Tire inflator test

[dLux]

Hi,

It came to my attention that it is required to air up my all terrains to 65psi and that 35psi is recommended for offroading and I realized that I was totally not prepared for any of these things.

I was happy with my small battery operated inflators ($~30-40?) when I had my Model X, because it did not really require substantial inflating and deflating, I just had to adjust the pressure sometimes (one of my tires leaked air slowly and this inflator was perfect for that purpose).

I soon realized that these kind of inflators just don't work on the CT for those use cases.

I started buying a slightly more serious looking device ($30), because it had 110V input, but I realized that it is still very slow. It would take 15+ minutes to air up one of the tires from 35 to 50 psi, so even if I buy 4 of them, it would be slow, loud and cumbersome.

The official Tesla compressor ($615) was out of the question due to its price. I mean, are you serious, Tesla? I saw tests and it is a great product, but but...

Then I've found an even more serious looking device ($50), that can also be used from 110V. It was still very slow, it took about 13 minutes to air up a tire from 35 to 50 psi.

Unfortunately the 110V market is really small, not many manufacturers are making products like that, because it's not really available on cars, only at homes. The best ones are the ones that are working from the 12V battery directly, but I just don't think it's a good idea in the case of the CT. So I returned back to the battery operated ones and I've found these two:

• ETENWOLF VORTEX S6 ($120) and it's bigger brother, the
• ETENWOLF VORTEX S7 ($200)

Now we are talking!

I saw some people recommended the Milwaukee M18 inflator, which seemed really quick on the reviews, but that was also expensive (the inflator is $200 + you'll need an M18 battery).

A little bit more internetting brought me to this product, too: Fanttik X9 Ultra ($160), which seemed like a really quick one and even better in the tests than the Milwaukee.

So I did a 4-way test:

	AstroAI	Vortex S6	Vortex S7	X9 Ultra
30-50psi	13:18	~6 min	~4 min	3:13
50-65psi	12:59	6:40	4:29	3:05
10-50psi	who has time for that...	After 12:14 the battery 🪫	9:14	7:12

The Vortex S7 and the X9 Ultra battery still had some capacity after all 3 tests, although not much. I think the S7 had more, but I can't tell for sure.

I'll buy one more of the Fanttik X9 Ultra, so that I can inflate with 2 devices at the same time if needed (it can also be used as a power bank, so they are double use) + I will keep the AstroAI as a backup in case the Fanttiks are not charged and I need some emergency air up.

Unfortunately neither of them can do deflating to a certain psi, as a workaround, I have bought these. It's not good for 50psi, but at least it stops automatically at 40psi.

Sponsored

 

[MyFirstElectricTesla]

Jump in before HaulingAss post his fav air compressor, check my post about my setup. I didn't test from 30 to 50 psi though.

 

[Hookalakupua]

I’ll let HaulingAss add his in-depth insight but I’ll make it easy… just do what he says. Haha

Here’s the original:

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/looking-for-air-compressor-ideas.30475/

 

[TexasRaider]

I’ve used this for about year.
It does a great job within a single charge:
https://a.co/d/3Hsdhmi

 

[J.Graham]

I’ll let HaulingAss add his in-depth insight but I’ll make it easy… just do what he says. Haha

Here’s the original:

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/looking-for-air-compressor-ideas.30475/

Yup! Don’t mess with perfection ;-)
I picked one up shortly after hauling ass recommended it.

 

[jenkins007]

I bought a Ridgid tire inflator. Set the dial to pressure you want and let it go. Up to 150psi.
Runs on 18v battery, but I don’t bother. I bought a car power (old cigarette) adapter to 110v plug in. Works awesome. Reaches every tire. I leave it in the truck under the back seat using an underseat organizer, along with many tie downs and straps.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-...-2-0-Ah-Battery-and-Charger-R87044K/314026557

 

[dLux]

I’ll let HaulingAss add his in-depth insight but I’ll make it easy… just do what he says. Haha

Here’s the original:

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/looking-for-air-compressor-ideas.30475/

@HaulingAss it was not clear to me: from the description: can it do deflation, too?

 

[devdrone6]

I have the tesla inflator- had to use my credits so only reason got it. It is nice, but not worth the price in my opinion. The best thing is that it starts up automatically once you hook up the pressure valve.

It is also fairly heavy and has no carry handle.

 

[Petertsai]

Handyman type of home compressor with tank may be your best bet if the tank does not bleed down within the time you need to inflate your tires. There is 120VAC on CT to recharge the tank. Having a tank that starts at over 100psi will speed your inflation rate.

 

[Hookalakupua]

@HaulingAss it was not clear to me: from the description: can it do deflation, too?

Yes, with the 4-way hose it can also deflate. With that said, I use the Staun tire deflators here:
https://a.co/d/h7adyBk

 

[jeniferkey]

Thank you for the comparisons. I have the S6 and it’s fine for the occasional airing I do. I like seeing all other options that are out there, though.

 

[M0unt41nm4n]

I got this and it works wonderfully. You can get them on Amazon and Home Depot… but I got it on an extreme sale on Temu for like $85. It’s tiny and fits perfectly in the smuggler’s bay.

 

[once-set]

I got this big compressor that supposed to hookup to the 12v battery directly https://a.co/d/b5d9tN1

And then a power brick to power it through the 110v https://a.co/d/4qySkBs

It works nicely, and as compared to the haulingass’ compressor it could work each wheel one by one without chocking so no need for 4tire inflation system.

it is a pain to find a good compressor for a CT, I went through a few 110v ones myself and none of them were perfect.

 

[togaxx]

I havent ran test, but this thing rocks.
VEVOR 2.1 Gallon Air Compressor, 1.2HP 2.2 CFM@90PSI Air Compressors with Max. 116PSI Pressure, Oil Free Compressor Tank for Auto Repair, Tire Inflation, Spray Painting, Woodwork Nailing | VEVOR US

 

[HaulingAss]

@HaulingAss it was not clear to me: from the description: can it do deflation, too?

Yes, the 4-way hose system can be used alone to deflate.

The TC-BL inflator, with the MorrFlate hose system, requires four minutes to take all four 35" All-Terrain tires from 35-50 psi simultaneously, and the same hose system can be used alone to deflate all tires by the same amount in around 3 minutes.

I already had the original Australian Staun brass deflators when I bought my hose system but I rarely use them anymore (only if deflating removing around 5-7 PSI per tire). They are not accurate enough for me. I've tried to adjust them to all shutoff at the same pressure but they seem inconsistent as to when they shut off. When I do use them, I don't use their auto-shut-off feature, I just screw them on one at a time around the four tires and, when I get back to the first one I remove it and let out the last 1-2 psi manually using my pressure gauge with an air release button. This might be slightly quicker than taking out my MorrFlate hose system and putting it all away, but it requires a bit more work (I have to pay more attention to what I'm doing).

As to inflators, some people here seem confused as to the difference between an inflator to occasionally add a couple PSI or do an emergency inflation of one tire vs. regularly deflating by more than 10 psi per tire for local conditions and then needing to inflate back to normal pressures. Towing is another use case requiring the addition of 15 PSI to ALL tires before towing.

I say this because some people continue to recommend cheap compact or even pistol style inflators that are not up to the task. I would have gone through three or four of those by now (and wasted countless hours waiting for the compressor to complete had I been using one of those.

That said, the TC-BL (and the 4 hose system) is not the only viable option, it's simply the best one I know of considering that we have 20 amp 120V power available (and most Jeeps, Toyota's etc. do not). I'm not an impatient person at all, but it is sure nice to not have to hang out for extended sessions listening to a noisy inflator struggling to get where it needs to. The primary downside of the TC-BL, even though it's very compact, is that it weighs around 20 lbs. so if anyone knows of a system that is as capable and reliable, or nearly so, and weighs less, please let us all know.

Sponsored