Portable 12v electric air pump for tires... Any gems out there under $50?

its all good
I dont expect perfection from a cheap plastic pump

I think the only warranty is if it fails in the first 30 days… I can return it

so it is important to me, to do a thorough test promptly… just to know if it can handle pumping 40 psi total, in one sitting, without melting… LOL

update
I went softroading, dropped tire pressure by 13psi, and had a great time.

I used the Avid Cube inflator, on battery power to air up 3 of the tires. They took about 4 minutes each. The battery was showing 1 bar remaining. I decided to use the cig lighter cord for the last tire (with car motor running). It also worked great.

It was 60F outside, and the pump did not feel like it was overheated. Im quite impressed and happy to own the unit.

There were a couple of glitches.

  1. The unit kept shutting off after a couple of seconds. I learned that was caused by my failure to push the pump conne ction far enought onto the tire valve stem.

3. On the 3rd tire, the hose blew off the valve stem clamp on the pump. This started blowing the air out of the tire really fast. But, I was there watching.

Managed to push the air hose back onto the fitting, and completed inflating the 3rd and 4th tires without drama.

When I got home, I plugged the airpump into its charging cord and it took about 6 hours for the charge indicator to turn green.

Im keeping the little Avid Cube pump…
Recommended

^ Thanks for the update, Jonathan. I haven’t had any mounting issues with mine. Clamping onto the value works well, doesn’t pop off. I still find the clamp is a little cheap feeling, but hopefully it’ll hold up for the long haul.

.

I deflated each of the 4 tires I have by around 12 PSI. After the inflating the 2nd tire, the pump started to feel a bit warm, the air hose a little hot near the entry point into the pump. By that point, it was showing 3 bars. Inflating the 3rd tire showed 2 bars and the pump got warmer. A few moments after it was done, the power level went back up to 3 bars. I went right to the 4th tire, no waiting, and about 50% of inflation, the pump did an auto shut-off. The air hose near the exit of the pump was really hot, almost too much to continue touching for a few seconds. I waited 5 mins, then continued pumping. It finished no problem. 2 bars.

I did notice that as the pump got warmer, it became less accurate in showing PSI. Whereas when cool it showed more PSI than actual, gradually as it got warmer it became parity, and then started showing fewer PSI than actual… by about 3 PSI.

So overall, I felt good about the experiment. Given the duty I just put it through, It was comforting to see that it still had 2 bars of power left.

Stupid me, I forgot to bring with me the power cord for recharging it. Annoying that it doesn’t have a USB-C connector. Well, at least the 12V cigarette lighter socket cord can be used in a pinch for inflation. Pity that it doesn’t have a mode whereby you can utilize the 12V for recharging.

yes, car charging would be good

I have not tried but my guess is the USB charger cord would work in a car USB also…

but it takes a really long time…

fwiw, it was not the air hose clamp that blew off the tire valve, that stayed on… it was the actual hose that blew off the clamp… which meant the tire was blowing out all the air I had just pumped in… really fast

but I still really like the pump
this morning I used it to just match up a couple tires by a couple of psi… really easy and convenient :+1:

Whoa… so where the hose mates to the valve clamp—it came right off? How hard was it to reattach it?

This post when it came out got me interested in one. So I’ve been reading Amazon reviews a day here and there for the last week or so. What I get so far is…. “Got so hot, burned my finger”, “Can’t even blow up a soccer ball”, “Took forever to go from 28-32psi, “Shrader valve fell off” etc. So I guess I’ll keep reading till I find a good decent one. :smiley:

correct
the rubber hose slid back onto a hollow tube about 1/2” long that sticks out of the shiny metal part of the clamp.

it was easy, and did not come off again… even though there is no glue and no clamp, just a metal tube pushed inside the rubber hose…

btw, I live at 7000 feet, I wonder if that might be the reason the gauges in the pump read 5-7 psi low… I dont mind… I just ask for 32 psi when I want 37

I have not posted a review on Amazon, I dont usually think about doing that. (maybe I should?)

imo this thread is more honest, more thorough, and more useful than Amazon reviews…

also bear in mind these pumps have a 10 minute duty cycle,
it is normal for a pump to get hot,
especially when exceeding the duty cycle like xevious and I have been doing…

ambient temperature also affects how hot the piston and hose connection get

pumping at 90F is more challenging, heatwise, than pumping at 60F

realistically, these pumps are intended to pump up One low tire, in order to get to a repair shop… they work great for that… it only takes about 4 minutes to add 15 psi…

the unit is small, light, good tactile buttons, clear PSI display, shuts off automatically when it reaches set pressure, works on its own internal battery, plus cig lighter socket… and $10 off

whats not to like? :wink:

Actually, this intrigues me. Looks like it should be possible to replace the clamp part then. Install a superior one or even one with a screw threaded end.

maybe, but I actually like the clamp, because it protects my aluminium valve stem threads

my Viair pump uses screw on hose,
and I have to be careful not to damage my valve stem threads…

Update
I have been using the Avid Cube to top off my tires (adding 4psi per tire)…

Ive done this about 3 times without recharging and today the battery is low and the pump is running but unable to indicate over 30.5 psi… but it turns out the gauge was reading 3.5 psi lower than usual, due to the weak battery.

When I checked with my handheld pressure gauge the inflation was actually correct, despite the inaccurate display on the pump (it normally reads 4 psi lower than my gauge, but atm it reads 7.5 psi low)

The hose blew off the tire valve end twice this morning…

conclusion… need to glue the hose on
and
when battery is low, the pressure gauge is even less accurate…

good to verify inflation with a separate gauge.

Im still really happy with the Avid Cube… it works very well for adding a few psi to the tires, without running the car, thanks to the internal battery… :+1:

It’s over a year now. I’m still using my Avid cube air pump. All told, I think I’ve recharged it from near flat to full about 3 or 4 times. The battery charge level seems to hold up well over time. I top off my tires about every 2 to 3 weeks. My tires are getting old and there’s probably some microscopic air escape going on.

Anyway, the strength (speed of inflation) seems just as good as before. There was one time where I’d used the pump to inflate a few other things and it started getting a low battery. I was able to plug it into the 12v socket and it actually worked a little stronger than it did from a near full battery. Always nice to have that alternate source possible.

My only gripes are 1) the hose+nozzle don’t stow inside it all that easily, so I usually just leave part of it hanging out, and 2) the hose is just a tad short. If my tire valve is at the top of the tire, the pump actually dangles a little off the ground.

Mine is also still working great! and I agree the option to power it from the car cig lighter makes it very versatile, if the built in battery gets low.

Definitely would buy it again, recommended.

One of the standard ‘stick type’ you carry around on a bike? You’ll die of old age or exhaustion before you get 10psi in a car tire (says a long retired bike mechanic from an earlier life).

Just too bad that they don’t seem to be available anymore…
A bunch of work went on here trying to fid a decent one…

i tried several battery powered small pumps, they are good for a bicycle, or a scooter, or a ball, but the amount of air coming out is so small, it would take long to pump even 5 psi into a car tire, that is if the battery even lasts long enough. one of the pumps i tried would not pump for more than 10 min. i got rid of them all, i use 12v plug in pump for a car, and for a bike, and a scooter i use co2 inflators.

lol, yup :wink:
same happens with flashlights… they come and they go

here we would have liked to believe that our in depth consumer research would be relevant a year later,

when in fact it was just a fleeting moment of consumerism, where we focused on saving money and ended up buying a discontinued product that was being liquidated on clearance… good consumers we are… LOL

Im sure you could find a similar product… :wink:

The China electronic product makers keep getting better… and I’ve no doubt that eventually something like the Avid cube may come around again and actually be a better product. There are some design issues that could be worked out. Frankly, I’d pay double to have something more robust that’ll last a decade or more.

My recommendations to improve the Avid cube:

  • better cord stowage (both 12v AC and hose)
  • incorporate intelligent charging hardware inside the cube, instead of relying upon proprietary USB charger
  • optional ability to recharge using 12v plug
  • longer hose with optional configuration (friction clamp or screw-on valve)
  • user replaceable battery (maybe 21700 cell)
  • more usable built-in light (2 modes, but brighter), with “red blinkie” on opposite side for breakdown use

I wouldn’t mind if they made it a little larger to accommodate these improvements.

fwiw, I used my Avid to raise my four tires pressure by 5 psi each. The unit has been sitting in my car, unused for several months, it worked fine.

I could see the battery level after the inflation was less than half, so I took it into the house and recharged it. That took 5 hours.

It is also possible to charge it while driving, plugged into the cig socket… but I dont have any plans to drive that long. :wink:

I like the auto shut off feature when filling tires, it stops at the level I had stored, 34psi… it actually reads low but I have a separate tire gauge, and my target inflation of 38 psi was achieved.

Temperatures here have dropped below freezing, my tires tend to lose pressure due to the shift from summer heat to winter cold. Im getting ready for Ski Season… we just got first snow on the mountain…

My Avid seemed to be a bust. I’ve bought a couple of batt only pumps that are more expensive 1 & 2 (but were a good vipon deal at the time) and fit easily on my 26x4 tire bike. I’ve been impressed.
I noticed a slow leak on the way to work but disregarded it until the end of the day when the tire was totally flat. Used this for a bit until the pressure was high enough to speed home…no problem but as I said it was a slow leak. I think it took less than 5 min to get up to pressure.

Interesting. It took mine about 6 hours to fully charge from near empty

Really? I thought that the AC line was only for running the pump, not charging it. Of course, I can’t find my manual anywhere… and there’s no electronic copy of it to be found online.

The auto-shutoff is extremely useful. I start filling air in one tire while I go to the others to check their levels. Usually I can check 1 or 2 by the time the filling is done with one tire. I’ve found mine got more accurate over time. Originally it used to overshoot by 2 PSI. Now it’s like 0.5 or 1 PSI.

Nice. What mountain do you go to? I really miss skiing… the feel of the snow beneath the boards, the rush of cool air, the speed. Magical!