Anyone carry an emergency 12V tire compressor to allow to drive to a garage station to get a flat repaired.

[SylvainG]

This is assuming you can't reach Tesla road service assistance or it will take too long for them to get to your location.

If you're carrying one, which one and does it work well to inflate to 45 PSI?

Thanks

PS. I couldn't find Tesla's own compressor on their website this morning.

 

[Candleflame]

I have a shop compressor at home and cottage so that's not an issue but on my trip to the cottage, I pass through areas with no cell coverage and no house around so that's the areas I want to be able to fix a flat if it happens.

I also drive a lot rurally including in the past being >700km away from any useful help.

take good care of your tires and dont drive them down to i..e 1 or 2mm and blowouts wont happen. if you get a nail etc into the tire then use a tire patch kit to fix it. no need to jack the car.

 

[SlimJim]

View attachment 713908

Oops..

 

[RayK]

I paid $38 back in March 2020 at Home Depot:

Works pretty well but I need to swap out the battery every other month to make sure it's charged up.

 

[SylvainG]

My issue with battery operated compressor is it could be years before you need it and just like a spare that you never check if it's inflated because you never have to use it too, the battery will be too low to reinflate the tire. That's also my concern with a filled air tank, which could leak air over time (like the spare) and not have enough to inflate the tire. So the only option left is a 12V operated compressor but with a 15A fuse (12A usable according to the manual), it's slow to inflate to 40+ PSI.

 

[jjj784]

I only use Viair. Same brand as a lot of bagged suspensions use. If it can keep up with raising and lowering a car, then it's good enough to air up a tire for me.

 

[Candleflame]

My issue with battery operated compressor is it could be years before you need it and just like a spare that you never check if it's inflated because you never have to use it too, the battery will be too low to reinflate the tire. That's also my concern with a filled air tank, which could leak air over time (like the spare) and not have enough to inflate the tire. So the only option left is a 12V operated compressor but with a 15A fuse (12A usable according to the manual), it's slow to inflate to 40+ PSI.

you get a compressor you plug in into your 12v outlet.................
If you do get a flat then waiting a few minutes to inflate means nothing if you can continue your journey thereafter.

 

[SylvainG]

Ok, thanks all. I bought this pump and this tire repair kit. Chose that repair kit because I already have the type where you insert the sticky piece and pull the tool out which cut the piece in two at the cottage. Repairing a tire off the car with that tool requires some pressure that would be uncomfortable if you tried to do it with the tire still on the car. That tool I bought has the sticky stuff inside the tool shaft so I presume will be easier (ie, less friction) to push in. I'll bring the reamer from the set I have at the cottage with me in case I need to increase the size of the puncture. Hope I never have to use it.

 

[bjrosen]

I own this one

Milwaukee M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Electric Portable Inflator Kit with 4.0 Ah Battery and Charger 2475-21XC - The Home Depot

Fastest Cordless Tire Inflator. The Milwaukee M12 Compact Inflator delivers fast, accurate, easy inflation with the portability to take anywhere. The inflator has the capability to complete demanding applications like car, LT truck, and compact equipment tires, the M12 Compact Inflator gives...

www.homedepot.com

It's expensive but it's high power and runs off of a lithium battery. I a 12 V tire pump but it kept blowing the fuse in my last gas car. I then switched to a 120V AC and that would trip the GFCI on the outdoor socket. This works great and you don't have a long power cord to drag around.

 

[bo3bdar]

Ok, thanks all. I bought this pump and this tire repair kit. Chose that repair kit because I already have the type where you insert the sticky piece and pull the tool out which cut the piece in two at the cottage. Repairing a tire off the car with that tool requires some pressure that would be uncomfortable if you tried to do it with the tire still on the car. That tool I bought has the sticky stuff inside the tool shaft so I presume will be easier (ie, less friction) to push in. I'll bring the reamer from the set I have at the cottage with me in case I need to increase the size of the puncture. Hope I never have to use it.

Looks like a good choice to me. If I hadn't already picked up the Tesla kit when it was in stock, and tested it already for functionality, I would have gone with that one.

The digital pressure gauge will be far superior to the Tesla-kit analog gauge that reads low, no backlight, and is hard to read.

 

[afadeev]

I have the Tesla one. Plus a plug kit. Plus a spare (which comes along on remote drives),

yeah i have a tire repair kit and a small compressor .the compressor is handy to keep the tire inflated as you dont visit petrol stations.

+1 on always carrying a Dynaplug and a slime+inflating kits in all my cars, including Model 3. You really need both, to get out of a jam (BTDT).
I don't bother with spare donuts, but I do have a set of winter tires at home. Once, I had to borrow one winter wheel as a spare (wheel was bent enough to break the tire bead).

This is a link to DynaPlug:
https://www.amazon.com/Dynaplug-Ult...dynaplug&qid=1632232452&sr=8-23&tag=tmc064-20

The slime kit I bought was manufactured by Continental (OEM for many German car kits), but is no longer available. This one is similar: https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Spair-...cphy=9003763&hvtargid=pla-1186707556305&psc=1

HTH,
a

 

[android04]

Strange. I bought the one from Tesla just a month ago. Wonder why it's MIA now.

It's not particularly special, but I bought theirs under the assumption that the goo gumming up the TPMS sensor might be covered under goodwill if I were to need to use it. Their kit looks to just be a rebranded version of the Mopar kit.

I used this to reinflate my tires after a year, and getting a TPMS alert for low air at 38 psi. Inflating all 4 tires to 45 was not a problem. However, the pressure gauge on the device reads high, so I had to do it twice to get a real 45 from my digital gauge, and the TPMS sensors.

The kit seems really cheesy and low budget, it wouldn't start inflating once, until I powered off then back on. Someone else on here reported that their kit wouldn't run the compressor at all. I'd recommend skip the Tesla kit even if it comes back, and go with something higher quality. You don't want a safety item like this to fail at the one time you really, really need it.

I have had the Tesla tire inflator for 3.5 years and it worked fine for a while. Then I started having issues with it turning off (and read about a few others that had the same issue). I ended up figuring out the issue and fixing mine. The problem is that the solid state relay that the manufacturer uses to power the pump motor when you press the ON switch fails. Mine worked for a little while if I put pressure on it with my finger right at the part above the knob to switch between INFLATE and FLAT REPAIR. I fixed mine to be way more durable by replacing the circuit board with the solid state relay with an actual 30 Amp relay. I lost the ability to use the flat repair canister, but I didn't need that anyway (I used it up on some ATV wheels so it wouldn't go to waste). I put the relay in the spot where the canister was and can store my tire plug kit in the same spot.



Anyway, I recommend this tire inflator if you are buying one and want a nice one with auto-shutoff at your set pressure and can run on both 12VDC and 120VAC SmartPro 2.0 Digital Tire Inflator (AC/DC) - Portable Air Compressor

 

[android04]

Ok, thanks all. I bought this pump and this tire repair kit. Chose that repair kit because I already have the type where you insert the sticky piece and pull the tool out which cut the piece in two at the cottage. Repairing a tire off the car with that tool requires some pressure that would be uncomfortable if you tried to do it with the tire still on the car. That tool I bought has the sticky stuff inside the tool shaft so I presume will be easier (ie, less friction) to push in. I'll bring the reamer from the set I have at the cottage with me in case I need to increase the size of the puncture. Hope I never have to use it.

That's a good tire inflator. I have it and have used it multiple times to inflate trailer tires up to 100 PSI. I was reading the specs on that link and it seems to say that it will go up to 70 PSI, so I don't know if mine (it's older but looks exactly the same) has better specs for some reason or if they limited the newer ones.

 

[ODWms]

I’ve been using a $25 tire inflator I got from Amazon a few years back. Keep one in all cars. It works perfectly, and has never had any issues with blowing fuses or anything. Making sure a battery powered one is charged each month would be more of a hassle to me than keeping the corded one in the trunk until the time (months? Years?) between uses. The good news is we all have so many options, we’re sure to find whatever suits our need out there.

 

[RedModel3]

Ok, thanks all. I bought this pump and this tire repair kit. Chose that repair kit because I already have the type where you insert the sticky piece and pull the tool out which cut the piece in two at the cottage. Repairing a tire off the car with that tool requires some pressure that would be uncomfortable if you tried to do it with the tire still on the car. That tool I bought has the sticky stuff inside the tool shaft so I presume will be easier (ie, less friction) to push in. I'll bring the reamer from the set I have at the cottage with me in case I need to increase the size of the puncture. Hope I never have to use it.

Have you ever had a problem with the pump blowing a fuse because it pulls 15A?

 

[RedModel3]

Ok, thanks all. I bought this pump and this tire repair kit. Chose that repair kit because I already have the type where you insert the sticky piece and pull the tool out which cut the piece in two at the cottage. Repairing a tire off the car with that tool requires some pressure that would be uncomfortable if you tried to do it with the tire still on the car. That tool I bought has the sticky stuff inside the tool shaft so I presume will be easier (ie, less friction) to push in. I'll bring the reamer from the set I have at the cottage with me in case I need to increase the size of the puncture. Hope I never have to use it.

How is that pump different from this one for much less? I've looked at both and can't quite figure it out.

 

[Candleflame]

How is that pump different from this one for much less? I've looked at both and can't quite figure it out.

10 dollars less isnt much less. its the difference between less markup and maybe less quality control. they are the same.

 

[holmgang]

Never seen a 12V compressor on the market that wasn't absolute parts bin junk. So I carry for compressor aerosol + sealant can (along with flat patch kit) for worst case emergencies. For normal use case, ill just rely on on-road assistance.

 

[play150]

I've been keeping a small, cheap 12V compressor in the frunk to keep my tires inflated to the correct pressure since I don't stop at the gas station any more to inflate there.

 

[abasile]

I just keep a largish, manual bike pump in the car. It cost maybe $25 at Walmart, and we mostly use it for our mountain bike tires. Thanks to the larger barrel, it's not bad for inflating car tires, and it's what I routinely use to top off all cars at 45 psi. There's no need to worry about 12V cables, and it's reliable!

 

[CoastieM3]

I bought one from Griots. Appears to be exactly the same as the “Tesla” one but cheaper (shocker). The volvo I had previously came with one.

12V Tire Inflator and Repair System

A convenient tire repair kit can keep you from being stranded on the road. Includes 450 mL of tire, rim, and TPMS-safe sealant and heavy-duty air compressor.

www.griotsgarage.com