Product Eval Portable Air Compressor

[Steven@147]

My wife picked this up for me from Amazon. Neat little outfit, nice carry bag. Its model 400P RV. Up to 150 psi, 2.3 cfm. Has two 30 foot quick disconnect hoses. Pretty long 12v clamp on leads. Works well off the RV batt as well as my truck batt. Very quiet, vibration dampened frame.

See product attachments in pic.
Also comes with replacement filters and a needle valve. Has an on / off switch. Has a screw on type of air chuck so you dont have to hold a chuck on the tire valve as well as a standard chuck with a 160 psi gauge. I think it will work well for topping off tires, I have a separate air chuck gauge for checking pressures.

Now it isn't going to drive an impact or have enough cfm to blow out your water lines, unless you connect a portable tank to it, but I think it will work well in emergencies. Says it can inflate up to 100 psi in 3 minutes.
Worst case scenario and I have multiple flats, I carry a tire plug kit that I can plug a leak. Use the new portable to air up the tires, limp to the nearest tire store and get the bad tires replaced or professionally patched plugged. Towing with a quick plugged tire on your RV probably isn't the best idea with tire pressures being 80+ but it could get you off the side of the road.

Thought you might be interested.

[steve gravelle]

We appreciate your report! If you feel courageous, completely deflate one of your tires (valve core tool). Then connect you Viair and see how long it takes to get to 80 psi. The smaller compressors I've used either overheated and shut off during the exercise, or never got to the targeted pressure. Eager to get your findings, only if you are willing!

[Steven@147]

Ok, good idea functional test. Better now in the driveway than out on the road.

First a correction, I quoted their specs wrong, its 0-30 psi in 3 minutes for a 31" x 10.5" or 90 to 110 psi in 3 minutes 50 seconds for a 275/80/R22.5.
They dont list a spec for 0 - 80 psi which will be my functional test. 80 psi is the operating pressure for my truck tires and RV tires.

So I removed the valve core from my truck spare tire and let it fully deflate, then reinserted the valve core. Test tire = LT265/75/R16 Load Range E = operating pressure 80 psi.
Ambient temp today is 94 degrees. Truck setting in the shade under a tree.
I set the portable on the ground next to the trucks right front tire.
Used one 30 foot hose, connected the screw on chuck to the tire air valve and used the trigger pressure gauge attachment.
The compressor ran continuously beginning when I pulled the trigger on the pressure gauge attachment to 80 psi.
It took 11 minutes and 10 seconds to inflate the tire from 0 to 80 psi.
I used my other spare tire pressure gauge to check the accuracy of their pressure gauge attachment, it was right on at 80 psi.

You can connect the compressor to your battery and then connect the hoses and attachments you want to use. Then turn on the compressor. It will shut off when it reaches initial pressure. As soon as you pull the trigger on the pressure gauge the compressor turns on.
The compressor case does get hot while running but it never stopped operating for this test. There was some condensation present when I disconnected the attachments. You would have to set it aside to cool off before stowing it or putting it back in the carry bag.

[keywestparrothead]

I've had that same model since 2014 and it is the gold standard for portable compressors. Huge following in the Jeep world, I have talked several fellow Jeepers into one over the years :-) I can top off my "G" series GYs in about 20-30 sec to 110 PSI, all 12 (6 on the rig and 6 on the TV) in less time then it takes to get it out and setup, LOL.

[FT4NOW]

I have the same model, i use it on our tires and the truck air bags. No complaints yet. Since there is no tank and no where for moisture to collect, i added an inline moisture separator. Moisture will be present when compressing air, better off not having that moisture go into what you are inflating.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[TerryZechman]

I just purchased that same model off Amazon as well. Delivered yesterday. Took 3 weeks for delivery. For whatever reason, it was $140 when I ordered it. Price went back up to $240 a couple of days after I ordered. I must have stepped in something that day! It's a solid unit.

[steve gravelle]

Steven@147, many thanks for the test! This makes it a very viable unit, especially with the other positive feedback on this thread.

[Steven@147]

I have the same model, i use it on our tires and the truck air bags. No complaints yet. Since there is no tank and no where for moisture to collect, i added an inline moisture separator. Moisture will be present when compressing air, better off not having that moisture go into what you are inflating.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Yup good idea on the moisture separator. Maybe one could use one of those orange ball type moisture traps you can get at Harbor Freight. Probably be ok to use since most of the time you would use it to top off a tire instead of fully inflating it.

Oh, by the way, it weights 16 pounds on a bath room scale.

[FT4NOW]

This is the one i use, so far its worked and has collected moisture.

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[TerryZechman]

I had an opportunity to use my new Viair (thank you Steve!) this morning. Trailer tires were down to 100PSI and it took about 90 seconds to inflate each back up to 110PSI. I can't express how impressed I am with this unit. I have used a lot of 12v and 120v compressors over the years and this is by far the best. I took a couple of pictures of the setup that I thought I would share.

Viair connected to the battery.



I snagged the front landing gear to keep the air line from recoiling back.



Here's my biggest trick of the morning. I placed the fill gun/gauge between the two 30 foot air lines. That way I could stand up while I was filling instead of squatting in front of the tire. Usually, to get from 100PSI to 110PSI takes a long time from a small 12v pump. Not so with this Viair!



The Viair's chuck screws onto the valve stem, no more pressing the chuck into place and trying to not let the air escape.