12 Volt Air Compressors

[Cuppa]

Pay attention to the duty cycle of any compressor you look at. More important than max PSI.

Some are advertised with no mention of duty cycle - give those ones a wide berth.

The higher the percentage of the duty cycle the better. 100% is best. They can run continuously without shutting down to cool, which not only is convenient but suggests far better quality construction (& promise of longer life).

I run a Boss PX07 with a 15 litre tank. Comparable in price to the bigger ARB units. Apart from being a good reliable & simple compressor, all parts necessary for a rebuild are readily available & the Aussie distributor is a really helpful bloke. I had originally installed mine poorly in such a way that any internal condensation collected in the check valve, which over time destroyed it. I emailed him with a query & he phoned me & then sorted me out with some different braided hoses & fittings so I could install differently a very reasonable cost (& far less than I could have got custom hoses made up for). Probably as close to a garage forecourt airline that you can get in 12volt. I bought mine on the recommendation of a friend who has travelled extensively throughout remote Australia over the past decade in his OKA & has used his PX07 regularly throughout without any issue whatsoever.

They also do smaller 100% duty cycle compressors which might suit better price-wise.