After having an accident hauling my 27-gal Craftsman Professional air compressor back to its home in the Cave from my detached garage, I bought this 5-gal portable air tank for quick jobs in the garage. Portable air tanks are just that, a tank for compressed air, without the motor to create the compression. It is loaded via a pneumatic tire chuck via a manifold on the tank.
That manifold failed recently. A plastic dial on the tire nozzle controls a valve which allows the air to be drawn out of the tank once filled. The plastic cracked, and the dial would no longer control the valve. After scouring the internet, I found that this a common problem amongst multiple brands of portable air tanks.
The solution? The same exact manifold, but with a metal dial that won't crack. Volia! Works like a charm. But I didn't stop there. The manifold I purchased came with rave reviews, many in the same situation as me claiming that purchasing it saved their portable air tank.
My biggest grip for portable tanks, primarily because they have no motor, do not come with any sort of regulator out of the box. This means you can't control the flow of air coming out. That's where a mini regulator comes in handy. This particular model has a catch that you need to turn the pressure all the way up to activate it, than regulate down to the desired pressure. A small learning curve to follow, but once I use it a few times, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.
I already had a quick connector on it, but I will note that these also do not come with most portable air tanks.