Which tire inflator

[mjezzi]

No, I did not test the TC-BL (see the thread, I mostly tested smaller cheaper chargers).

It aired my tires up from 30 to 50psi in 3:13 minutes. For 4 wheels that's 6:26 (I have two of them).

I would assume the TC-BL is quicker, but it is also a more complex setup that requires more time.

As an occasional offroader, for me the X9 is good enough, for someone who needs to air up and down multiple times a day, probably the TC-BL is better.

< 12 mins is not bad for a single unit to charge all four tires. Some users report that it overheats before inflating the fourth tire if the weather is hot. Still not a bad option though for such a compact unit.

I just got the TC-BL and am now considering returning it. Inflating takes <5 mins, but you’re right that unwrapping the air hoses and wrapping the air hoses takes time too (I should time myself). It also takes up more space having the air hoses and the compressor, and I have another normal tire compressor for our cybertent. This could replace all 3, which would be a big deal.

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[hemiarch]

The one Tesla roadside uses.
https://a.co/d/0dNwGMbL

 

[HaulingAss]

The one Tesla roadside uses.
https://a.co/d/0dNwGMbL

They probably don't have 120V available so they use a rechargeable battery unit.

 

[hemiarch]

They probably don't have 120V available so they use a rechargeable battery unit.

That’s true. And I’m not attempting to threaten the status of your legendary TC-BL I know you love dearly, but I use m18 batteries for a quite a few other things in my truck. Impact wrench, precision blower which is also a great volume inflator and I even have an adapter I can take the battery and my Starlink mini for a hike with.
Sometimes I take it in our model x too and that doesn’t have AC plugs to run stuff off of without an inverter.
When I bought it, your compressor was unobtainable on Amazon but I’m actually very happy with it. Still advocate for the m18 inflator. It’s impressive for what it is.
With the mor-flate hub and 4 hose setup it’s really flipping fast and the battery makes it quite portable for helping others, moving cars and the like.
Pros and cons to both. Yours is very fast and fits nicely in the subtrunk. In my case that space is also occupied by a freezer.
I always have an m18 battery charged up in my frunk. It’s part of what I use my frunk power supply for.

 

[ABILISK]

Milwaukee is the way to go. Tesla’s adds the bonuses of deflation and being corded so you never have to worry about charging a battery, but that’s it. Milwaukee does everything else just as well for a quarter of the price.

 

[CyberTexas]

I use DeWalt tire inflator: https://a.co/d/0bDCEpVv

DeWalt AC power cord for the inflator: https://a.co/d/02C9F1Jh

These two are always in my CT trunk.

Then on long trips, I just throw in DeWalt battery pack for convenience…but the AC cord is always there for backup.

just saying…best of both worlds. AC. DC. Battery pack. You pick. Not as powerful as Milwaukee, but more versatile in both features and power source.

 

[turns2stone]

Seems like a good thread to ask, so here we go:

I have a full Core spare wheel + tire, and I've ordered a $99 tire bag + D-rings from RPM Tesla.

Although I have a full-size jack, wrench, etc. at home... I'm looking for a travel bottle jack and possibly an inflator? I see decent bottle jacks via Amazon for about $45 and of course $20 travel wrenches.

Recommendations for a corded inflator?

 

[kpanda17]

My wife's X has a slow leak and I went to wawa to inflate only to find out their air station isn't working, and ended up with less air in the tire than before I started. I figured I should carry my own inflators. I ended up ordering the Tesla branded ones for her X and my cybertruck, but after watching some reviews it seems like there are less expensive and capable options. Curious to hear from folks with experience about what you are carrying and what is working for you.

Any that gets power from battery and plug in

Plug in if it’s dies on battery or you forgot to charge

 

[HaulingAss]

That’s true. And I’m not attempting to threaten the status of your legendary TC-BL I know you love dearly, but I use m18 batteries for a quite a few other things in my truck. Impact wrench, precision blower which is also a great volume inflator and I even have an adapter I can take the battery and my Starlink mini for a hike with.
Sometimes I take it in our model x too and that doesn’t have AC plugs to run stuff off of without an inverter.
When I bought it, your compressor was unobtainable on Amazon but I’m actually very happy with it. Still advocate for the m18 inflator. It’s impressive for what it is.
With the mor-flate hub and 4 hose setup it’s really flipping fast and the battery makes it quite portable for helping others, moving cars and the like.
Pros and cons to both. Yours is very fast and fits nicely in the subtrunk. In my case that space is also occupied by a freezer.
I always have an m18 battery charged up in my frunk. It’s part of what I use my frunk power supply for.

I wasn't trying to threaten the status of your legendary Milwaukee 18V inflator either, it's the best battery powered compact inflator out there. I was just commenting that Roadside Assistance likely doesn't have the option to use 120 volt inflators, they are limited to 12V/or battery inflators.

You are free to use whatever you want, we don't need a new amendment to the Bill of Rights to know that! In fact, I respect the 18V Milwaukee a lot, I just don't want a battery inflator sitting in my truck through the winter, so please forgive me if you think I've slighted you or your Milwaukee inflator in some way.

 

[hemiarch]

I wasn't trying to threaten the status of your legendary Milwaukee 18V inflator either, it's the best battery powered compact inflator out there. I was just commenting that Roadside Assistance likely doesn't have the option to use 120 volt inflators, they are limited to 12V/or battery inflators.

You are free to use whatever you want, we don't need a new amendment to the Bill of Rights to know that! In fact, I respect the 18V Milwaukee a lot, I just don't want a battery inflator sitting in my truck through the winter, so please forgive me if you think I've slighted you or your Milwaukee inflator in some way.

It’s not like that man. I think if it had been in stock I would have gone for the TC-BL and it is likely king. Just saying I have found some unexpected benefits to the battery setup of the m18.
Roadside should have cybertrucks with access to 120v.

 

[Urander]

That’s true. And I’m not attempting to threaten the status of your legendary TC-BL I know you love dearly, but I use m18 batteries for a quite a few other things in my truck. Impact wrench, precision blower which is also a great volume inflator and I even have an adapter I can take the battery and my Starlink mini for a hike with.
Sometimes I take it in our model x too and that doesn’t have AC plugs to run stuff off of without an inverter.
When I bought it, your compressor was unobtainable on Amazon but I’m actually very happy with it. Still advocate for the m18 inflator. It’s impressive for what it is.
With the mor-flate hub and 4 hose setup it’s really flipping fast and the battery makes it quite portable for helping others, moving cars and the like.
Pros and cons to both. Yours is very fast and fits nicely in the subtrunk. In my case that space is also occupied by a freezer.
I always have an m18 battery charged up in my frunk. It’s part of what I use my frunk power supply for.

I’ve got two M18 inflators and two M18 batteries, so it doubles the speed and I use one for each side.

 

[HaulingAss]

I’ve got two M18 inflators and two M18 batteries, so it doubles the speed and I use one for each side.

Ha! That's nothing!

I've got FOUR TC-BL compressors with ported intake manifolds with intercoolers and cold air intakes. The motors have been overclocked by 38%. I've reamed out and lapped the valve stem seats and installed high lift valve stems in each tire and tuned Edelbrock 4 into 1 header on the compressor exhaust ports. They are pretty loud but they rip.

Don't get any ideas, next month I'm supercharging the intake ports, boring out the hoses and wrapping them with carbon fiber sleeves for less energy loss. My back of the napkin math says it will take all four tires from 16 psi to 65 psi in 48 seconds!

Just kidding, one is plenty fast!

Eventually I'll train Optimus to handle inflating/deflating duties, until then it's a manual process. Optimus can double as a spotter through tricky washouts and a cook to make us some flame grilled hamburgers with all the fixings.

 

[hemiarch]

I’ve got two M18 inflators and two M18 batteries, so it doubles the speed and I use one for each side.

That’s actually pretty brilliant. Not a solution I had considered.
The thing that surprised me honestly from a physics standpoint is the effect of my Mor-flate four hose setup. Yes it’s a pain in the ass to carry another thing and pedantically set up four hoses BUT, the results are like infomercial good. It’s does four tires in about one minute longer than it does one.
@HaulingAss once offered a great explanation for this, the gist of it was that the bottleneck in the system is the valve stems.
I can’t reproduce his answer as eloquently, but in the real world, it’s absolutely true.
Qualitatively way less heat from the pump too.

 

[HaulingAss]

That’s actually pretty brilliant. Not a solution I had considered.
The thing that surprised me honestly from a physics standpoint is the effect of my Mor-flate four hose setup. Yes it’s a pain in the ass to carry another thing and pedantically set up four hoses BUT, the results are like infomercial good. It’s does four tires in about one minute longer than it does one.
@HaulingAss once offered a great explanation for this, the gist of it was that the bottleneck in the system is the valve stems.
I can’t reproduce his answer as eloquently, but in the real world, it’s absolutely true.
Qualitatively way less heat from the pump too.

Rigging the dual Milwaukee setup with two 1-into-2 hoses would be really fast (and ease the strain on the compressors). The hoses could be really short and convenient too, since the compressors would sit halfway between the front and rear tires with a hose going fore and aft.

 

[Eka]

That’s actually pretty brilliant. Not a solution I had considered.
The thing that surprised me honestly from a physics standpoint is the effect of my Mor-flate four hose setup. Yes it’s a pain in the ass to carry another thing and pedantically set up four hoses BUT, the results are like infomercial good. It’s does four tires in about one minute longer than it does one.
@HaulingAss once offered a great explanation for this, the gist of it was that the bottleneck in the system is the valve stems.
I can’t reproduce his answer as eloquently, but in the real world, it’s absolutely true.
Qualitatively way less heat from the pump too.

The dual inflater hose system with the tank as the source I had on my former 4Runner reinflated the tires fast. By the time I got the second hose hooked up to the inflator, the first tire was done and the inflator hose was ready to be switched to the next tire. Part of why it was so fast is that 150 PSI reservoir in the tank it could draw on. It was filled with a 400 series Viair pump. I wish Viair made a 48 VDC pump.

I had plans for making a hose for each tire, but they way it inflated the tires so fast, I didn't bother to order the parts to make two more automatic inflator hoses.

I tried to find the company that made the inflators I had, but they seam to be gone now. After the truck was crashed out from under me, mine vanished. They were mechanical and a bit fiddly to get properly set. I know what I'd do to make a replacement. I would make an air valve system with controller. The controller would inflate the tire to a bit above planned pressure, then bleed it down. I did an exploration and found many suitable valves. The rest is just crossing the 'i's and dotting the 't's. Should I design it using a WIFI and Bluetooth capable SBC, and require the user to control it with an app? I'd just give it a plain 4 button keyboard for setup and control. A cheap OLED display so it can be read in any light level. The hard part is finding and selecting the pneumatic valves to use. Pressure sensors are a bit expensive. Oh well, a project for the future. I have too many on my plate.

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