Tyre inflator

Does anyone have experience with using the tyre inflators that plug into the cigarette lighter socket ?

Specifically, there is a Coido 2 in 1 Vaccum cleaner + Tyre Inflator which is selling on ebay for around Rs. 1300/1400. It seems like an useful combo provided it works. I am planning to buy this.

Have read some reviews on teambhp which suggest that the manually operated foot pumps are better. People who have experiences - please comment.

They are only any use if you have just fixed your own Puncture at Home ! Not many of us have Inner Tubes anymore . I would expect that you get free air at the filling stations like we do ! ? Also they will take a lot out of your battery and could maybe blow a fuse with the power they will be taking from the cigarette Lighter
Just my Thoughts

Thank you for your response, Stu. You are as helpful as ever.

With the hot summers we have, tyres tend to loose some air with time, Hence it needs regular checking and refilling. Not all filling stations have pumps, the one where I go doesnt have one. So i go to a tyre mechanic every week and check the pressure.

Another advantage of having the inflator is: when the tubless tyre goes flat, one can fill in some air - enough to drive to a nearby tyre mechanic and get the puncture removed or the tyre changed. That is why i want to get one.

One more reason to consider this one is that it doubles as a vaccum cleaner.

I would advise Take The mother in law with you They are normally "Full of Wind"

@Stuart,
You seemto be particularly fond of your M-I-L right? Earlier the famous mascot on the car and now this.

@Sachin,
Regarding your query, there are many brands available in the market starting from as low as 1300 to 3500.

Ideally every dealer or accessory store keeps just about 2 types of these inflators.
In case you really wish to buy one of these, you must try to get to a wholesale distributor who stocks all ranges of these pumps. They are usually willing to share quality information about the product as a single piece sale will not make much difference to their sales.

I in particular felt the need for an air pump for the following reasons.

1. The nearest gas station from my place is 3km. So, it defeats the possibility of filling air in tires when they are cold.
2. Gas stations are usually crowded.
3. Certain long stretches that I drove in my car were deserted and bad. Real bad. And though I did not have any flats, in case 2 tires were were to go down hissing, I'd atleast be able to pump it up till the nearest possible repair outlet.
4. We have 2 cars in the house and a 2wheeler. So, it may be worth the money.

I personally keep spare fuses with me and am planning to keep a repair kit, once I get back to India.

If I am not changing your opinion, may I suggest something else?
Yuo get foot operated air pumps (on eBay also) starting from 300. Price depends on volume displacement.
I find them to be more value-for-money. And there is no fear of blowing fuses or draining battery.
One of my friends bought this stuff, let me check how handy it has been.

But you will not be able to use it as a vacuum cleaner

Thank you for the advice, vsuprak ! It helps.

I am keeping my decision pending till I find someone who has used it

sachinp , I use a foot pump rather than the one which draws power from the cigarette lighter socket. I also keep a digital tyre pressure gauge and keep monitoring the tyre pressure every weekend. believe me if you keep checking the tyre pressure on a week end , you may have lost say about 1 PSI of air, this is easily inflatable using the foot air pump, also it is easy to maintain and costs only INR500. It is avialble widely at the shops in Opera house, to narrow down your search, you can visit Benham hall lane and go to Mehta tools shop and ask for the Maruti air foot pump. It is a single barrel air pump and does the job easily.It has been over a year that I have been using it. It also comes in handy if your PSI has dropped as low as 14 PSI, one can easily inflate air, although one may find it a bit though initially , I would suggest that you invest in one and maintain your tyre pressure all the time and never allow it to fall below your preference. By that you will have to exert less while filling air and will not have to wait at the filling station for your turn to arrive. Needless to say the benefits of maintaining the correct / recomended tyre pressure all the time. The trouble with the tyre pressure drawing power from the cigarette light is that it keeps stopping till it has generated pressure enough to pump in the tyre, also it strains the battery, needless, the car battery has other thing to supply power to.

Thank you Siddharth for sharing the actual owner review. It definitely helps.

As I said before, a mechanical device with a digital check support is far more cheaper & reliable compared to the compressor that runs on the battery.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TPMS-Tire-Pressure-LCD-Display-Monitor-Universal-Wireless-4x-Sensors-System-EMS-/281013898359?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Wheels_tyre_Trims_Trims_ET&hash=item416dbbcc77

I use this one from eBay. Been using it for the past 2yrs. There have been no issues of battery drain as well. It can be used for topping up and if you want to use it for filling up an empty tyre then it will take a loootss of time. The issue is you can continuously use if for 8minutes then you have to wait for 10minutes to use it again. To prolong it life its better to use that way as it keeps getting hot.

There is a guage along with it but its analog one not very much reliable. Hence I bought a digital one from eBay. That shows reading in all sort of units Bar/PSI etc, its got a LED, its solar and battery powered.

Its useful one. You can check once in 1 or 2 weeks and top accordingly.

To tell the truth I check my tires about once every 2 months and they are hardly ever down ! you just need good Valves and no dents in your rims ! Alloy rims need checking because they are know to leak air

20 to 25 Mins to blow up a tire !!!!!! I could definitely use the Mother In Law

Here is the buyers Views from your inflater http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B000NBVMRG/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Not bad for the price of 6 English Pounds http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-425689-Mini-Air-Compressor/dp/B000NBVMRG/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1368434191&sr=8-18&keywords=electric+car+tyre+pump

But a foot Pump is Quicker

Yes, you can use for topping up like for 6-8PSI as for the guage its better to use a digital one. There is no 33 or 34 PSI marking on it. Its not scaled that way too.

I went against the popular opinion and bought the air inflator. It is called "Coido 6023 2 in 1 Car Vacuum Cleaner and Tyre Inflator". After using an ebay coupon it costed me Rs. 1140. 

My kids create a lot of mess in the car on weekends. I had to buy a vacuum cleaner and hence bought this device because the same thing doubles up as an inflator.

From the experience so far I can say that it serves both the purposes well. I could clean the car in about 10 mins and it could pick up most of the trash and dust well enough. I had to wait for 3 weeks to test the inflator. One fine day I found that every tire had about 2-3 psi less than the recommended 29 psi. It took the inflator about 1 to 2 minutes to fill 2-3 psi in each tire. The pressure gauge on the inflator is not very precise. Difference between 26 and 29 is barely noticeable on that scale. So i had to fill air for about a minute, disconnect the inflator hose and use my pressure gause to measure if it has got the required pressure. If it was less then I had to reconnect the inflator hose and fill some more. If the gauge had been more precise it would have been better. Otherwise no issue with the inflator. It was quick and hassle free. It does make some noise, but not so much that it will bother the people around you. It was some what heated at the end of filling 4 tires in about 8-10 minutes. It would need some rest if it has to be used for more than 10 mins. It is a handy and light in weight. Does not take up too much space in the boot of my car. 

Will post another  review once I have used it more.

The Main thing it pumps up the tire in a emergency and thats a bonus if it cleans the car
I like the new Lay out of the forum now we can use utube

I bought this one from Big Bazzar in Rs 500 only. It's working without any problem for last 3 years. I  check the tyre pressure regularly using it. You can get many of them on Indian shopping sites.
Here is the the picture http://goo.gl/RGI5Sh