This is an excellent 12 Volt compressor for light to medium duty inflation jobs. It's small and packs neatly inside the included bag. I keep mine in the trunk for roadside emergencies or even just the occasional pressure adjustment. It also makes light work of inflating bicycle and lawn equipment tires.
I also own a Craftsman, Campbell Hausfeld, & a Superflow HV35 from Q Industries(see the review). I have tested all the units on time to inflate a 215-70R14 from zero to 32lbs. In terms of speed to inflate the Viair 70p and Superflow HV35 blow away the lesser units from Craftsman and C.H.
It takes 15+ minutes to inflate with either of the lesser models. The 70p can handle the task in around 4.5 minutes where the HV35 was closer to 4 minutes flat. In addition to the speed advantages both higher end units do their job in a much smoother and quieter manner.
The 70p's advantages over the HV35 are: Build quality, lower sound output and lower running temperatures. It also seems to draw less current making it less likely to blow your accessory port fuse.
With it's sturdy construction, smooth, quiet, & cool operation, I have little doubt that this compressor will be there when I need it. For the $40 price tag it is a hight value per dollar when compared to lesser makes. Viair 00073 70P Heavy Duty Portable Compressor
I cannot believe how good this thing is!
I've spent some time doing research and happy i got this particular item
I have BMW with 19 inch sport wheels and low profile tires
This compressor is a part of my road side emergency kit
I have tire plugger and jack in addition to compressor as whole setup to fix my tire if i catch screw or nail while on the road
I have not had any issues in that regard yet, but i did use the comressor to inflate my tire.
It was a bit under spec, so i had to add some air
This little beast did the job within less than 30 second
Yes, not minutes, seconds!
It went from 34psi to 38psi in just a matter of seconds
It was done without any sweat either
Very little noise, very little vibration
Key things i like (also main reasons i bought it):
1. very small/compact compressor
2. powerfull enough to inflate even sport tires
3. super fast
4. built quality is very good
5. inflates other stuff (beach toys, sport equipment)
Great little compressor and built very well. Used this at the track to add air to the tires, the fastest cig lighter air compressor I ever used. I had many 20, 25 dollars air compressor and they all break within a year. The size is comparable to the other cheaper compressor not too big, which is nice. The pressure gauge on the compressor is good enough to help you fill your flat tire, just read it when the compressor is off.
update- Almost 3 years later, still runs like a champ. I don't really know what to say anymore cause its still working great. Would buy an other one if I lose it, cause this thing is not gonna break.
Works like a charm. Smooth operation, quick to inflate, reasonably quiet. Has a built in pressure gauge (excellent feature) and extra long cables.
Have used a campbell hausfield (got the job done, but was noisy and slow). This would be an acceptable and cheaper alternative.
Bought and returned a Slime unit (didn't inflate the tire, was noisy and dangerously HOT). Not an alternative.
I bought this to use on a motorcycle. The pump's size is remarkably small for its output and the carrying case makes it perfect to carry on a motorcycle. However, the built-in gauge for the pump shows 50 pounds when the tires only have 40. That's far too inaccurate to be safe. I compared the pump's built-in gauge against a digital pressure gauge (which is accurate to 0.5 psi) and against the motorcycle's onboard internal gauge (accurate to within 1 psi). Both the external and internal digital readings were identical, but 10 pounds under the pump's readings. A 25% error bar is intolerable.
The pump itself worked well until about 18 months later when it started making noise and about a week later it died. I have another cheaper machine by another brand that I kept in my car which lasted 10 years. The failure of this Viair pump so soon after I bought it makes the rating much lower.
I've owned several portable air compressors. All run off the cigarette lighter. This unit is the best so far. It is very sturdily constructed. The others that I've used seem to be all plastic and flimsy. This compressor is mostly all metal, with a handy carry handle, and inflates car tires very quickly. It also doesn't make as loud a buzzing sound and stays relatively cool, compared with some of the other units I've tried.
One negative is that the included tire pressure gauge was a few pounds off (compared with my hand held gauge).
I received the unit, opened the box, read the instructions, and proceeded to top off my rear tires to my ford f250, took longer than expected, but was ok with it as long as it did its job. . . well it didn't. i stopped a few pounds from full, and when i restarted the unit, it blew its fuse. so, . . . a 20 minute ride to the auto parts store to get a pack of fuses, get home, and proceed to try to inflate the other rear tire. it ran for at least 7-8 minutes, did not inflate to anywhere near full, and then blew its fuse again. my engine was running as directed by the instructions, just not a very strong unit, maybe i got a dud??, anyhows, its going back and am going to try another brand, will report how it works out. . .
This pump measures up to what everyone has been saying about it. Great quality, compact size, VERY quiet for an air compressor, and it works fast, too. I like the carrying bag. I give it four stars because the cigarette lighter plug is designed for deep cigarette lighter outlets. I have a '94 Nissan Altima, and no matter what, the plug keeps popping out of the outlet. I have to either ask someone to hold the plug in while I use the pump or wedge a clip by my ashtray to keep it in. I really like the pump, so I'm going to keep it and shop for some kind of adapter. One more thing is that it would be nice if the bag had some kind of pocket to hold tip adapters (for pumping up sports balls, etc.... I don't really want to those to rattle around loose in the bag).
Added comment 6/2/09 -- One reviewer mentioned that the screw-on attachment causes some air pressure to be lost from the tire after you fill it up. Although this attachment is very secure, I agree that it's a setback. However, I found the perfect solution: the Topeak Pressure-Rite Anit-Air Loss Connector. This thing is AWESOME. I got it for my bike tires, and it works great on car tires, too, which have identical valves. I highly recommend both the air pump and the pressure-rite adapter.
Also, in response to a couple of reviews, the gauge on my compressor works great.
Added comment 7/14/10 -- Some people seem to be having trouble using the Topeak Pressure-Rite adapter with the Viair 70P because the threading on the adapter and the pump don't seem to match very well. Mine seems to work fine, although you do need to be a little careful when screwing it on. After attaching the Pressure-Rite adapter to the pump, I don't even bother removing it. It could be that the threading on one is metric and the other English, in which case a screw adapter would be ideal. I haven't checked the actual threading sizes, but I'll post an update if I find out. Also, it could be that not every individual product is the same, and some people could have better luck than others.
Keep in mind that the two products are made by different companies and were not specifically designed to be used together. However, I've been using them regularly to fill my bike and car tires for over a year now. When I screw the adapter onto the tire valve before turning the pump on, the pump will show zero pressure (note that this is with the adapter attached). When I turn the pump on, the pressure climbs quickly to the current pressure of the tire and then stabilizes. Then it climbs as the tire is being filled. The pressure that is displayed while it's filling is a little higher than the actual pressure. After I turn the pump off, I wait for the pressure to go down slightly to know what the actual pressure is.
When I unscrew the adapter from the tire valve, I can hear air leaking out. HOWEVER, this air does NOT appear to be coming from the tire, but it seems to be excess air coming out of the pump. I know this because when I check the tire pressure, it's what I expect it to be. Also, if I remove the adapter quickly enough, I can still hear air coming out even though the adapter is completely removed from the tire (which means that it's coming from the pump and not the tire). Like I said, I regularly use this to fill bike tires up to 100-120 psi. I go on numerous rides that are 50+ miles at 16+ mph. After learning how to use the pump properly (after just 1 or 2 tries), the only flat I ever got was when I was going through gravel in a bike lane. If there was a lot of air leaking out when I removed the adapter from the tire, the tire pressure would go down significantly, the tire itself would feel squishy and not rock solid, and I would get a lot more flats. This adapter is pretty much the only reason that I'm even capable of using the Viair 70P with bike tires because otherwise the screw-on attachment (without the adapter) would leak too much air when I removed it due to the high pressure in the tires. For car tires, though, it's probably not that big of a deal because they're only about 30 psi instead of 120 psi.
So in summary, the Topeak Pressure-Rite adapter is great addition to the Viair 70P, but it might take a little bit of getting used to.
Also, for the deep cigarette outlet issue, I found this adapter which works pretty well: Multi-Use Vehicle Charger with Dual USB Ports and Dual 12 Volt Sockets - Magnadyne - Compressor - Air Pump - Air Compressor - Portable 12v Air Compressor'
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