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My uncle in Reno swore the $79 tire inflater from the truck stop was junk and I bought it anyway
So my uncle Dave has been driving trucks out of Reno for like 22 years. When I showed him the Slime inflator I grabbed for $79 at a Love's outside Sparks, he just laughed and said "that little thing won't push past 30 psi, you'll be cussing it by spring."
I figured he was just old school stubborn. Anyway, fast forward 4 months. It worked fine the first two times on my Civic. Third time, my wife's CR-V had a slow leak and I hooked it up. Ran for 11 minutes, got to 28 psi, and started making this grinding noise like a blender full of gravel. The hose got so hot I actually dropped it. Now it lives in my garage as a paperweight and I use the $2 air machine at the QuikTrip down the street.
$79 down the drain plus the $12 I spent on a replacement fuse I didn't even need. My uncle has not let it go. Called me on Thanksgiving just to ask how the inflator was doing.
Has anyone found a portable one that actually holds up, or is the gas station machine just the move forever? I'm not trying to spend $200 on a Viair unless someone here swears by it.
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aaron_perry29d ago
Uncle Dave sounds like he earned the right to say I told you so, but I'd still push back on the idea that the tire inflator itself is the problem. That 11 minute run time on the CR-V is the real killer. Those little 12 volt units are meant for topping off a tire, not filling one from low pressure, and the manual on most of them says 10 minutes max before you let it cool. You basically cooked it. A $2 machine at the gas station makes sense for your situation, but if you ever want to keep one in the trunk for emergencies, spend the money on something with a metal pump head and a built in cool down.
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