By George
There are a number of electric air compressors on the market. In order for them to stay competitive, performance is comparable across the line within certain dollar ranges. What makes the Viair 200H stand out from its competitors are the well thought out extras. Most notable is the 1.5' steel braided leader hose coming from the output of the compressor. This allows the compressor to be mounted in an out of the way location with easy access to the air hookup from the leader.
In looking for a place to mount the compressor, I wanted to put it in the engine bay of my TJ, but was leary of how dusty and dirty it is in there concerning the intake filter. This leads to the second well thought out extra. Viair provides 6' air line to remote the air intake filter to a cleaner drier area.
Filling a tire directly from the compressor is not a quick process but not unreasonable for a low end bargain air compressor. Filling a 33X12.50 tire from 15psi to 30psi took exactly 4 minutes (altitude 4,500ft). Other testers have found the compressors to fill the same size tire 1 minute+ faster.
As a part of final testing, I discovered the steel braided leader hose to be tough. In my first use I accidentally closed the Jeeps hood on the leader while still extended out from the engine bay. The leader had a small dent in the steel braiding but is otherwise fine.
I really like the compressor with only one personal preference gripe. The on/off switch is located on the body of the compressor. I would have liked the on/off switch to be located on the power line so that it could be dash mounted inside the cab. This is not that big of a deal. For $5.00 a toggle switch could be purchased and dash mounted with the compressor always in the ON position.
Update: Viair has explained the testing altitude is quite high and the slower fill time is to be expected.
