Cigarette lighter tire inflator?

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flivver

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Do solid, robust versions of these exist? I've seen the cheap, crappy, take-20-minutes-to-inflate-your-tire models. I'd like to find one that works reasonably well and will last.

(This would be for daughter, who's likely moving out of state soon.)
 
I bought a Superflow from O'Reillys a few years ago. Worked fine until I used it to air up a tire on a piece of heavy equipment.... Fortunately it was still under warranty at O'Reillys and they swapped it out without hassle.
 
I've got a Slime 40022 that is mainly for topping off your tires, but saved my butt when a rental minivan had a flat on a trip to the beach back in July. You might class it in the "crappy, takes-20-minutes-to-inflate-your-tire" group but I think it's a decent pump for the money.
 
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I can't think of the make/model of the one I have in my car. I've had it for YEARS.

I do believe it's only supposed to be operated continuously for like 5 minutes at a time...but honestly? I have NEVER paid attention to that. If I need to air up my tires with it, I air the tires up until they reach the pressure needed and never pay attention to how long it runs to do it.

They're not that expensive. I don't remember what I paid for mine...but $40 wouldn't be a bad guess. I got it because the cord and hose coil up inside the thing and makes it neat to keep in my trunk. The air hose is a couple feet or so long, the power cord is plenty long enough to reach all the tires on my car from the cigarette lighter in the dash, and the pump has its own gauge on it that has proved to be pretty darn accurate.

Give yourself about a $40 budget, give or take, and go shopping for something that strikes your fancy. Me? If I were to buy another one, I'd probably take a look at the ones Craftsman or AutoZone has in that price range. In fact, I probably bought mine at AutoZone all those years ago. Whatever you get, I recommend two things: you don't get all caught up in all the bells and whistles...you want a basic 12 Volt air pump with a long cord, an air gauge, and a hose/nozzle just long enough to reach from the pump to the tire nozzle. The other thing is that everything coils neatly and suits your storage space well without taking up scads of room or making a mess with loose a cord/hose.


OH YEAH...

Don't forget to buy a tire plug kit and keep it in the trunk, too. An air pump doesn't do much if you can't plug the hole in your tire long enough to get you to a shop for a proper patch/replacement.


EDIT:

I dunno what makes the normal sale price on this one from Walmart worth $235.76, but it's on sale now for $195.80 off (going for $39.96). I like the fact that it comes in a nice case, which would keep a trunk really neat and organized.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Portable...ompressor-Pump-Tool-with-Carry-Case/582073616
 
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That walmart inflator is not sold by walmart, they just advertise it for the seller, similar to what Amazon does.
Seller wants people to think they are getting the deal of the century.
 
I've had a Slime brand one a lot like this https://www.slime.com/us/products/auto/inflators/12v-auto-/pro-power-tire-inflator.php for years.
Haven't run it that much, but it's rattled around in rather poor conditions. Probably only a couple hours of run-time, aired a few flats, some toys, topped some tires, it is slow on a truck tire no doubt, but it will run them up to 75/80. Mine came in a kit with plugs and whatnot. Still runs like new.
I think key is avoiding the cheesy plastic cube ones, never had any luck with those.
 
Plus one on the tire plug kit. I have one in every car I have. You can teach her how to use it in less than 5 mins.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
Button Pusher said:
That walmart inflator is not sold by walmart, they just advertise it for the seller, similar to what Amazon does.
Seller wants people to think they are getting the deal of the century.
Click to expand...

Gotcha.

Craftsman/AutoZone per my original opinion, then. Known quality/reliability, in my opinion.
 
Teaching her to use a tire patch kit would require that I know how to use one. :) I mean, sure, in theory, I know how to use one... Have I ever done it? Nope. Thankfully, we've only ever gotten a handful of flats, and they've tended to be near home. So, we take the tire off and take it to the place where we bought the tires (which is just a few miles away), and the problem is solved. I guess this is one of those things I really should try, though. Maybe I can go buy an old tire at a junkyard and practice.

Back to the point, though, thanks for your thoughts, guys. It sounds like most of the ones in the ~$40 range, that come from a reputable source, should work reasonably well.

On this general topic, what else would you stick into the trunk of a car that your daughter is going to take to live out of town with? I can't give her a shotgun, because she's probably moving to the DC area (much to my dismay). Barring that, though, what are some common/useful things to keep in a bag in the trunk?
 
Scsmith42 said:
Jumper cables, fix a flat, flares, wind up flashlight.
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Just don't leave the fix-a-flat inside the car on a hot day. Years ago my daughter left a can in the rear part of a Kia Storm hatchback. It exploded, breaking several of the plastic interior panels and spraying the contents, which looked like rubber cement, all over the interior. Luckily this happened when the car was parked with nobody in it. I spent most of a day cleaning the sticky gunk off (I was told that it was my fault for giving her the fix-a-flat in the first place, and arguing the point would have been more work than cleaning the car).
 
I had one of the larger models I bought at walmart years ago. I think it was called 'truck air'? No idea if they still make or sell that one, but it lasted me all through high school and college pumping up slack tires.

I later found out that my tire kept leaking down because of a bad rim, but that pump must have aired up my tires 100 times.

I recommend a tire plugging kit too. They're really easy to use. Between that and a decent 12v inflator, you're good to go.

I usually recommend against fix a flat. Stuff can ruin a tire and really gunk up a rim.
 
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