Tip: for filling car tires

[Bill Dufour]

I have filled car tires for years with a hose end gauge that does not work while filling. end up with too much air and slowly bleed it off rechecking often. I decided next time I will spend about $6 and buy a mini pressure regulator and set it to the correct pressure. Put it inline at the end of the hose so it fills to that pressure exactly. The harbor freight one comes with a gauge for under $7 add a few quick connects and done.
Why didn't I think of this decades ago?
Bill D

https://www.harborfreight.com/150-psi-air-compressor-regulator-kit-with-dial-gauge-68223.html

[Ole Anderson]

Does it still fill the tire quickly? I know if the regulator were to be set at 35 psi at the tank rather than 100 psi, the fill would go much slower. I use a Milton tire inflator with the lever valve that lets you check pressure in about one second.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61P4AY0BIHL._AC_SX569_.jpg

[Frank Pratt]

Tire pressure often differs from front to back, particularly with pickups, so changing regulator pressure would be more of a pain than just using an inflator like Ole posted. Filling is also a lot faster.

Get the right tool for the job.

[Tom Stenzel]

I've got one of those itty-bitty air compressors that plug into the 12 volt outlet. It also can be set to shut off at set pressure. It's great for my wheelchair tires that take 75 psi. But even with the slow air flow from the compressor I have to set the shut off at 1 psi higher than the desired tire pressure. Setting a regulator pressure to tire pressure will work but take forever.

I've never found cheap air regulators to be all that repeatable. The pressure can vary depending on temperature, moisture, phase of the moon. When I use my garage compressor I just overfill and bleed. It's a lot quicker.

-Tom

[Jim Becker]

My fill nozzle is similar to what Ole shows and I use a separate digital pressure gage to zero in on my intended pressure in the tires. If it's over, the pressure gage allows me to release with a trigger in little steps until it's where I want it to be. If it's under...more air goes in with the regular nozzle. Since all three of our vehicles plus the ZTR and Kubota tractor use different pressures, any kind of preset would be a non-starter for me.

[Bruce Page]

I have an inflator similar to Ole’s. It tends to be off on the + side 3-4lbs. I use one of these to quickly bleed off any over pressure. There’s no way to calibrate it but it reads exactly the same as the TPMS tire sensors.

[Jason Roehl]

I use one similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RVHPWK8/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_pCQJFbW5QCH7E

There is no way to continuously read the pressure in a tire, while the air is flowing from a tank that holds a much higher pressure. Gauges like the one linked about allow you to fill for a bit, let off the trigger to see the pressure in the tire, then pull the trigger again to resume inflation. A few quick checks allow you to sneak up on the correct pressure.

[John K Jordan]

... I use a Milton tire inflator with the lever valve that lets you check pressure in about one second.
...[/IMG]

I use inflators similar to this on all of my air lines at shop and house. Very quick. I can't imagine a pressure regulator being useful for airing up tires. I have tires that need pressures from 4psi to 80psi.

For my trip to the Outer Banks last week I got a set of automatic tire deflators - you set them once and they save a lot of time reducing pressure before driving out on soft sand. I usually run 15psi on the beach.

The question I always have is how to test a pressure gauge for accuracy. I compared seven different gauge and they all read a bit different. The tire pressure monitors in our cars also don't match up with any gauge I have.

[Bill Dufour]

To test a guage you compare it to a calibrated master on the same manifold. To calibrate the master you use a column of liquid usually water or mercury.
The local ag extension office should offer calibration of your outdoor thermometer. They just put them all in the same room and see what they read the next day.
Bil lD

[Ole Anderson]

How to calibrate a traditional style Milton gauge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzLpQy_-C0U&ab_channel=sixtyfiveford
How to know if your gauge is good (if you don't have access to a calibrated gauge):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzo_2g8oCzU&ab_channel=sixtyfiveford

And I use one of these to air down at the dunes, it removes the valve (for a fast air release) and keeps it captive while you let our air and check pressure (about $26 at Amazon for a similar one): Four 12.5" x 33" tires from 25 psi to 8 psi is a lot of air to bleed without removing the valve. https://www.amazon.com/Boulder-Tools-Heavy-Rapid-Deflator/dp/B075G1LJQ1/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwlbr8BRA0EiwAnt4MTjevJQoUTFWdgw1VU6hn hZLxRD2gnZNQuaZAd_eLkIpTjWgzBBfRqhoC9YoQAvD_BwE&hvadid=174256695109&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9016992&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5257732318334031070&hvtargid=kwd-32291391444&hydadcr=7470_9322235&keywords=arb+tire+deflator&qid=1603205354&sr=8-2-spons&tag=googhydr-20&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExMVhSU0xJVUhGNkNYJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzU5MDMzMjAwQlZMWVk0RE5TNyZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODA4NzE2Mko2S1pYVkRJMTdRTCZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05 vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcRoABEE9Q-fFMeIyXpKXrOsA5UdTw8nl4HV9Umjf7g8i7ZTS3S194Hoofv4k YGG05qm2C-YUUbPg86SQEEPceRP8FGKYnkWJ7nUFm37Kse2RIITgvzLpLN6L g&usqp=CAc

[John K Jordan]

How to calibrate a traditional style Milton gauge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzLpQy_-C0U&ab_channel=sixtyfiveford
How to know if your gauge is good (if you don't have access to a calibrated gauge):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzo_2g8oCzU&ab_channel=sixtyfiveford


The first video only shows how to adjust a tire pressure filler/gauge, not test or calibrate.
The second video does the same, but for a pressure standard he uses, "an entire slew" of gauges in hopes the average of a pile of gauges will be correct. Better than nothing, I guess.

In further reading, I found a number of devices made for testing air gauges. Unfortunately, all of them seem to cost hundreds of dollars.

A master gauge: https://www.imperialsupplies.com/item/0736110
https://www.imperialsupplies.com/item/0739570
https://www.grainger.com/product/DILL-Air-Guage-Checking-Station-33K095
https://www.haltec.com/pc/Gauge-Check-Station-p943.htm

JKJ

[Bruce Page]

I’m all for analism, I’ve been accused of it many times. That said, tire pressure is a moving target. Tire pressure changes with temperature. Unless you’re using nitrogen and setting up a race car, spending $$ on a professionally calibrated gauge is silly. JMO

[mike stenson]

I’m all for analism, I’ve been accused of it many times. That said, tire pressure is a moving target. Tire pressure changes with temperature. Unless you’re using nitrogen and setting up a race car, spending $$ on a professionally calibrated gauge is silly. JMO

Well, and in the case of the latter you're gonna use a pyrometer quite a bit as well... and with low pressures the gauge matters. Mostly because most automotive gauges aren't at all accurate at lower pressures. I used to run 5psi on my beadlocked wheels on a rock crawler, that required a low-pressure calibrated gauge. It is, however, a similar use-case to track tires.. I'd be really quite upset if either of those gauges were dropped by someone. Let's face it, there ain't no automotive hobby that's cheap.

[David Bassett]

+1!


... spending $$ on a professionally calibrated gauge is silly. ...

I saw a review once and the $0.99 pencil gauges were shockingly good. (+/- 5% IIRC, certainly better than +/- 10%.)

What I've done is gotten a better, though uncalibrated, gauge and use it consistently. I've verified it is repeatable and then "tuned" my target for each car depending on what they seem to like. (Current cars seem happy w/door sticker values which is convenient. Previous car "liked" 0.5 PSI over, though 1.0 PSI made it feel slippery.)

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

As long as it doesn't slow the filling process. My truck tires are supposed to get 60 lbs pressure. The gas station pumps take a good 10 minutes to get one tire from 50 to 60. The old compressor I had in the shop could go from 0 to 60 in the tire in about 45 seconds. When that died, Mrs. got me the 120 dollar wonder at Harbor freight. Takes forever also.

[John K Jordan]

As long as it doesn't slow the filling process. My truck tires are supposed to get 60 lbs pressure. The gas station pumps take a good 10 minutes to get one tire from 50 to 60. The old compressor I had in the shop could go from 0 to 60 in the tire in about 45 seconds. When that died, Mrs. got me the 120 dollar wonder at Harbor freight. Takes forever also.

Some of my tires call for 80 psi, specifically when hauling heavy loads. Even my 5hp 60gal compressor takes a little while.

As for tire pressure I've been warned that for a, say, 8000-10000 lb load on a heavy trailer it is important for the pressure not be too low and especially not higher than the max specified, since, yes, the pressure increases as the tire gets hot. Don't want a blowout on the highway with a heavy load! Been there, done that. Took hours to change to the spare.