Has anyone really used a 12V pump to fill tire?

[Glamisduner]

Trivial, but you do have to remove a plastic liner in the frunk to get to it. Have a tool handy to remove plastic rivets. I presume the wire is long enough to reach any tyre position ?

Yes, and a good length of hose too. The only hard part is that the engine must be running during use and the car does not have an engine hah! It will inflate a tire fairly quickly though.

This is the one I throw in my RzR for offroad emergencies.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ASY23I/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The bad thing is it does not come with a bag so I bought this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DD5H8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just toss your clip removal tool in the bag with the compressor.

 

[Dynastar]

I've had this one for almost 2 years now


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WOT3YM6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_GFRLBb9MHZ3W3

It has a nice case, I keep it in the frunk with my squeegee and window cleaner. It's a noisy little thing but works well. This summer on a road trip to California one of our tires developed a modest leak, about 15psi/day. I was using the pump twice a day, day in and day out, no issues.

 

[Nikola M3]

View attachment 333571

Failproof backup.

I seriously looked into that. The best one I found was 10 pumps for 3 psi

I take this all to mean that your old pump was the problem.

No the old pump was one that drew 10 amps at lower pressures up to 15 at higher pressure, not near as efficient as the HF one.

 

[Nikola M3]

[QUOTE="SageBrush, post: 3023292, OP: do you expect to remove the tyre from the car for the repair ?[/QUOTE]

I am planning the "kit" for nail punctures and such, anything major will need road service. The fronts are pretty easy to get to to do a plug without removing the wheel. The rears are going to be harder since there is not much exposed tread area but I think it is doable.

 

[SageBrush]

OP: do you expect to remove the tyre from the car for the repair ?

I am planning the "kit" for nail punctures and such, anything major will need road service. The fronts are pretty easy to get to to do a plug without removing the wheel. The rears are going to be harder since there is not much exposed tread area but I think it is doable.

Good luck. That was not my impression, so my emergency kit includes the tools needed to remove the tyre.

 

[Linkeds2]

After a lot of research I ended up buying this one;
12V 100 PSI High Volume Air Compressor
$29.99 plus tax. With the 20% coupon they have all the time it was $25.91 out the door.

I ran 2 identical tests. Model 3 front and rear tires on the ground with 20 psi to start, ambient temp 90 f.
The pump ran 3:47 / 3:51 to bring the tire to 44 psi. The pump was 147 / 150 f at the end. After 10 minutes off the pump was 115 degrees.

The pump ran very smooth and never moved on the garage floor. The noise level was not terribly loud, my previous pump was much louder and not sounded like it was trying to self destruct.

I did an amp test and it draws 6 - 9.5 amps depending on the pressure it is making. Surprisingly 40 - 50 lbs was the highest amps.

The gauge was reading 2 lbs over.

Through these tests the cigarette lighter never shut down.

Nice OP. For the most part, any of the recommendations everyone else gave probably would have worked too. The amperage rating for cigarette lighters are mostly the same for every car/make.

I think your old pump was slightly seized/rusted from sitting, causing it to work harder, thus drawing more amps to pop the circuit breaker in the cigarette lighter.

Probably any new pump will draw less than the cigar lighter’s amp rating.

Also fun fact, the pump will draw more amps when pumping up a tire with a lot of air in it already. It has to work harder to squeeze more PSI into the tire VS no pushback from a completely empty tire

 

[jamnmon66]

I tried compressors with my Jeep. Very different use case but I learned some lessons. On a Jeep, the tires are huge compared to the 3 and I ran them at 12psi offroad and 28-30 on the road. When I got off the trail, it would take 10-15 min. per tire with the three different compressors that I tried which is a very long time to get back on the road. I burned out all three of them until I finally gave up & got a CO2 system. I was trying to go cheap (less than $100) which was part of the problem. The cheaper compressors have a lower duty cycle which makes them more succeptable to overheating. I'm a bit jaded about portable compressors because of this so I just bought a bike pump in the automotive section at Walmart to throw in the trunk with a patch kit & TPMS safe goo. These tires are so small that a manual pump should be fine. I have a small shop compressor in the garage for routine top offs.

 

[rdlink]

I have this one and it's worked fine with the S and 3.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036E9VB6

Sorry, but according to the description on Amazon this one won't work with Tesla, since your engine needs to be running while using it...

 

[Nikola M3]

The amperage rating for cigarette lighters are mostly the same for every car/make.

Probably any new pump will draw less than the cigar lighter’s amp rating.

Also fun fact, the pump will draw more amps when pumping up a tire with a lot of air in it already. It has to work harder to squeeze more PSI into the tire VS no pushback from a completely empty tire

I like how people post things with no real experience. IC cars typically have 15 amp fuses, some 20, the Model 3 is 12 amp. Read the manual, this was the purpose of this post.

Pumps draw varying amps, read the specs on their manufactures web site or Amazon.

NO, the pumps do not necessarily draw more amps at higher pressure. I did the test, posted the results, I wasn't making it up, you try it !

 

[Linkeds2]

I like how people post things with no real experience. IC cars typically have 15 amp fuses, some 20, the Model 3 is 12 amp. Read the manual, this was the purpose of this post.

Pumps draw varying amps, read the specs on their manufactures web site or Amazon.

NO, the pumps do not necessarily draw more amps at higher pressure. I did the test, posted the results, I wasn't making it up, you try it !

My mistake, you’re right about fuse ratings. I was using my experience from a single make and their models

You are incorrect however, on pump amperage/vs load. Rule of thumb is that the higher the load is on the pump, the more amperage is needed to do the same amount of work. If the test you ran didn’t increase in amps then the pump you used had enough horsepower to maintain the load at a certain amperage

 

[AlasCon]

I have a brand-new M3, realized there is no spare tire, and ordered the Tesla Repair kit. Next day I got a flat, right outside my home! Hooked up the Tesla kit, but could not get power from the 12V "cigarette lighter" outlet in the center console. Drove my other car behind it and tapped 12V from its outlet, no problem. Hoping the tire will keep pressure overnight but a) annoying the M3 12V did not supply the needed power and b) what are the chances of getting a flat in a brand-new car the day after receiving the Repair Kit!

 

[electrictorque]

I used a high power 12V compressor connecting right to the 12v battery in the front of the car.

 

[barjohn]

I have plugged in a high powered compressor into the 12V socket and it worked just fine. I'm not sure why yours didn't but you need to get it checked.

 

[Wennfred]

This is the Repair Kit I got from Amazon, will have it for by Las Vegas run:

BETOOLL 67Pc Tire Repair Kit for... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JLQGJGC?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

And the pump:

EPAuto 12V DC Portable Air Compressor Pump, Digital Tire Inflator https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C2D145V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_FJ0XCbJ62VKZE

 

[Wennfred]

Here’s a small video on setting it up, it worked great and stopped once it hit the right PSI as posted.

Fred

 

[ranova]

I have a JACO air compressor with digital readout and auto shut off:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015VXWZ9O

Its incredibly fast to pump air in my 3 and the auto shut off is nice.

I wired my Blackvue B124 backup battery for my dash cam directly to the wires of the 12V socket to utilize up to 9 Amps for charging. I found out the hard way that when I try to inflate my tires AND the backup battery is charging, it causes the e-fuse to blow and have to wait 1-2 hours before the 12v socket works again. I have to wait until the battery is fully charged then the air compressor will work off the 12v socket. I'll have to install a switch or something to shut off the line to the backup battery when I need to inflate.

 

[Feathermerchan]

I use a Lithium Ion powered jump starter to power my compressor. It works great and makes the compressor totally portable. I can also use it to start my Tesla when the 12V battery dies. I just added a set of EC-5 connectors to the compressor wiring and plug it in.

 

[Wennfred]

I use a Lithium Ion powered jump starter to power my compressor. It works great and makes the compressor totally portable. I can also use it to start my Tesla when the 12V battery dies. I just added a set of EC-5 connectors to the compressor wiring and plug it in.

Can you post a link of that Lithium Ion jump starter. Thanks

 

[jkoya]

This is the Repair Kit I got from Amazon, will have it for by Las Vegas run:

Are you going to carry a jack and lug wrench with you or can you use this tire repair kit with the tire still on the car ?

 

[Feathermerchan]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BGRN4TF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is actually different from the one I am using. It has a 12V 10A output with 'cigarette lighter' adapter. So you don't have to make any connections. The one I have is a 3 cell LiPo battery (could be LiIon) that is about 12.5V fully charged at the EC-5 outlet where the jumper cables attach. The newer ones I have checked have 4 cell batteries and are about 16.5V fully charged. I have not tried one of the 16.5 V models with my compressor. It may be OK but will probably heat up faster and use up the brushes faster. As long as you do not need more than 10A the cigarette lighter output should be fine. you should be fine.
If using the EC-5 output put a fuse inline with your compressor. My jump starter has no fuses between the battery and the EC-5 connector.
These things go on sale pretty regularly so they can be less expensive.
I have a much larger one for my truck and it uses an EC-8 connector.