There is nothing more frustrating than getting a puncture on your Onewheel or electric scooter on your way to, or God forbid on your way home from work. Here’s where a Portable Electric Air pump comes in handy. As the tire has tire sealant inside you usually will be able to seal the hole after pumping it up.
The electric pump I got is the Xiaomi Mi Portable Electric Compressor Pump that’s almost the same as the S1. Having a pump in my backpack at all times has saved my day while riding, pumped the tires of my car before a long trip on multiple occasions when I have forgotten to do it before at the gas station.
Price and Performance
Xiaomi is known to do some great price-to-performance ration products and over the years this pump has served me well. At the current time, they have released an updated version with some key performance boosts and upgrades compared to the older Mi. The form factor and functions are the same.
I have never had the need to fully inflate a car tire if you need a fully charged pump that can handle 2 car tires. The more common use case is topping up my Toyota Corolla tires before a trip or after changing them from storage. The new S1 can handle around 8 tires, for me, the Mi has been sufficient for handling the car.
The easiest way is to buy it from Xiaomi’s official store on Amazon.
Operating the Air Compressor
Operation is really simple, you start the pump by removing the high-pressure air hose from its compartment. The device will automatically turn on displaying the current setting. With the mode function, you can switch between five different modes, bike, car, x,y modes.
The set pressure is presented in either PSI or bar and can be set by pressing the up or down arrow. Pressing the middle button will turn on the compressor and the pump will automatically turn off at that setpoint.
Both come with multiple accessories like a storage bag, a needle valve adapter for items like footballs, and even a Presta valve adapter.
Xiaomi 1S vs Mi Portable Electric Air Compressor
The Xiaomi 1S is having some great upgrades in form of performance compared to its predecessor Mi. Not only is the capacity improved, but the inflation time and airflow are also drastically increased. Keep in mind that the inflation of a tire will still take a couple of minutes.
| Specification | Xiaomi Mi | Xiaomi 1S |
|---|---|---|
| Air flow rate | 7L/min | 15L/min |
| Max Pressure | 150 psi | 150 psi |
| Battery Capacity | 2000 mAh (14.8 Wh) | 2000 mAh (14.8 Wh) |
| Weight | 480g | 480g |
| Charging port | MicroUSB | USB type-C |
| Charging time | <3hrs | <3hrs |
| Voltage | 5V ⎓ 2A | 5V ⎓ 2A |
| Noise (according to EN 1012-1) | 87dB | 85dB |
| Accuracy | ±2 psi | ±1 psi |
Inflation performance
The inflation performance and capacity of the compressor have increased by 45.40%
- Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 1S — re-inflates tires up to 8 times
- Mi Portable Electric Air Compressor — re-inflates tires up to 5.5 times
Airflow rate
The airflow rate has increased by 114%, making you need to spend half the time inflating a tire. For a small Onewheel or electric scooter this is not really important, for a car tire, this really makes a difference.
- Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 1S: 15L/min.
- Mi Portable Electric Air Compressor: 7L/min.
Accuracy
The Mi Portable Electric Air Compressor is accurate to ±2 psi; the accuracy of the Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 1S has been upgraded to ±1 psi.
Connector and Charging
The Mi uses the old MicroUSB and the new 1S has been equipped with the type-C. This is a great addition as almost all new devices, including apple, will use the type-C connector moving forward.
The charging time is around 3 hours to charge from a completely dead battery.
Battery
Mi Portable Electronic Air Compressor comes with an in-built 2000 mAh lithium battery that is safe and durable.
Battery level indicator
The battery level indicator has different colors to indicate the air compressor‘s remaining battery level:
White: More than 50%
Orange: 20 to 50%
Red: Less than 20%
Charging
As with any device it’s recommended to fully charge the air compressor before using it for the first time. Connect the charging cable to a 5 V USB power adapter to charge the air compressor. While charging the battery level indicator will be blinking. The indicator shows the status of the charge with the following state.
Blinking White: Charging
White: Fully charged
The air compressor cannot be used while charging it will therefore not be able to be used with an external battery bank in case of an emergency. Keep the battery charged so it’s ready to be used when needed and also to increase the battery lifetime.
The battery is the main component that will degrade over time along with the compressor.
Can the battery be replaced?
No, the battery cannot be replaced as it’s built-in. It’s therefore important to not let your compressor be stored away with a complete drain battery, this will drastically increase the wear and performance.
Weight
The weight of the Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor 1S and Mi is approximately 480 g. This includes the main unit excluding valve adapters and the storage pouch.
Conclusion
I recommend anyone to get a battery-powered air compressor like the Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor Mi or S1. They are fairly cheap and can get you out of trouble if you ever have a puncture or need to top up your tires before a ride.
It’s perfect with the display if you want to dial in your tire pressure for your Onewheel, unsure about your pressure, check the Onewheel tire pressure calculator and guide.
The easiest way is to buy it from Xiaomi’s official store on Amazon.
Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.
