Slime Tire Inflator, Portable Car, SUV, 4x4 Air Compressor, Heavy Duty, 150 Psi Dial Gauge - 40026

After wasting money on cheap inflators I decided to get a good one. This one inflates big tires on heavy vehicles fast. the hose screws on to the tire valve stem, which seemed odd at first but it really provides a secure connection. The power leads must be clipped directly to the battery as opposed to the usual cigarette lighter connection. The case is tough, but it's a little hard to stuff the cords back in after use.

As soon as I received my 40026, I decided to see what it was capable of. I have a 3/4 ton truck with "E" rated tires inflated to 72 psi. I removed a valve stem and completely deflated a tire right down to the garage floor. After replacing the stem, connecting the pumps hose and gauge, connecting the alligator clips to the trucks battery, I started the pump. Keeping in mind the recommended 10 minutes "on", 15 minutes "off", at 10 minutes the 40026 had inflated the tire to 64 psi. I could see the truck rising up off the garage floor. After 17 minutes or so, I restarted the pump. In less than 2 minutes the gauge was indicating ~73 psi. A check with a digital gauge showed 72.3 psi. Others have commented that the supplied gauge was very inaccurate. I didn't find that to be true in my case at all. Other 12 volt compressors I've owned have gauges that fluctuate wildly during operation. The user is left to interpolate the readings by guessing somewhere between high and low. The supplied gauge on my 40026 is extremely smooth and steady, and in my opinion, by comparing its readings to my digital pressure gauge, is as accurate as a non-calibrated analog gauge can be expected to be. The pump gets very hot, the eight foot long wires between the pump and alligator clips also get very warm. With the pump under no load (hose not connected to anything), engine not running, just available battery power, my 40026 used ~14.2 amps. Under load (hose connected to a tire already inflated to 72 psi, my 40026 used ~16.0 amps. It's reasonable to assume that as pressure increases, so does the current to operate the pump. In my opinion, the supplied wire to operate the pump is too light. The insulation is not marked, but it appears to be a marginal 14 gauge. I think it needs to be of heavier, 12 gauge wire. On my truck, the alligator clips can only make contact to a 6mm stud on the battery terminal. The combination of light wire, and a poor connection at the battery creates heat. A heavier, more permanent battery connector, instead of alligator clips, would probably let the 40026 run cooler. Also, had I run the trucks engine during this test, voltage at the battery would've been higher, and current would've been lower, creating less heat. All in all, I'm very pleased with the performance of the Slime 40026. It exceeded my expectations, and I'd recommend it to anyone.