battery powered cordless tire/stuff inflator

masraum · 06-03-2025, 01:44 PM

Someone here on the board talked about having a cordless inflator that they said is quick and convenient for your common inflating needs. That struck a cord in me. I want one. I think it'll be convenient for topping up the tires on the mower, or the occasional car tire when I don't want to get out the big compressor.

I've got some Milwaukee M12 stuff and some Ryobi One+ 18V stuff.

Ryobi makes a "high pressure" 18V inflator that they sell for $29.

Milwaukee makes a 12V inflator that they sell for $119.

Several of the bigger brands have stuff that's $70-100, and then there is also a group that's $150-200. Prices are all over the place.

Anyone got any thoughts on the $120 12V milwaukee vs the $30 Ryobi? My other Ryobi stuff has been good/fine. My Milwaukee stuff is great. If it was $30 vs $60 or $30 vs $80, I'd probably go for the Milwaukee without thinking about it too much. But is the Milwaukee (at only 12V) really going to be 4x as good? But for only $30, I wonder how good can the Ryobi be?

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

I'd have to ask myself what am I going to use it for and how often am I going to use it.

stevej37 · 01:53 PM

I've had a Bauer 20 volt inflator from Harbor Freight for a few years now.
Works great for bike, lawn tractor, and car tires.
I like that you can set the max pressure and just let it run.... it'll stop when full.

But you'd need to get their charger also.

masraum · 06-03-2025, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevej37

I've had a Bauer 20 volt inflator from Harbor Freight for a few years now.
Works great for bike, lawn tractor, and car tires.
I like that you can set the max pressure and just let it run.... it'll stop when full.

But you'd need to get their charger also.

Yeah, most of them (including the $30 Ryobi and $120 Milwaukee) both do the "set and auto-shutoff" thing. I saw that HF had $20 and $40 models (tool only). I figure since I have some Ryobi and Milwaukee batteries and chargers, I'll stick to one of those two.

I've seen some reviews of the Ryobi that said "my gauge is 4psi off, so I have to set the shutoff to 39 if I want 35" which is not surprising and not a big deal. I never trust the gauges on regular air compressors either.

masraum · 06-03-2025, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

I'd have to ask myself what am I going to use it for and how often am I going to use it.

Mostly lawn and garden stuff and the occasional car tire. Probably pretty frequently on the lawn and garden stuff, and not as frequent for cars, but still maybe once a month.

aschen · 06-03-2025, 02:03 PM

Project farm has tested most of these, go to youtubes and find out.

I recall the millwaulkee one was near the top of his list though. The ryobi mantra though: sometimes good enough is good enough

WPOZZZ · 06-03-2025, 02:04 PM

Just get the Ryobi. I have some Chinese stuff and they work fine, esp with the auto shutoff. My nephew uses it for his road bike and I had to use the adapter for his racing valve, but it works.

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

I have a corded AirStation that I use on my bike tires and the cars once a month. I've had it for a long time. I don't trust the gauge on it either so use a Husky digital gauge. I don't know how accurate it is either, but at least I'm consistent with using the same gauge all the time. Tires on the cars are wearing nice and even so I'm happy. Bike rides better at 60+psi too I've found.

Paul T · 06-03-2025, 02:39 PM

Sounds handy, I’m curious…I just use one of these for mowers and such that I refill with the big compressor.

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

I have an air compressor that I bought 20 years ago for impact tools. It does great for filling up tires. I have looked at the cordless inflaters and figured they would be of little use to me.

I do have a compressor for tire inflation in all of my cars that run off of the cigarette lighter plug for emergencies.

masraum · 06-03-2025, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschen

Project farm has tested most of these, go to youtubes and find out.

I recall the millwaulkee one was near the top of his list though. The ryobi mantra though: sometimes good enough is good enough

Yeah, I spoke to some folks that convinced me that most of the time Ryobi is more than good enough at a great price which is why I have some, and so far they've been right.

A $29 air compressor just sounds too cheap, LOL.

masraum · 06-03-2025, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aschen

Project farm has tested most of these, go to youtubes and find out.

I recall the millwaulkee one was near the top of his list though. The ryobi mantra though: sometimes good enough is good enough

I'll check it out, thx.

rfuerst911sc · 06-03-2025, 02:57 PM

I have a Ridgid 18 volt from Home Depot that I bought about 6 months ago . I have two large compressors for the heavy duty stuff . But to do quick top offs I really like it . I have other Ridgid tools/batteries so it made sense .

I have used it to top off car tires and RV tires . Did some bikes and other stuff . They are fairly loud and do get warm . But so far so good .

masraum · 06-03-2025, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I have an air compressor that I bought 20 years ago for impact tools. It does great for filling up tires. I have looked at the cordless inflaters and figured they would be of little use to me.

I do have a compressor for tire inflation in all of my cars that run off of the cigarette lighter plug for emergencies.

When you've got a garage that's nicely setup where you can pull a car in and your compressor is right there, that's a great option. Our situation is a bit different, so I think a small cordless would be useful for me. I use a nice blackburn manual tire pump to inflate the tractor tires and garden cart tires, and that's a pain in the rear if the tires are really low.

WPOZZZ · 06-03-2025, 03:00 PM

I have one like this from Amazon. Just grab and go. Now it is only $15. Been using it for over a year for car tires and my nephew's basketballs and stuff.

masraum · 06-03-2025, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I have a Ridgid 18 volt from Home Depot that I bought about 6 months ago . I have two large compressors for the heavy duty stuff . But to do quick top offs I really like it . I have other Ridgid tools/batteries so it made sense .

I have used it to top off car tires and RV tires . Did some bikes and other stuff . They are fairly loud and do get warm . But so far so good .

I think you may have been the person that posted about it earlier this year. I seem to remember that it was a regular and they had a Rigid.

masraum · 06-03-2025, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

I have one like this from Amazon. Just grab and go. Now it is only $15. Been using it for over a year for car tires and my nephew's basketballs and stuff.

Nice. Sounds like a good buy.

amusing note based on the image
I wonder how many folks are airing up their new Aston Martin with this one?

craigster59 · craigster59's Garage

I've got the Ryobi 18v and it works great. I think they sell a different version but this is the one I have:

masraum · 06-03-2025, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigster59

I've got the Ryobi 18v and it works great. I think they sell a different version but this is the one I have:

Good to know, thanks.

The new version looks a little different.

masraum · 04:37 PM

This guy did a very unscientific, but direct comparison of the M12 (12V) Milwaukee and the 18V Ryobi. He aired up a truck tire from 0 psi to 31 psi, and the 12V Milwaukee (w/2Ah bat) beat the 18V Ryobi which was surprising. I saw another test of the 12V Milwaukee vs 18V Milwaukee, and the 18V was twice as fast to perform the same activity (some inflation).