Review: We test a bargain Amazon air compressor that inflates tyres in seconds
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An air compressor is something every motorist should carry in their car. You never know when you'll need to pump up your tyres, or help someone else with theirs.
Even for just routine pressure checks and regular top-ups, they're a really useful tool - and prices can vary a lot.
From the cheap and cheerful to the powerful and pricey, they can cost anything from around a tenner, to hundreds of pounds.
I've tested plenty over the years, and they all do a similar job. But the best ones are quick in operation, don't make too much noise, and won't struggle with a demanding workload.
These are all the boxes a new compressor by TowerTop claims to tick. It's their new TF100 Tyre Inflator and its listing on Amazon claims it can pump up tyres two times faster, thanks to its heavy-duty copper "turbo charger".
It also has a 10% discount voucher at the moment, but I'll come back to that.
It's a surprisingly compact device, so I didn't expect miracles as I unboxed it, but I like the fact it comes in a sturdy bag, and includes an array of accessories.
Beyond the usual adaptors, it comes with a couple of spare fuses, despite the fact it’s designed to remain at nine amps to avoid blowing any.
It kicks into life a the touch of a button, and inflates your tyre to the desired pressure, which is set using a very simple dial just below the backlit digital display.
This is one of the most impressive things about the TowerTop, its simplicity. There are two buttons and a dial. One button starts it, another one lights up a very bright three-stage LED, and the little dial is easy to operate and simple to click up to your desired pressure.
There are instructions included, and they're a bit terrible, but thankfully you shouldn't need them. It's all pretty self-explanatory.
It sits on little rubber feet, which is designed to make it stable and quiet. It's far from quiet, but it's fair to say it's not one of the noisiest compressors I've used.
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The air hose is made of braided steel, and it feels very robust. At just under two feet, it's long enough for most tasks, and wraps around the base easily enough.
The 12v cable is around 10 feet long, which is a very sensible length, and it makes it easy to reach all wheels on even a large car.
As with all modern digital compressors, it has an automatic cut-off once it reaches the desired pressure, and this seems to tick off just after the desired pressure, to allow for some loss when removing the valve connector. Which is quite clever.
It's a very complete package, then. And good value for money, which leads me on to the price. At the moment, if you can catch Amazon's voucher deal, you'd get one for less than £40. And I think that's really good value for money.
I've used much more expensive compressors which are slower and louder, and have fewer attributes. Truth be told, I've also used cheaper ones that perform nearly as well, but this is such a complete package, and such an attractive price, it's hard not to thoroughly recommend it.