Tom's Guide Verdict
Small and light, the Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator is less expensive than traditional tire inflators. Sadly its performance is significantly slower as a result.
Pros
- +
Inexpensive
- +
Small and light
- +
Battery powered
- +
Internal cooling fan
Cons
- -
No AC adapter
- -
Slow inflation speed
Why you can trust Tom's Guide
Size: 5.4 x 4.4 x 1.7 inches
Weight: 1.3 pounds
Peak pressure: 150 psi
Time to fill a tire: 4:34
Length of cord: 10 feet
Battery: 2,000 mAh
USB, AC power ports: No
Light: Yes
With the ability to go anywhere, and inflate whatever you need without plugging into a power source, the Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator is a great mix of portability and cost-effectiveness. The 2,000 mAh means it doesn’t need to be tethered to a car’s cigarette lighter adapter, and that’s enhanced by a small light design.
On top of that Seyvum has included a cooling fan to prevent overheating on large jobs, multiple accessories and, crucially, a place to stash them all. In other words, it comes close to our ideal for a small battery-powered tire inflator — we just wish it was a little faster at refilling a tire.
Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator: Price and availability
The $55 small, battery powered Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator does a lot for a little but costs 40% less than the Fanttik X8 Apex, and nearly twice what the $28 Carsun Portable Air Pump. In addition to other air compressors and gardening products, the company sells battery-powered tools.
Seyvum DP3 PortableTire Inflator: Design and features
At 5.4 x 4.4 x 1.7 inches, the Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator is 20% smaller than the Fanttik X8 Apex pump, and positively tiny compared to the likes of the Carsun Portable Air Pump or the Craftsman V20 Cordless Inflator. Its 1.3-pound heft is the result of the 2,000mAh battery pack, but it’s still a fairly lightweight device. Certainly compared to the 3.0-pound X8 Apex or the 5.8-pound Craftsman V20. This makes the Seyvum device one of the easiest tire inflators to store, carry and use.
While some portable air compressors include a fabric bag, the Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator has a hard black carrying case. Made of heavy-duty nylon, it is lined, has a handle and a compartment for its accessories.
Instead of relying on passive cooling, the DP3 Portable Tire Inflator has aluminum cylinders, cooling fins and a built-in fan. It can pump and pump without risking a meltdown, even when other inflators are forced to automatically shut off to prevent overheating.
Seyvum’s interface is top shelf, with a five-button control panel and 1.9-inch monochrome screen. In addition to the battery level, the display shows the tire’s pressure in pounds per square inch (PSI), Bars, KiloPascals or Kilograms per cubic centimeter (Kg/Cm3). There are settings for sports car, motorcycle and bicycle tires, sports equipment as well as one that I set myself.
Capable of pumping up to 35 liters per minute, the DP3 Portable Tire Inflator tops out at a pressure of 150 psi. The pump’s Deflate button is also a welcome addition, although it lacks a low pressure/high volume mode that can make filling beach toys and air mattresses a slow process.
The kit includes a short air hose and adapters for a raft, bicycle tire and sports ball, alongside a USB C power cord for charging and a car cigarette lighter adapter with a 10-foot cord. There’s no AC adapter or a USB power port for powering other devices. The LED light is bright, although it can’t be set to blink in an emergency.
Seyvum DP3 PortableTire Inflator: Setup
The Seyvum DP3 is small enough to stash in a glove box or under a seat, and is ready to fill a tire, football or a beach swan at a moment’s notice. While the sports ball needle valve attachment has a compartment on the pump’s side, all the other accessories and cables fit into the black case. This way all the parts are available when needed.
The five-button interface allowed me to turn the power on and off, fire up the light and change the inflation mode. It’s easy to use different pressure units and adjust the auto-shutoff pressure. It took a few seconds to set the pump to the correct pressure.
While the battery should be enough for multiple tires, and other inflatables, using the cigarette lighter adapter is an extra option. Its 10-foot cord is long enough to reach all the tires on most cars and light trucks while plugged in.
Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator: Performance
The Seyvum DP3’s inflator’s 12-inch air hose is short but should be plenty for most circumstances. Its screw-on fitting takes a moment to attach to the tire’s valve stem, but sadly isn’t as easy to use as the clamp-on fitting that Black + Decker uses for the 20V Max Inflator.
Once attached, the pump filled my car’s flat tire to 30 PSI in 4 minutes and 34 seconds, about a minute longer than the Carsun Portable Air Compressor Craftsman V20 and AstroAI pumps. Along the way, it was among the quietest and most stable pumps I’ve seen, particularly compared to the loud Carsun pump. It was also the coolest, with the case never getting even warm. However, the air hose did get surprisingly hot.
Later, it filled my soccer ball to 10 PSI in 13.0 seconds, putting it on a par with the Fanttik X8 Apex inflator. On both tasks, its pressure readings were accurate and the automatic shut-off worked well.
The DP3 Portable Tire Inflator comes with a one-year warranty that Seyvum extends to 18 months if you register the device. That’s adequate, but second rate compared to the three years of coverage included with the Carsun Portable Air Compressor and the Craftsman V20 Cordless Inflator.
Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator: Verdict
Small and light enough to stash just about anywhere, the Seyvum DP3 Portable Tire Inflator can fill tires and an assortment of other inflatables by overheating. It comes with a bunch of accessories and can run on the car’s cigarette lighter outlet or battery power but lacks an AC adapter.
Don’t be in a hurry, though, because it took significantly longer to fill my car’s tire than other portable air compressors although it wasn’t nearly as loud. Still, at $55 it’s a bargain for those who quietly and calmly want to fill a tire, air mattress or football.
Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in technology reporting and reviewing. He works out of the suburban New York City area and has covered topics from nuclear power plants and Wi-Fi routers to cars and tablets. The former editor-in-chief of Mobile Computing and Communications, Nadel is the recipient of the TransPacific Writing Award.