garage air lines fed up

the watchman

Hi all, I am now fed up with air lines at garages being out of order or pressure measurements unreadable.

Would welcome comments on various solutions for tyre pressure maintenance from home. I was thinking that a foot pump is preferable over a device that connects to battery:cool:

Thanks for reading.

crosstownk

I know exactly what you mean - it's drives me nuts. So many of them just wont give a pressure reading. Then there's the ones that you can only use 'shopping trolley' style by inserting a €1 coin - and even at that they are still inaccurate.

A foot pump will suffice if you regularly check the pressure but if you want to inflate a flat or almost flat tyre a foot pump will test your legs!!

12v compressor yoke would be the best bet really.

Owen

Keep an eye on Lidl/Aldi - they do Compressors with airtools every now and again. The time I got mine, I got it, and 6 airtools including a tyre inflator for 99 Euro. It's paid for itself many many times. Even used it at the weekend with my nailgun to make cabinets for the back of the work wagon.

DublinDilbert

Yea you can never depend on the ones at the garages to be working at any given time. The small 12V ones are worth having in the boot for emergencies.

Nissan doctor

Why not just go to your local tyre place, no reason they shouldn't be happy to check/pump them for you.

Tea drinker

in fairness, in a reasonably stable country I think we should be capable of having air lines working in garages. No need for carrying air compressors around etc. What will tourists or people driving hire cars do?
Everytime you find a non working air line start whining at the cashier. And I don't mean Ryanair.

jack of all

I got tired of using air lines at garage forecourts where the gauge was either broken or illegible. So I spent a fiver on a Draper tyre pressure gauge, so even if the garage air line gauge is working I will check the tyre pressure against my own gauge (on the first tyre anyway). Saves a lot of guesswork.

funkyouup

Tea drinker wrote: »

in fairness, in a reasonably stable country I think we should be capable of having air lines working in garages. No need for carrying air compressors around etc. What will tourists or people driving hire cars do?
Everytime you find a non working air line start whining at the cashier. And I don't mean Ryanair.

Well we arent so there! Whinge all you like to cashiers if you think they will give a ****, but will pass on the whinge to the manager which will get ignored believe me.

cantdecide

I went to three local garages last Friday night. One guage was jumping 10 psi, another guage was fogged over and one the last pump was out of order. I gave up at that stage.

F****** ridiculous. If I pull up on my bike and I get my pressures wrong, it could be my a**. If they're going to have them, they should be made to maintain them.

kc66

A lot of garages appear to be removing perfectly functioning ones. Whats going on there? Wrecks my head. I have a 35 mile journey to work and not one functioning pump any more.

funkyouup

One major problem is people using them and once there fininshed just ****ing throwing them on the ground and or drive over the pipes its just pure stupidity and laziness.

Owen

And thus the DIY forum thread descends into non DIY thread.

The best DIY answers have been given, buy a small 12v compressor, a big compressor, or buy an inexpensive pressure meter you can keep in the car.

the watchman

Thank you all for the comments. Kinda comforting knowing that I was not alone in my thoughts. Time to make life easy so I will probably get one of those dinky little compressors. I'm guessing that the garages are phasing them out due to missuse. Will I miss them:rolleyes:, strangely I might,...its that changing world thing. must be getting old. Getting misty eyed here at the thought of all those old phone boxes that have disappeared to that big exchange in the sky.sniff.:cool:

Thanks again.
Thread Closed.

funkyouup

Aldi had those compressors in on offer a few weeks back and they still had a few in my local as of saturday, mite be worth a look.
Hey Jack, where did you pick up the draper gauge for a fiver?

jack of all

Bradshaws in Portlaoise, pretty sure any motor factors will have them at that price.

mawk

I trusted the gauge on one in a garage leaving dublin for the n8. before christmas

got me to 70psi without me knowing it. how I didnt blow out and crash on the motorway is beyond me.. lucky in the cold weather i guess..

scary the next day when i got home and stuck my own pressure gauge on it out of curiosity

vetstu

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RAC610-Analogue-Compressor/dp/B0030FBSQ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299612445&sr=8-3

£10, they have digital ones for less than £20 too.

HJL

vetstu wrote: »

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RAC610-Analogue-Compressor/dp/B0030FBSQ2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1299612445&sr=8-3

£10, they have digital ones for less than £20 too.

An extra £24 for postage though :eek:

Esel

mawk wrote: »

I trusted the gauge on one in a garage leaving dublin for the n8. before christmas

got me to 70psi without me knowing it. how I didnt blow out and crash on the motorway is beyond me.. lucky in the cold weather i guess..

scary the next day when i got home and stuck my own pressure gauge on it out of curiosity

Make a codicil to your will whereby you authorise your executor to take an action against the garage owner if it is proven that your death was directly caused by an over-inflated or under-inflated tyre, the pressure of which tyre was set by you or your authorised representative in said garage. That will teach them.

By the above, I mean to say that the providers of a service should be liable for any damages that occur as a direct result of the use of that service.

Personally, I carry a compressor, and use it (or the pressure gauge which I also carry) when the pump provided appears to be reading incorrectly. I agree that the average motorist /tourist / Moran* [sic] might not follow the same procedure.

However, I hail from the days of motorcycling when wise bikers carried, and used (among other things), a toolkit which included a set of tyre levers, a puncture repair kit, a spare tube, a bicycle pump and a pressure gauge.



* No offence is intended or implied to any member of the Moran clan.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400170789989&ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:IE:1123

Works well and gauge is exactly in sync with digital gauge at very low psi all the way up to 38 which is as high as i have tested it.

the watchman

Deleted User wrote: »

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400170789989&ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:IE:1123

Works well and gauge is exactly in sync with digital gauge at very low psi all the way up to 38 which is as high as i have tested it.

Interesting but what!, £1.50. Can this be true. My Daddy told me if it looks to good to be true it probably is:eek:.

Not having a vast experience of buying on ebay could someone with 'Big experience' take a quick look and tell us is this a safe seller.
What concerns me is that note which says 'last updated Nov 10:(, are they out of business.:pac:

the watchman

the watchman wrote: »

Interesting but what!, £1.50. Can this be true. My Daddy told me if it looks to good to be true it probably is:eek:.

Not having a vast experience of buying on ebay could someone with 'Big experience' take a quick look and tell us is this a safe seller.
What concerns me is that note which says 'last updated Nov 10:(, are they out of business.:pac:

Last updated just means when they updated the add.
I have 124 items ordered on ebay and never once been burned. Wish i could say the same about purchases made with some big online retailers :pac:

mike65

Garages are now charging for air.

Seth Brundle

mike65 wrote: »

Some Garages are now charging for air.

FYP

mike65

Fair enough, that any are is just outrageous!

What do we want? Free Air!

dnme

This Tyre gauge won the "Which" best buy award, it became very popular after that and doubled in price. It's really well built and very accurate. Gets consistently good reviews. The link I am posting is the best price I can find.

the watchman

mike65 wrote: »

Fair enough, that any are is just outrageous!

What do we want? Free Air!

Right!. Lets get the campaign going.
march on Dublin with Luke Ming Flannagan at the lead:D

the watchman

Deleted User wrote: »

Last updated just means when they updated the add.
I have 124 items ordered on ebay and never once been burned. Wish i could say the same about purchases made with some big online retailers :pac:

Ok Song. Thanks for that, I am inspired into action!.

Ordered today. will keep you posted. :pac:

harr

went to my local garage during weekend to pump tyres when i got there there was no gauge or air hose, i know the owner and asked him what the story was and he informed me that he has had 4 gauges stolen in the last six months people just cut hose and drive off with them and they do have number plates covered with muck or something :eek

kippy

They are selling those plug in pumps (small ones) in some garages at the moment for less than a tenner.
Seen them in Tom Hogans in Galway last weekend - not sure how good they are mind.

the watchman

the watchman wrote: »

Ok Song. Thanks for that, I am inspired into action!.

Ordered today. will keep you posted. :pac:

Good stuff, i would get a cheap digital gauge to compare to over time and also check both against a tyre centre gauge that you trust initially.

I checked my gauge (digital) which i know to be accurate against the one at the topaz my parents use to do the air on their tyres. It was only reading 5 f'in PSI above the actual PSI. I suspected it was dodge because my auld lad said he had recenlty used it for his tyres but they looked a small bit soft at the bottom.
So i told the girl at the till. Her response " sur that yoke hasnt been checked in months ha ha"....

Moral of the story: Always use your own gauge and check it for accuracy regularly.

dnme

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Just picked up a Draper tyre gauge for less than 15e. I have been meaning to get one for ages.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Draper-Tyre-Pressure-Gauge-Flex-Hose-Air-Release-/150577013055?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item230f16e13f

lightning, those Draper gauges are fairly poorly built. Just got one from Amazon and sent it back. They are plasticy and power button only works intermittently.

Hopefully yours will behave, if not send it back and go for the Michelen I linked above

the watchman

....so I did order this 'too good to be true pump :Dfor €1.50 from China.
paid 14th March
Despatched 15th march.

Anyone had dealings with China. How long should I wait before I start getting nervous about whether or not it will arrive:pac:...

MetzgerMeister

I got the jump-start/air compressor pack in Aldi last week. The ****en pressure gauge isn't even calibrated :mad:

Esel

the watchman wrote: »

....so I did order this 'too good to be true pump :Dfor €1.50 from China.
paid 14th March
Despatched 15th march.

Anyone had dealings with China. How long should I wait before I start getting nervous about whether or not it will arrive:pac:...

Give it a month, I'd say. Hope you've got a slooooooow puncture....

Esel

einheisserschre wrote: »

I got the jump-start/air compressor pack in Aldi last week. The ****en pressure gauge isn't even calibrated :mad:

Proves my theory that multi-tools are never as good as single-purpose tools....

Those jump-start packs are of dubious use anyway. Get a good charger. Also a good set of jump leads.....

Esel

Esel wrote: »

Give it a month, I'd say. Hope you've got a slooooooow puncture....

Nah, mine arrived 12 days after order.