Hi Mamarracho
After really lots of deliberation I ended up buying the Flash Air that you're talking about.
It's just amazing! It takes me 15 minutes to get my 6 tyres (twin rear) from 2 up to 5 bars after messing around in the sand. (yes my camper's horribly overweight)
It seats tubeless 235/85/16 tyres without any tricks.
Mine cost 500 euros in an industrial supplies shop in Grenoble, France. Equip'Raid in France has them but they cost more.
They're portable, not vehicle mounted but you need a professional airline and inflator. If you're going for 20 inch tyres it's perhaps handy to know they're available in 24 volts.
What are you driving? I'm in a Daily 4x4.
Cheers
Luke

Hi Luke,

Thanks for the reply, the figures looks quit impressive.
I'm driving a Unimog 404.1 but with a 12volt circuit
grtz,
Mamarracho

For those of you that live in the UK you will never beat this compressor for value and performance. Works like a full size 220 v compressor but is 12 volts and comes with a 5 ltr resivor that can be modified to either be removed or clipped on. Has 100% duty cycle so can run all day without a break its a lovely bit of kit The website is http://www.diy-compressors.com/shop/...sors.htm#koala and its the koala gets good reviews when compared to the best read here http://www.nissan4x4.co.za/technical...rs/article.htm hope this helps

Yep, the Koala's pretty convincing, and that price isn't bad.
The dealer I used got them both in for me so I could compare them head to head:
The Koala's nice in that when you've finished one tyre and you're moving to the next the pump is filling the reservoir rather than blowing through the pressure relief valve, but in sheer inflating speed the Flash air won outright; even with the Koala's tank pre-filled. A tank needs do contain at least half the air a tyre needs before it can begin to make a difference in speed, and for my application topping up a tyre blows back into the tank if you haven't waited for it to fill first.

Does anybody know where in the UK one can buy the The ExtremeAire Severe air compressor from? They seem to retail for about $380 in the US. Bet they are more than that here, is it a US made compressor?

Left SA last month, currently in Zim and will be heading for Nairobi in mid Feb. Anyone got any "localised" solutions to the air problem? As I don't have long bucks can anyone point me towards another solution, ie: air con conversions?

So you would rate this compressor as a good choice over the koala? Is it well made etc? Been looking at the Extremeair severe website here http://www.roverworld.com/extreme_aire_english.htm not too sure now which one to go for

For over a year of hesitating on how to get air into the tyres I was convinced the Extremeaire severe was the pump for me, but at the time couldn't find anyone who imported it (good to see that's changed even if the price doesn't reflect the US price and the weak dollar)
Now that I've got the Flash Air I'm happy. I can't compare directly because I haven't tried the Extremeaire but the figures and sizes speak for themselves: 3/4hp = 0.5Kw where the Flash is 0.75Kw, the cables on the Flash are considerably thicker implying more power, the cylinder is bigger on the Flash so it will push more air. It also has a bigger cooling fan.
The other argument is convenience; the Flash is ready to use, it even comes with a quick release to attach your air line, and is portable (great when you can't be bothered to run your engine to fix someone else's puncture, or for use at home)
The Extremeaire requires some installing and I was ready to leave (although it looks cool to have just an airline coming out of the side of the car)
Hope this helps
Luke

Yes the flashair looks cool on paper but when I spoke to my supplier they informed me that it has a 50% duty cycle it cant be run continually only 30 min on and 30 min off. Secondly when I have spoken to others both in the USA and UK they have informed me that the specifications on the airflash are over rated by about 30%. So I dont know what to think. Think I will go for the Koala at £185 with the airtank included

Duty cycle, that's a point.
I once had to run my Flash for about 25 minutes.
That was to bring my 6 tyres from 2 to 5 bars, our guide's jeep Cherokee tyres from 1 to 3 bars and the mercedes 190 he was towing also needed its tyres topping up.
The instructions in the box don't say anything about letting it rest after a given time. With my vehicle it might have been a problem if the pump were a little slower. The only thing I noticed is that the compressor end of the airline does get very hot, not a problem with the Koala because of the tank.
It's a great shame your dealer won't get them both in so you can do a head to head test and decide yourself; they're both excellent compressors and he's guaranteed to sell the one you don't take.
Whichever one you decide for you'll be happy, now all you have to do is find a place to stow it that's handy but out of the way.
Happy trails
Luke

Hi Luke do you have any pics of your airflash compressor? Does it have a pressure gauge on it etc.

Got the pics, I'm no good at sites so if someone can suggest a picture sharing site...
No pressure gauge, the cylinder head has a blowoff valve that you can set, I just put it to max and use the gauge on my cheap'n'cheerful airline inflator.

http://www.onboardair.com/trailhead.htm This is a good system if you can afforf the $1100 price tag. Think you could design it all yourself though. Buy a winch motor and connect it up to a york or other air conditioner pump via a shaft connector. Not too sure if one could use a car starter motor to drive the compressor too, and ideas? Try yahoo for pic downloads..

highlanderhead,

Guys, this is like reinventing the wheel ... In your car you already have a power source that delivers hundreds of horspower, enough to drive even the biggest compressor! All it takes to use this power is a bracket and a pulley.

What is to be gained by converting the rotary power of the engine into electrical power to be sent down the wires to be recoverted into rotary power of the compressor?



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Roman (UK)
www.overlandcruiser.info

Yes I am aware of that, problem is I want a good strong compressor that will allow me to work away from the vehicle too.