bensanders
New member
For those who have purchased the Overland Warehouse Basic Air Compressor, have you noticed that their website states the flowrate is 3 CFM but the pump's label says 1.58 CFM @ 0 PSI?
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OW Basic Air Compressor
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Jester4kicks
New member
Doesn't matter to me. I love mine.
bensanders
New member
Not sure, I just received it today.
It doesn't bother you that it's advertised as 3 CFM, yet the pump's label states 1.58 CFM? Good to know you're happy with it either way.
Anyways, I spoke to Andries at OW and the discrepancy comes from the pump manufacturer stating the flowrate as 85 liters/min, which converts to 3 CFM. However, the pump label itself states the flowrate is 1.58 CFM.
He said they would look into it and figure out what's going on. In classic OW fashion they responded quickly and offered a refund if I decide not to use it. I think I'll rig it up and see how it performs before I decide to send it back. I'm planning on pairing this with an air tank to up the capacity and use some basic, low-consumption air tools, which is why the flowrate concerned me.
mikey's2010SR5
New member
I am happy with mine too.
KPINKY7
New member
I have this :12 Volt, 150 PSI High Volume Air Compressor compressor and have used it well, Must keep vehilce running or it will kill a battery fast. It works great!!!!:biggrin2:
snowbrdr033
New member
haha, better watch out or you'll blow a tire!
bensanders
New member
Awesome, thanks for the reassurance fellas.
Here's the email exchange I had with Andries. I wanted to post this both to address the discrepancy and to show another example of OW's stellar customer service. I sent him this email and his responses follow:
"I was doing some research and found this from the Superflow FAQ in reference to the MV50:
"Q. Why does the carton label say "UP TO 72 LPM" while the compressor label specifies "50 LPM" for output for the MV50?
A. 72 LPM is the flow rate from the cylinder head of the compressor, while the 50 LPM is the flow rate from the end of the hose. Most companies only provide the flow rate from the cylinder head."
Since the two pumps are comparable, I wonder if this is where the discrepancy comes from. There's a difference between how they are labeled out of the factory in China and how they are marketed in the US (cylinder flowrate vs. hose end flowrate). Thoughts?
-Ben"
"[FONT="]Thx. Sending out an email to our supplier of the compressors.[/FONT][FONT="]I have the larger compressor in my truck, which is rated 160L/min and says the same on the side of the compressor. Not sure if someone’s math failed in conversions for the rating or label, but from personal experience the small compressor performs over ½ of the larger one.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Viar has nice tables showing compressor rating to tire fill rate, this model compares pretty close with the basic compressor you have http://www.viaircorp.com/<wbr>OffRoad/400H.html[/FONT]
[FONT="]At any rate on to your question. I have small portable compressor/tank unit at home that I sometimes take out to do some wrenching. It is rated at 2.0 SCFM and has a 1.75 gal tank. I find that it is OK for marginal jobs, but not something I would want to use every day. Works fine to air up tires and do some basic work on trucks, but I find that I deplete the air tank quickly from 140PSI to below 90PSI (where the impact gets useless). [/FONT]
[FONT="]I would suggest that you test and see how long it takes to fill the tank, especially between 100 and 150PSI (where most air tools work). A time of 90 seconds to fill from 100-140PSI or so would make it useful, much longer than that will mean it will be a bit of a pain to work with. Also important to have a good impact wrench, as some wrenches use a lot of air to do very little work.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Here are some good guidelines for air tanks with compressor ratings for offroad[/FONT]
[FONT="]http://www.viaircorp.com/<wbr>OffRoad/oba.html[/FONT]
[FONT="]Regards[/FONT]
[FONT="]Andries"
"Ben,
[/FONT][FONT="]That can explain it, as most manufacturers try and claim the maximum number they can for marketing purposes, and also you get SCFM vs CFM, etc.[/FONT]
[FONT="]That is why we actually tested it by airing up tires in usable ranges that most people would see. Viar also publishes the same for many of their compressors, and it normally serves as a good indicator of truly how powerful a unit is. I actually looked a bit more and if I compare our tests to what this compressor is rated at (it would confirm that 3 CFM for the small OW compressor is not out of line) http://www.viaircorp.com/<wbr>OffRoad/300P.html[/FONT]
[FONT="]Also keep in mind the OW compressors are 33% duty cycle for the small unit and 40% or so for the large unit.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Regards[/FONT]
[FONT="]Andries"
[/FONT]By the way, he sent those responses at 12:05 AM CT, which is 10:05 PM PT....pretty awesome.
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Jester4kicks
New member
Doesn't bother me at all. In the course of researching compressors, both for airing-up and for future air tools, I found out that advertised CFM rates can be incredibly inaccurate/misleading, depending on where and how it is measured/calculated.
I was more interested in a reliable compressor from a company I trusted. It also helped that I knew two other people with this same compressor, and they're both very happy with it.
bensanders
New member
Right on. I'm just glad to see so many people are happy with it, especially others like you who did a bit more research than I did before buying. Like y'all are saying it probably comes down to a miscalculation on the manufacturer's end. You know, engrish lol.
Yeah, I knew elevation wouldn't be an issue. I'm at ~600 ft. The pump sure kicked ass when I tested it earlier.
bensanders
New member
Plenty of people have mounted the MV50 (a similar unit) under their hood with no issues. I won't be doing that here in Austin where we have several months of 100+ degree weather. For someone up north, with the hood open, I'm sure it would be fine. Search Google for plenty of info, here's a couple links:
On-Board Air - How To - F150online Forums
4x4Wire - Portable Onboard Air Installation
Andries just sent me an email saying they have updated their website to state "CFM flow rating under review". Again, I have no doubts this unit will live up to it's claims.
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