Maintaining the right tyre pressure is vital for road safety, improved fuel economy and less tyre wear, that costs you money in the literal sense of the word. It’s something that people neglect often, but they shouldn’t. So, how do you keep the ideal tyre pressure in your vehicle? The answer is pretty simple: Get yourself a cordless, battery-powered tyre inflator like the Makita DMP 180 as I did. No manual air pumps needed.
Important Tyre Pressure Monitoring Tip
Before we dive into the details of the Makita, let’s first start with an important tyre pressure tip. And that is: Always measure the pressure when the tyres are cold. This way you will get a more realistic measurement. When driving, tyres get warm and the hotter air inside them can increase tyre pressure by 0.2 to 0.3 bars. That’s why you need a tool that can measure tyre pressure and pump air without having to drive anywhere.
Overview of the Makita DMP 180
The air compressor is an 18v unit and weighs approximately 1.5 kilograms including the battery. It has a light upfront and several adapters for different applications like balls, car tyres, bicycle tyres or mattresses. Furthermore, it is equipped with a thermostat that prevents the tool from overheating and a safety measure against deep discharge. The air hose is 65 centimetres in length and the maximum amount of air pressure it can churn out is at 8.3 bars.
When I was buying the product, it only came on its own without any batteries or charging stations. The unit itself cost me only 50 Euros, however the final cost with the charging dock and battery was 180€. Despite it all, the Makita portable air compressor is absolutely worth the price, in my opinion. In the following section I’ll explain why.
Living with the Makita DMP 180
Overall, the experience owning this 18v inflator has been enjoyable. Now, I only use it for my car tyres every 2-4 weeks depending on the season and the tyres (summer/winter). Otherwise, I don’t utilize it at all, so my use case is not particularly a heavy-duty one. And for what I use it, it’s perfectly fine.
The Battery
Let me start with the battery. So far, I’ve only charged it once since I’ve bought the DMP 180 in June 2022. Yes, just once and it’s still at three bars of charge in 2024! Of course, if you’d use the battery for more than that, you’d need to recharge it more often, but for me it holds up really nicely.
Electronic LED-Display
The next thing I like is the electronic display that not only shows you how much air you’re pumping into the tire, but also the current air level in the tire, when you plug it in. That way, I don’t need additional instruments to measure the tyre pressure, which is convenient. Once you start pumping air, the process is pretty fast. To put 0.5 bar of air back in the wheel, I usually need 3-4 seconds, 1 bar of air pressure is done in under 10 seconds. Normally, I don’t go lower than that, because I’m pedantic about regularly checking the pressure, so I’ve never tested the device for any lower number of bars. But pumping all 4 tyres one after another certainly doesn’t make the Makita air compressor break the sweat.
Auto-Deactivation When Desired Tyre Pressure is Reached
The last convenient feature it has, is the auto-deactivation function, when the desired tyre pressure is reached. That way, you don’t have to think about stopping in order to prevent over-inflation. The air compressor does this job for you. No matter how hard you press the button, it is not going to pump any additional air into the tyres.
Since there are no real negative points that stand out like a sore thumb, I’ll talk about features that I’m indifferent about.
Operating Noise
Others have criticized the noise at which the Makita DMP 180 operates. According to the manufacturer, the noise level is around 70 dB. For me, this has never been a problem, because I use the air compressor outside with other traffic noise. If you’re indoors, then maybe the sound it creates can be annoying, but I’ve never used it anywhere inside a house.
Pressing The Button while Operation
This is another point that was criticized by others. In order to keep the inflator working, you have to keep the big black button under the handle pressed until it reaches the desired pressure. Again, in my case it has never been an issue whatsoever, because normally I don’t spend more than 10 seconds per tyre. So holding the button pressed while the air is getting pumped is not and has never been an issue for me personally.
Conclusion & Verdict
Despite its relatively high price when you choose to buy the battery and the corresponding charging station, the Makita DMP 180 cordless air compressor is a great tool that you can use to conveniently refill lost air in your car’s tyres. It’s simple to use, compact and gives you the opportunity to do this part of tyre maintenance at home. It’s also reliable, so you won’t have to buy a new unit often and can thus save some money. Overall, it’s certainly a recommendation to buy this product.
