Why I Stopped Using Air Compressors | Chasing Dust
We’ve all been there. It’s dark, it’s cold, you had a great time wheeling with friends but by now you’ve been on the trail for 12 hours, and all you want to do is air up the tires and get home for a shower. But you have this tiny compressor that takes 20 minutes to fill your tires, and you remember somebody telling you about how fast the Power Tank is.
On this episode, Matt is doing a real-world live comparison of some popular tire inflation methods to find out which is really a faster solution. On our list of products, he’s got a Viair 440P portable compressor, an All-Top dual compressor with a 4-way hose to fill all four tires at the same time, and lastly, his trusty 15 lbs Power Tank compressed CO2 on board air system.
The Test: Air-down all four 37-inch Nitto Trail Grapplers on his Bronco Raptor to 15psi. Using the different products, Matt times himself while setting up each product, filling them to 35psi, and packing it back into the Bronco. But this isn’t a race, so Matt is moving at a normal pace, to recreate real-world conditions. Watch the video to find out which is the fastest way to pump up your off-road tires!
Before closing us out, Matt gives us a quick demo of his Monster Valve Tap2s, and how Power Tank even takes it a step further with these ultra-fast tire valves made to flow much more air.
We hope you enjoy and happy wheeling!
00:00 | Intro
00:45 | Is the Power Tank Faster Than a Compressor?
02:18 | Airing Down My Nitto Trail Grapplers
02:57 | Viair 440P Compressor for Off-Road Tires
05:07 | All Top Dual Compressor with 4-way Hose for Off-Road Tires
07:21 | Power Tank 15 lb CO2 tank for Off-Road Tires
09:05 | Power Tank Monster Valve TAP 2 Demo
11:40 | Wrap-Up
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That cost though. You could buy 3 or 4 good compressors before you even get to the price of the powertank. Not to mention I don't think you'll be burning $25 worth of gas to idle and air up with a compressor. Do you carry a compressor? Because if you don't, and you forgot to fill that tank before you got on the trail you'll be screwed.
One thing to consider, with compressors you are putting water into your tires with each fill up. With the Powertank you are putting in very dry air or N2, depending on where you get it filled.
25 bucks? That’s beer money
But who wants to keep paying to fill up the tank. Gets expensive if you use it a lot.
The gas from your idling engine while your compressor is running isn't free, either.
I can refill my 15-pound tank for $20 at a local fire extegisher shop.
I can fill my tank for about $20! By the time i pay, the tank is ready. Can fill up ~34” x4 tires multiple times, i only need to refill 3x/year. The compressors get hot by 2nd or 3rd tire, multiple parts to break on compressors, very few parts to fail on POWER TANK. I went from compressor to power tank, never looked back. Only drawback for me was power tank takes up more space.
Going to the 4 hose - Dual compressor system. Did you check the tire pressure with a proper gauge at each tire after the process was complete? Some people have "said" the gauge on the 4 hose does not register 100% correct. tire pressures. Any idea if the 4 way hose registers correct pressures at each tire???
I love my Monster Valves and Powertank. 💯 % worth the money.
What about if your twin compressor (with 100% duty cycle) is vehicle mounted and permanently connected to power though? Just need to connect the hose and flick the switch and if the 4-way hose is used, would be so much simpler and efficient than having to carry around a tank that only lasts a few trips and then have to go into a store to pay for it to be refilled. This is a silly comparison just to sell the power tank… Spend the extra few minutes to take in your surroundings and a few deep breaths. If you hit the trails as much as i do, you’d be spending hundreds of dollars a year in air pressure that the compressor produces for free… The maths outweighs my impatience any day lol…
Plus you can also air up your mates rigs too… for free…
Yes its impressive but what is the cost for the air tank and monstervalves?
I have a power tank 15lb setup actually 2 of them to switch out. But i also have a viair dual setup with a small tank installed in the jeep as well. I like the power tank a lot but i dont like the idea of running out of air.
The Power Tank takes up too much space for me but I didn't even know it existed. Thanks for the info.
Definitely compelling. Thanks
Can you use regular compressed air instead CO2?
These tanks are made for CO2. Power Tank has great info on their site about the differences between air and CO2.
If you value not just speed, but reliability and simplicity, CO2 is the way to go!
Ironically, my dual compressor stopped working after filming this video lol. Power Tank FTW!
I air down to 10psi off-road, and 60 psi on road. I have a compressor that feeds a tank mounted in the bed of my raptor. It might take 10 minutes to refill.
😂 now add the time it takes for you to go somewhere and get the tank filled! Nice commercial tho.
4 way monster valve?
The compressor actually works less hard with a 4 way hose because the biggest point of resistance is the connection valve in the tires, which is why they get so hot
If I was racing off road I would take the power tank. But for overlanding, camping, regular off roading the compressor is cheaper and takes less space.
I guess I'm not in that big of a hurry. For the last five years I've been using my little dewalt portable compressor. It takes 25 minutes to go from 10 to 26 lbs in my 35's, and only requires a 6"x6" footprint. No extra hoses, nothing to refill, I just charge the battery after every trip, but can do multiple trips on one 5ah battery. As far as that monster valve goes... How much time does it take to replace on the trail when that huge unsightly thing gets ripped off by a rock or tree root?
Different wheels allow for tapping the valve further inset. I don’t do much rock crawling with this rig so I’m not too worried about it getting ripped out.
Good point on the Monster valve - More complexity is NOT necessarily good! (solution looking for a problem) I use the Milwaukee M12 inflater. Set the target psi - walk away (beer break) & it shuts down when done - SIMPLE... WRT the battery - I have several M12 tools in my rig so there is Always a battery with a charge - So Nice. Also as you indicated - small footprint.
I've always just used a 15L Faber 230Bar scuba tank/Regulator to fill mine. So much easier and quicker.
Duel compressor 10 minutes for $279, vs 4-5 min for $789. Think I'll enjoy the 10 minute air up, lol.
Bro you need central tire inflation system
You didn't explain the tank being horizontal???? Might want to explain that to the newbies so they don't do that without knowing what's needed first.
I could go 5 minutes alone on that, didn't want to lose people with a longer video. I learned this the hard, painful way. Because these tanks contain extremely cold liquid CO2, you cannot mount a normal tank horizontally without Power Tank's snorkel tube. They pre-fit the tank with this tube, and it allows for the gas to flow into the regulator without allowing the liquid to escape and freeze your regulator/lines. Standard tanks must be mounted vertically, or you risk freezing/damaging your equipment, or worse, getting an ice burn on your hand.
Please buy a tripod and put the camera on it. You’re making me nauseous with all the wild swinging of the camera. This is a large channel, how can you not know that wildly shaking the camera around 1 inch from your face is not a good thing.
I know a really good inner ear doctor if you need one.
@@desertchief5769 Yeah, can you link it here?
@@desertchief5769 Just got back from the doctors office, after an extensive panels of tests, he found the root cause was a non-stabilized camera on a selfie stick.
Dual air compressor with a 15 lbs air tank connected. Then with the 4 way hose. Quickest method for me. Also doesn’t take up my limited storage.