12v car tyre compressors

Cobra

Cobra

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I need as above, preferably with a cigarette lighter plug as the battery is a little inaccessible, especially in the dark and if in a hurry.

I see there are a lot under a tenner, I doubt these are much good? As for price wise, I was thinking circa £30

The ring 635 seems to get a good review, in "Auto express" but digging a little deeper they seem prone to blowing car fuses.

Anyone here with real time experience of 12v compressors?

TIA
 
I have that one. Good compressor, doesn't take up a lot of room, decent length 12v lead and isn't too noisy relatively speaking. Hasn't blown any fuses on me.
 
AndyB1976 said:
I have that one. Good compressor, doesn't take up a lot of room, decent length 12v lead and isn't too noisy relatively speaking. Hasn't blown any fuses on me.
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ChrisH said:
Thats the one I have as well never had any problems
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Strange as that seemed to be the main (only ) criticism, I can't find the link again, but on one car forum, one guy said that he used to sell them, and the only returns
he had was due to blown fuses ( on the car) the machine itself was working perfectly.
That and a couple of other comments along the same line, kinda put me off..
But I'm still keeping an open mind,
Cheers Guys.
 
AndyB1976 said:
Its power rating is 120W or 10Amp. I think the typical lighter socket is 150W 15Amp.
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I hadn't thought of it like that, Thanks. I'll double check my fuse on that circuit
 
I have an RAC branded one that I've had for quite a few years. It's also fairly accurate with the gauge for stopping/cutting out. (I do double check with a separate gauge though)
 
OldCarlos said:
I have an RAC branded one that I've had for quite a few years. It's also fairly accurate with the gauge for stopping/cutting out. (I do double check with a separate gauge though)
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I think you will find the RAC branded compressor and the Ring compressor are one and the same. My son and I have had Ring branded ones for almost 10 years and they work just fine, no blown fuses.
 
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Lots of positive feed back, that seems to over rule the stuff that I found on line.
Looks like I may go with my first instinct after all :)
 
Cobra said:
I hadn't thought of it like that, Thanks. I'll double check my fuse on that circuit
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It might have been plugged into a multi-plug causing an overload or if your vehicle has rear outlets they could be on the same circuit.

I was looking at buying an inverter and some negative reviews of them are of folk using a 300/400w inverter at full load straight through the cig lighter rather then using the direct-to-battery leads, basically human error.
 
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Yeah I have the Ring - I got the MUCH cheaper analogue gauge one. No torch on it but I carry one, Works fine. Just used it this morning.

Small enough to put in the cargo net in the Smart and forget about it until I need it ;)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Yeah I have the Ring - I got the MUCH cheaper analogue gauge one. No torch on it but I carry one, Works fine. Just used it this morning.

Small enough to put in the cargo net in the Smart and forget about it until I need it ;)
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Exactly the same here. Bought the cheapest Ring one just to save going to the petrol station every time I want to top my tyre pressure up.

Works fine. Paid about £10
 
Matt- said:
Exactly the same here. Bought the cheapest Ring one just to save going to the petrol station every time I want to top my tyre pressure up.

Works fine. Paid about £10
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Seems the positive posts for the "ring" are now out weighting the negatives I found doing a search. (y)
 
I have been watching this as also looking for one after my last company car had one that accompany the gunk to put into a punctured tyre. I used to top up the pressures :). And as most forecourts no longer have 'free' air this is a good idea for that reason as well.
 
Box Brownie said:
And as most forecourts no longer have 'free' air
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Sainsbury's do but they are the only ones I've come across in a very long time
and @ 50p per check elsewhere / no spare tyre, just the gunk, (here) I guess it makes sense :)
 
The digital ones cut off at your preset pressure. I've had generic analogue ones that never done that, so unless the Ring Analogue does, I'd always go digital.
 
Quick update.
I went for the Ring 635 in the end, £27.99 Screw fix of all places!

More than happy with it, it tops up my larger than average sized tyres in less than a couple of minutes.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys (y)
 
tijuana taxi said:
BP near me is a quid, at least now they cost its unusual to find them out of order, free ones were very often broken
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Blimey! Seems that air is no longer free afterall . I've never really thought about it before but I wonder how many times per year, we as individuals actually check and top up our tyres. I guess at a quid a time, it wouldn't take long to recover the cost of a tyre compressor. And that's fair point about them working mostly though ;)
 
tijuana taxi said:
BP near me is a quid, at least now they cost its unusual to find them out of order, free ones were very often broken
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We have only one petrol station within a radius of 25 miles. Air is 50p minimum, and the machine is usually out of order for weeks at a time.
 
Cobra said:
I wonder how many times per year, we as individuals actually check and top up our tyres. I guess at a quid a time,
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Me, :thinking: ........ about 3 times a year.

I actually had 2 new tyres fitted on the front a couple of weeks ago. (tread still legal, but uneven wear, there was more in the centre than the outsides.) They were down to 30 psi instead of 35-38 that they should have been. :oops: :$ They had done 21000 miles though, so not too bad.
 
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Just bought one from screw fix too after reading this. Fine wee tool, even room in the bag it comes with for my extension lead to do the trailer/caravan tyres.
Nice one
 
It took me ages to get used to pumping my own fuel and paying for air.

In SA you pull up to a pump and somebody fills the tank, washes the windscreen, checks your oil and tyres all for the price of the fuel and a tip :)

Didn't even have to get out the car to pay.
 
Cobra said:
Quick update.
I went for the Ring 635 in the end, £27.99 Screw fix of all places!

More than happy with it, it tops up my larger than average sized tyres in less than a couple of minutes.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys (y)
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What's your waistline got to do with it? ;)
 
ecoleman said:
It took me ages to get used to pumping my own fuel and paying for air.

In SA you pull up to a pump and somebody fills the tank, washes the windscreen, checks your oil and tyres all for the price of the fuel and a tip :)

Didn't even have to get out the car to pay.
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They'll also get your smokes, cold drinks, chips, biltong and newspaper from the forecourt shop...
 
Just hopped on the Screwfix website & those pumps seem good value. However I have a feeling that there's actually a pump supplied with my Mini as part of the toolkit - never needed it, so never investigated!
 
nilagin said:
What's your waistline got to do with it? ;)
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Nothing my 32in waist is just about right for me, I could do with a little more on the 52" chest though. (y)
 
Cobra said:
Nothing my 32in waist is just about right for me, I could do with a little more on the 52" chest though. (y)
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A body shape like this dude?
classic_mr_cool_pose_square_sticker-r04e34f1725c045ba88d34f0a65ee3d48_v9wf3_8byvr_324.jpg


Another +1 for the Ring compressor, I've been happily using mine for years (y)
 
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