So as the upshot of this thread.
I thought about the various options mentioned, the idea of a 'proper' compressor in the corner of the garage was appealing but then looking at my garage I wonder if I'll ever get it cleared up enough to find room, certainly not at the moment; but then I found the Sheppach Air Force 2 unit on ebay for £70, new unit with damage to the cardboard box from a real UK business seller*. That put it in the middle of the price bracket I had in mind so a couple of clicks and it was mine. Having used it briefly for some bicycle tyres and topping up my car tyres I can say it certainly is quick, almost to the point of being overkill, it is noisy but probably like many 'proper' compressors of a similar size. The case that it comes in is a fairly thick moulded plastic, from a couple that were on ebay with damaged cases obviously not indestructible but it should last with a modicum of care, there's a few edges on the openings for the wire and hose that I may just smooth over with a bit of fine sandpaper. Only other downside was that the unit is factory fitted with a euro plug and the supplier added a UK adaptor which doesn't slot into the case, but putting a proper UK plug on should sort that.
*company I bought from
https://www.nmatools.co.uk/ their website prices are plus VAT but still better than Screwfix, although they do say their website is being updated so call to confirm price, and beware it's a website full of shiny tools and temptations
