
I'm still kicking myself for not buying more of the Costco units offered for $25 many years ago. It was 120vac or 12vdc with digital readouts with automatic target pressure cutoff. We still use it in place of that tank of a compressor in the garage and take it with us on trips.
I bought the HF compressor. The rubber hose gets very hot just filling one tire to 35 psi. You should check the temp there at discharge hose.
unless time is important, budget minded; I would use the Harbor Freight. Of course if you have ARB suspension components the cost of the ARB would be necessary. If the compressor is used often, the extra cost would be worth it.
I appreciate the vid, good info thx fod sharing. I definitely know which i prefer now!
It would have been nice if you had taken Decibel and Temperature data on the ARB as you had done with the other two compressors. Other than that, great test of vital interest to us that quantifies exactly what potential buyers want to know.
The auto shut off feature would be the main selling point for me. Set it and forget it. Come back when the compressor shut off.
I'd like to see a comparison like this on TFL Bike. For dual-sport riders, we like to ride to the trail and then play. I'd love to see a compressor that fits on the bike or under seat, air down at the trail and then pump up before the ride home.
Good test, I purchased the harbor freight air compressor and I've aired up truck tires at a decent time. Not bad for the price, my dad liked it and ended up keeping it 😅 ill have to go get another one.
Having the pressure gauge on the end of the hose is an added benefit over the compressor mounted unit. Having it on the compressor does you no good unless you set the compressor next to the tire.
Amazing review. Earned a sub for sure
I just use a bicycle pump. High capacity with gauge cost about 20dls at walmart. Inflated my tire to 60psi faster than my air compressor. No need to plug it in and is a good little workout 👊
Not so good if you're out in the desert though.
@@sferg9582 I live in the desert ;). Have inflated tires while it's about 100° out here
i forgot about this option! they work great for airbags
I found someone else who does this.
Bicycle pump is expensive and slow. For $25 you can get a decent inflator.
I just bought the one at the harbor freight and it's awesome!
Very good comparison, Thanks Man
No 18 second deduction for measurement should be permitted because during that time your vehicle installed pump is building pressure within the post-piston volume which even if it's just the hose would still be accepting then releasing the 18 second mass flow rate. Nevertheless your pump is still bad ass no doubt, but you can't easily loan it to a friend and it's mounted on your dash... My cheap unit is tucked up under my truck but it's still always there when I need it.
I would like to see you guys compare some of the 12V air compressors that plug into the cigarette lighter. Btw, the ones from Autozone suck. They always break in less than a year. They’re also $20 and I’d rather have something instead of nothing in an emergency situation, but I think you get my point. Again, another great 👍 video.
Cigarette lighter has thin cables and loses voltage, I have a cheap compressor from Lidl
and replace the cigarette plug with clamps to connect to the battery and it works much better
best way to air up tires, get a scuba tank. you can air up tires stupid fast and 1 tank will last a long time and only costs like $5-$8 to refill.
Yeah buddy used one filling up a lawn mower tire. Tire blew up and the rim took his balls off
@@jamesavery6671 wow, I've never heard of anyone doing that , poor fella
@@SpeakEazy850 i made that up 😂 but seriously id be a bit cautious if it don't have a regulator
@@jamesavery6671 🤣🤣🤣
Aye I've had that harbor freight one for years and it still works great 😂😂 nice video!
Same here! Well worth the $40 I paid for it and then some.
Can u run it straight for all four wheels or does it need a break.
@@coffeedollsvp Mine overheats after reinflating 6 or 7 tires at trail pressure. My own tires are only 33s though
@@rollinrat4850 ok...so i shuld be good with 4 tires..
@@coffeedollsvp It's not very fast at all, it's a small unit. Considering a high end on board compressor cost over $400 at the time, this one was a pretty good gamble. But the HF will never run air tools. Mine's at least 8 years old so it may be a different unit now.
Biggest thing reliability and speed of use. Being on the side of the road won't give a crap about noise,weight, or style so long as it works.
no you don't get to subtract time for checking pressure, that is part of your fill time. Just because you don't have an integrated gauge doesn't mean you get to change the parameters of the test. If you are going to change it for the 500 dollar compressor that you have to half the time for the budget compressors because they only have one motor and cut a percentage because of being only 10% the cost of the $500 compressor after all if you're going to fudge for one then you fudge fairly for the others.
Good review, thanks!
Very good review process.
I run a vaiair 88P($65), it's decent but still not a $500 twin motor unit like your fancy ARB. Vaiair does have similar hardmount stuff to those if you want, they build air compressors for airbag systems.
To reduce the time required you need to idle the engine. It will keep the voltage between 13.3-14.7 volts. While you are idling place the compressor inside the vehicle on something soft to keep the vibration from damaging your interior and run the ac at high speed. You will need to extend your hose bu at the same time it extends the life of the compressor by reducing the heat.
You did not tell us what the duty cycle time recommended by the manufacturer. Can you air up all four tires with the budget units with or without ac cooling without destroying each unit.
I bought 2 of those Harbor Freight style compressors from Lowe's, same shit, different appearance and mine auto-stops as configured. I have a Raptor with stock tires and air down maybe once a year if I am seriously on the beach. Otherwise it exists just to regulate a bit over time.
My logic is I can run both during those once a year times to compensate for their overall slower fill time and I have redundancy in the event one goes out. Most of the time the truck gets one and the Tesla gets one.
Overall, a basic $50 air compressor took almost 40 minutes to inflate those tires once, using those two at the same time I can be from 15 to 35 PSI in all 4 tires in under 15 minutes. The extra space taken up isn't that major as I have a plastic tote I keep my recovery straps and a collapsing shovel in. These fit in there just fine. Afterall, not like I put too much else on the bed.
Awesome video 👏🏼 do you run the car while u filling tyre?
I'm curious about the tire deflators, are they worth having for airing down?
Dude thanks for the info, short n quick....
Great video bro
This was a great idea for the budget minded or off roaders just getting into it. Well done...Oh and more videos on the D3 please
Awesome video mate, I have never been stuck so haven’t needed to lower my tyres yet
Jeeping Down Under
You crawling mall pavements or what
Agent. K. Haha sometimes, I do a lot of beach driving and being a light Jeep I don’t really need to let them down
You only need 32 psi max on the road for a vehicle that weight. Look at the door jam and it will tell you max pressure. After 35 psi you will get lane wandering. Try chalk lines across the tread and drive 100 feet or more and look at the lines, it will wear in the middle for high pressure and even for correct pressure and on the sides for low pressure.
Chalk lines across tread is more useful than relying on doorjamb as doorjamb is based upon stock tires and wheels. Every tire has it's own load inflation index so doorjamb is pretty imprecise even if going with the exact same sized tire and wheel as factory. The only reason you wouldn't want to entirely rely on the chalk lines across the tread is if you drive aggressively, then the sides of the tires will wear faster despite the even chalk wear if driving in a straight line.
terrific video nice review you number one
Good job on the video and test. How much weight was the Pittsburgh?
You should have the engine running on all of them makes it faster and doesn't drain your battery.
good stuff,,, thanks for the comparison!~
Great review
Nice video, pretty useful. One question: It wasn't clear for me why the car had to be started when using an air compressor, why was that? :/
I will probably get beat up for saying this, but I have had great luck with the overall quality of Harbor Freight tools. Also, you would get an additional 20% off the harbor freight with the readily available coupons
nice video, hit the things that matter. I think im going to pick up one of the harbor freight ones here soon on sale for $49.99 for my first one.
I've been looking for a review on these exact products on tires this size for a long time, thank you
Might want to take in to consideration that the more expensive compressor was already running and probably full by the time you connected it to the tire, as with the other two you connected it to the tire as soon as you turned them on. Would that make a difference?
Picked up a Smittybilt Compressor on Amazon for $109.. and it pumps at 5.6 cfm..... 150psi max
Buy 4 $60 compressors and get done before the ARB. They take less power and you have spares for when the ARB breaks. I bought two and hooked them together on a small tank.
83db vs 94 is like 3 times as loud right. 3db twice as lound twice the power. speakers anyway. google?? plus its lighter. I'd say its a toss up. temp could come down to where the heat is being sinked out.
You can’t deduct time when in real time on the trail ALL your time counts
Getn 1 to plug up punctures so even a 15min compressor saves me the 4 hour breakdown turn-a-round time
I’ve done a lot of off-roading, not once have I thought about airing down. I know it works for traction, but I don’t know that I like the risk of a shorter tire life. 🤷🏻♂️ Is it just me?
So an ARB installed compressor which costs over $500 and requires the engine to be running or one of the 2 12 volt only units for approx $70. Depends on how much you want to spend on speed and reliability when you are on the road.
ok, the budget units are 1/10th the price of the ARB, but when most people run their budget compressors to air up their tires they have the engine running so you're running off of 14+ volts from the alternator and not just the 12.8v of just the battery, so your comparison is bias towards the ARB. is the ARB 10x better?
It looked like the Amazon unit had a "SET" button. Is that for setting a shut-off point when it reaches a prescribed pressure? You didn't say.
Yes that is what it’s for
Great video, thanks for the info. Took a bit of poking around but I found one video with the info I needed.
Thanks TFL
Much needed video
I like this series. Surprised the Amazon didn't do better considering it does more
Good info! Actually looking for the right pump without breaking the bank. Time vs $$
You might want to look at the TH-cam (project farm).
He does fair and equal testing and gives specs.
The Pittsburgh actually did very well.
As well it can easily be removed from vehicle.
The price is also vastly less than your near$500 dedicated unit.
Not that yours is bad. However for most people your choice is out of range price wise and slightly inconvenient.
Watching after I bought my compressor. Thankfully I bought the right one. Lol
I was expecting 50sec max for ARB at that price. You should not subtract any time since hose has no gage so you have to do the checks.
Question is, which one has coupons from time to time?
The PITTSBURGH compressor seems to have been redesigned and is now a lot smaller and the price is now $25 and looks to be highly rated. There are a lot of these types of compressors priced between $20 and $50.
No, they still sell two tier options, they still have the more expensive one.
now you have to account for having 2 arb compressors on that unit.so if they gave me an arb shoot yeah ill take it but suppose you cut arb time in half then your more close on speed of the fill time.good job
For the amount of money Amazon makes every year I expected better. but why am I not surprised, lol. But yeah I'd go with the Harbor Freight, it'll save me money in the long run for a little extra beer. 😀👍
build a DIY 4 tire air up kit for that ARB and you'll air up all 4 tires even faster than doing them individually. you get the max CFM out of the air compressor and they all balance out on their own to equal PSI.
I'm more likely to by a MORRFlate and help support another TH-camr I really enjoy myoffroadradio.com/morrflate-off-road-4-tire-inflation-deflation-kit/
@@gGtplsTBUVyfKsEZfYtc That's just a rats nest of crap to carry around. In 20 years of wheeling I've never seen a person once miss a group ride because they couldn't air up or down fast enough.
Amazon basic has auto shut off which I haven't seen till you mod other compressor or go in the top their air compressor.