I am going to compare four Inflators. The Crafsman C3 19.2 inflator, the Craftsman Bolt On 20v inflator, the Ryobi 18 One Plus inflator and the Ryobi 12 volt inflator.
Inflator/Compressor design. When you design an inflator you can design it to build very high pressure or you can design it to pump a large volume of air with a fairly low top pressure. If your inflater will build up to 200 psi then normally that inflator will not be very good at inflating rafts and large air mattresses.
The Craftsman 19.2 Inflator has an excellent digital readout and an auto shut off. It has a maximum of 200 psi. You can set the pressure for the inflator to shut off automatically up to 40 psi. This is an excellent feature for topping off automobile tires. Set the inflator to 29 lbs and start it up. This is an excellent inflator for car tires, and bicycle tires. Many road bicycle tires need to be inflated to 120 to 140 psi. This is an Excellent inflator for Road bikers, Mountain Bikers. This inflator uses any of the Craftsman 19.2v c3 batteries for power. I have one at my Used car lot for topping off tires and checking the psi of the lot tires. Many of the Professional Bicycle teams have one for getting the pressure just right in their tires and shocks.
This Craftsman C3 inflator also works very well to check the pressure on anything and then easily top off the pressure.
Rating by Rick---Car Tires--excellent, Bike Tires---excellent, Rafts---not so good.
The Craftsman Bolt-On inflator has a maximum inflation pressure of 80 psi. It comes with an analog gauge and does not have auto shutoff like the Ryobi One+ and the Craftsman 19.2 inflators. This is a handy additional tool if you you have already gone with the Bolt-on drill and battery system however the Craftsman 19.2 and the Ryobi ONE+ inflators are much better tools. This inflator uses the Craftsman 20v Max or Black and Decker 20v Max batteries. You need the Bolt-on base handle with a battery to power this unit.
Rating by Rick Car Tires---good Bike Tires---Good Rafts--not so good
The Ryobi 18 One Plus Inflator is a very well designed tool. It has two different compressors and a digital gauge built into it. You just switch from high pressure to low pressure to change which built in compressor you are using. One compressor (high volume) is designed to fill rafts, kite board kites, air beds, air mattresses, floaty toys, an other items that hold a lot of air but not at high pressure. The other compressor is designed to fill up high pressure bicycle tires and car tires and anything that needs more than 10 to 20 psi. Digital Auto Shutoff is a really cool feature included in this unit. Set the pressure you want start the compressor and it will automatically shut off when your tire gets to the proper pressure. This inflator works with any of the nicad or lithium ion Ryobi One+ batteries.
Ratings by Rick Car Tires---Excellent Bicycle Tires Excellent Rafts---Excellent
The 12 Volt Ryobi Inflator/Deflator with light has been around a long time. It is designed to provide high volume inflation of rafts, air mattresses and other large low pressure inflatables. It has been very popular as a great take along camping tool. There is no battery included with this so you must either plug it into your car or use a 12 volt jump box for power. The other inflators in this article all have system batteries that can be replaced as the charge runs low.
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