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Just when I thought my shed was fit to bursting with power tools and gadgets, I've justified another one to myself, the Bosch PAG 12v Cordless Air Compressor, and I didn't even know what it was until three days before ... Read review
Advantages: Very quick if you have a lot of tyres to top-up. Battery matches many other Bosch tools Disadvantages: Unsuitable for high volumes, eg air beds. Uneconomic replacement battery.
...another one to myself, the Bosch PAG 12v Cordless Air Compressor, and I didn't even know what it was until three days before I bought it!
Generally speaking, when it comes to pumping up car tyres (not from flat), you have a limited range of options, one of which is to use a foot pump, another to use a 12v compressor running off the cigar-lighter socket, or, if the tyres aren't too flat, to leg it round to the nearest garage and pray ... ...upon my latest toy, the Bosch PAG (Portable Air Gun? - just a wild stab in the dark) 12v Cordless Air Pump.
In appearance, the PAG looks somewhat similar to one of Bosch's cordless power tools, a drill or screwdriver for instance. Its 12-volt battery jacks into the base of the pistol grip in exactly the same way, and the trigger falls under the index finger in the same way. It weighs half a kilo and feels quite well balanced. The business ... more
March 2009 - I wrote this review a while back, and so astonished was I at the number of non-member reads (something to do with the title, methinks, phnaaah, phnaaah) that I decided to revisit it and put it back near the top of my list of opinions.
The pump is no more - after more than 5 years sporadic use, the battery gave out, refusing to hold a charge. This might not seem a show stopper but the ridiculous price being asked for a new one was way higher than the original cost of the pump and battery, so reluctantly, it has now all been recycled thoughtfully and I've gone back to the "20 quid jobs" from Halfords even though these do involve being near a car to use them.
Just when I thought my shed was fit to bursting with power tools and gadgets, I've justified another one to myself, the Bosch PAG 12v Cordless Air Compressor, and I didn't even know what it was until three days before I bought it!
Generally speaking, when it comes to pumping up car tyres (not from flat), you have a limited range of options, one of which is to use a foot pump, another to use a 12v compressor running off the cigar-lighter socket, or, if the tyres aren't too flat, to leg it round to the nearest garage and pray that the air-line's working.
When it comes to bike tyres, your options are limited normally to the 'manual' (or should that be 'pedal'?) option. Garage air-lines can be used but be careful to stop pumping in time. Although bike tyres tend to be a lot harder than those on a car, they don't need much volume of air to get them up to working pressure! For obvious reasons, most pushbikes are bereft of a cigar lighter, unless you're Jimmie Saville. ('Ows about, guys an' gals, you an' me like - on a tandem?)
I get to pump up a lot of bike tyres in my work. No, I'm not a roadie for the Tour de France but a school's cycling instructor.
Almost always, without fail on the first day of Cycle Training , I'll get 20 'please my chain's come off's', and an equal number of 'we've got a pump but my Dad can't find it's'. In the hot weather we sometimes get, pumping up a seemingly never-ending row of flat bike tyres holds no magic for me.
It was whilst browsing a site dedicated to my wife's Smart Car that I stumbled upon my latest toy, the Bosch PAG (Portable Air Gun? - just a wild stab in the dark) 12v Cordless Air Pump.
In appearance, the PAG looks somewhat similar to one of Bosch's cordless power tools, a drill or screwdriver for instance. Its 12-volt battery jacks into the base of the pistol grip in exactly the same way, and the trigger falls under the index finger in the same way. It weighs half a kilo and feels quite well balanced. The business end, i.e. the nozzle comes where you'd expect a drill chuck to be.
There are three versions with varying degrees of battery voltage, and by implication, endurance. There's a PAG 9.6v, and PAG 12v (mine) and a PAG 14.4v. I had no particular axe to grind one way or the other, but my existing Bosch cordless tools are 12v, and it seemed like a good idea to stick with 12 volts as this may make the charging and sharing of batteries a bit more flexible.
I was right to a certain extent. The chargers are interchangeable, so all four batteries, the new one and three old ones, can be charged in either charger, but owing to slight shape differences, the batteries must continue to serve their respective appliances. Oh well, it was worth a try!
On the rear of the pistol grip there is a Liquid Crystal Display to show tyre pressure. You can use this to show the initial pressure within the tyre as you would a tyre gauge, and you can use it to show the pressure during and after pumping. The display can be altered to measure in lbs/sq.inch (psi), Bars (multiples of one atmospheric pressure - One bar =14.7 psi) or Kg/Cm², which is useful because the Smart quotes its tyre pressures in Bars, whereas Mr. Yaris is strictly a 'P.S.I.' person.
Connecting the pump is very flexible. Not only do you get an extension hose for valves that can't be accessed directly (which is most of the bike valves I come across - the spokes get in the way), but you also get several adapters to help with the inflation of other items.
Most bikes and cars share a common valve type these days, but for the older bike (or racing bike) valve there is an adapter, which stores conveniently with a click into a retainer on the front of the pistol grip. You also get a generic conical adapter for airbeds and the like. Football bladders are not overlooked either.
There is one minor problem here - the pump is designed to work against a certain amount of pressure and is not good at shifting large volumes of low-pressure air, as in a double air-bed or even a dinghy!
On first test, it seems perfectly competent, having topped up eight car and two bike tyres in the space of 4 minutes, and I'm (almost) looking forward to my next bout of 'Please Sir…..'
By trial and error, it seems that you need to go slightly over the indicated pressure, as it drops back a little when stopped. For example, if you want 35 psi, go up to 36 and let go - it tends to settle back to the desired level. Independent checks with a separate tyre gauge give favourable comparisons, viz-a-viz its accuracy.
The pump costs around £30 from www.diytools.com and took one day to be delivered by Omega Securicor. This is about £10 more than a typical 'cigar-lighter' job from Halfords and a darned sight more useful since I can't guarantee being anywhere near a car battery when I'm in 'mid-pump'. All I've got to do is keep the damned thing charged! This normally takes just an hour or so, but you are warned not to leave it charging for more than six hours, which is a nuisance because you can't leave it charging in readiness for action, a common problem with Nickel-Cadmium batteries.
For my 'day job', this isn't a problem, since I know in advance when I'm going to need it, but it does mean that its batteries could well be flat just when you want it in a hurry for those 'oh, no, I think I've got a slow leak' moments!
