Posted by David Sherman on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 at 11:30:05 :
In Reply to: Nantucket, over sand driving, air compressors, advice? posted by Ken See on Tuesday, August 07, 2007 at 10:36:44 :
I have one of the higher end 12 volt portable compressors and it's held up for inflating many flat tires. There's a wide range of quality of those little "tire inflater" compressors available, and they're all pretty cheaply built, but some are a lot better than others. $50 to $100 should buy a decent one. I wouldn't want to rely on a portable tank (other than the scuba tank idea) to hold enough air to do them all, and I don't know of any 120V compressors that are small and don't draw a lot of current, especially when starting, which is hard on inverters. Unlike a normal compressor, a tire inflater doesn't need a receiver. It's also usually oil-less. Mine does get pretty hot when it's airing up a tire all the way from flat, but it has an extruded aluminum housing that dissipates the heat reasonably well. They tend to vibrate a lot, so I set it on soft dirt or grass if possible so it doesn't shake its own screws loose. If it gets too hot to touch, and there's still more work to do, I'll sometimes pour some water on it to cool it. It's not like having a real air compressor available, but for airing up your tires once on a once-a-year trip to the beach, I think a higher-end 12 volt compressor probably the best compromise. Or just bring an old-fashioned tire pump and make those kids get a little exercise.