Tyre inflation - air isn't free???!!!

[simsim]

I checked the tyre pressure on my newly acquired 2013 Octavia Mk3 TSi S this morning and they were all at about 25psi.

 

So I drove to the nearby petrol station and had to pay £1 to top them up. I'll recheck the pressures later to make sure they are not leaking air.

 

How do folks here go about maintaining correct tyre pressure here in the UK? 
I have the emergency compressor in place of a spare wheel. Can I use that to regularly top up the pressure?
Or how about the little 12v plug-in Halfords compressor? Will that product do the job?

I'm not at all happy to pay a quid for air every couple of weeks!

 

I think a spare wheel (full size or space saver) will quickly makes its way onto my shopping list. Anyone have one for sale?

 

Thanks for the advice.

[Warrior193]

Hello, buy one of the corded air compressors online (we have one in each of our cars) - I think ours are branded RAC - and get yourself a good, dial type, pressure gauge at the same time. Neither of these will set you back much. 

Edited 5 July, 2023 by Warrior193
delete underscore

[AGFalco]

I use the 10 BAR compressor at work.

Although this wont fit in the back of any of my cars.

 

I have a small 12 volt compressor at home which is fine to just pump the tyres up.

Don't rely on the pressure gauge on the compressor though.

 

Thanks. AG Falco

[Warrior193]

21 minutes ago, simsim said:

I checked the tyre pressure on my newly acquired 2013 Octavia Mk3 TSi S this morning and they were all at about 25psi.

 

So I drove to the nearby petrol station and had to pay £1 to top them up. I'll recheck the pressures later to make sure they are not leaking air.

 

How do folks here go about maintaining correct tyre pressure here in the UK? 
I have the emergency compressor in place of a spare wheel. Can I use that to regularly top up the pressure?
Or how about the little 12v plug-in Halfords compressor? Will that product do the job?

I'm not at all happy to pay a quid for air every couple of weeks!

 

I think a spare wheel (full size or space saver) will quickly makes its way onto my shopping list. Anyone have one for sale?

 

Thanks for the advice.

Incorrect tyre pressures unfortunately pretty common from dealers.  

[Ootohere]

@simsimWelcome to the forum.

 

Did you reset the TPMS after inflating the tyres? 

[Paws4Thot]

@simsim - The air itself is free; maintaining the compressor and airline costs money though.

[simsim]

Thanks folks for the input.

 

I'll have a look for the mentioned corded compressors. I would prefer one that can run off the car battery though.

I have the pen type of gauge. The kind that pops out and pressure reads on the amount the 'stick' is pushed out.

 

I did try to reset the TPMS but I'm not sure that my model has that feature as I could only find the tyre page that sets a speed limit for winter tyres.

I'll have a look again for the function next time I'm playing around in the car.

 

I remember a long time you could get a little token for air from the petrol station cashier. I guess those days are long gone! Back in Hong Kong use of the compressor is free (when the machine is working)

 

[petrolcan]

It's a relatively recent thing (ten years or so) that air is being charged for. Only costs 50p down here in the glorious south 🤣

 

I'd expect that you won't have to keep topping them up though unless they all have some sort of leak.

[PetrolDave]

10 hours ago, simsim said:

I'll have a look for the mentioned corded compressors. I would prefer one that can run off the car battery though

Michelin Digital Micro Tyre Inflator

[StevesTruck]

All the little 12v ones are much of a muchness, don't worry too much about the brand. They make a lot of noise and do the job, albeit a bit slowly. Don't bother with the digital ones, it's just stuff to go wrong on something that's been made as cheaply as possible. The only one I found that was any different was one from Lidl, which was a lot quieter.

[simsim]

Looking more into them, I like the ones you can preset a required pressure. Especially as these seem to take a few minutes to inflate from low pressure I'd like to be able to not have to keep watching it.

Of course a double check of the pressure when it's done.

I've highlighted a few on my Amazon and will place an order today. 

[Ttaskmaster]

I have a 140 litre air compressor in my garage.

That does the tyres for everyone who parks their car close enough, as well as dusting out my PC, clearing the workshop floor, powering impact guns and other such tools, paint sprayers, sand blasters and a load of other stuff.

You can find them pretty cheap, especially the smaller ones, and they really come in handy.

[Ootohere]

I carry / use a £20 Cycle Track Pump with a gauge on it to inflate car tyres as well as cycles and other things with Schrader or Presta valves.

 

Non digital, dead reliable. Easy for a person with one leg to use and quick.  (People never consider a leg amputee and using a foot pump or pedal bin.)

 

I have even put some air into tyres of 4x4,s and commercials, that is harder work.

 

 

Edited 6 July, 2023 by toot

[PetrolDave]

I had a Michelin digital one with preset which I used for 19 years on anything from a Citroen C1 to a Mercedes Sprinter 416 (twin rear wheels). When it failed after 19 years I was happy to replace it with the newer version.

[J.R.]

I was heartened to see Roots posting as I was beginning to believe I was the only person around still using a footpump, tyre pressures are higher these days but its good cardio exercise.

 

Pay 10 times as much for an old one at a car boot sale compared to a new cheap or even expensive one and it will be money well spent, the new ones are atrocious, I'm still using the one my father bought me for my 18th birthday, probably to stop me abusing his.

 

I keep one in the storage box of all my big trailers, I bought an allegedly Dunlop one in Action for €7.95 because it was compact and came in a very strong protective case, not knowing that the plastic case was stronger than the pump, it twisted and distorted beyind redemption after only 4 pushes against the resistance of the compressed air, I am staring at it now looking shiny and out of place in my scrap metal pile, the plastic case will definitely get used though.

 

I reckon I may have not fully engaged the connector so was pumping against the closed valve, also uneven sandy soil did not help but the thing was shoîte and can be bent and twisted with bare hands.

 

So then I bought an even cheaper track pump from the same shop 🙄 ever the optimist! This works fine and I actually prefer it to a footpump for car tyres, it gives an even better cardio work out and relieves back pain.

[Breezy_Pete]

7 minutes ago, J.R. said:

I was the only person around still using a footpump

 

Another footpumper here. 👍

Plus a calibrated (when new) gauge.

 

[Graham Butcher]

Nah, I use a cheap electric one I got a good deal on, its a twin cylinder pump with a light to help when using it at night, has a nice long curly hose and a pressure gauge built in. It makes short work of pumping tyres up and comes attachments for other things like footballs, airbeds etc, great investment. Going to a garage these days to pump a tyre up will around here cost you at least £1 for about 5 minutes time on the pump. What is even more painful, is that many of these garages now have pumps that will only operate once you have swiped your debit card. We are heading into a cashless society real soon.

[simsim]

That's exactly how it was yesterday. £1 for 5 minutes. I thought I had won the lottery when the machine was still running from the previous customer but it ran out after I did the first wheel. Then yes, tap the debit card.

 

I checked the tyres this morning and they are holding air so I guess it was just a long time since they have been checked and the pressure had slowly dropped. So I have time to save up for pump now. 😊

[skomaz]

1 hour ago, Breezy_Pete said:

 

Another footpumper here. 👍

Plus a calibrated (when new) gauge.

 

 

Same here too - albeit I do also have 12v pumps in the cars just in case.  I wonder if the manual pump preference thing is age related?  🤣

[Breezy_Pete]

Just now, skomaz said:

I wonder if the manual pump preference thing is age related? 

Partly, but I'd also say it comes from experience/knowledge that cheap electric things with digital displays aren't always superior to simpler tech.

[Graham Butcher]

8 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

Partly, but I'd also say it comes from experience/knowledge that cheap electric things with digital displays aren't always superior to simpler tech.

Maybe, but mine has a proper old school analogue pressure gauge and I've had it a number of years now and always works well.

[Carlston]

1 hour ago, skomaz said:

I wonder if the manual pump preference thing is age related?

 

I've tried both, and it's easier to use a bicycle track pump.

 

There are no trailing electrical leads, and they don't break after a couple of years.

 

The SKS Rennkompressor is one of the best bicycle track pumps and can last a lifetime. Because it's designed to pump high pressure bicycle tyres up to 230psi, it makes very light work of car tyres. Cycle teams have been using the SKS Rennkompressor on the Tour of France for over 50 years, as it was the original bicycle track pump.

 

SKS Rennkompressor

https://www.sks-germany.com/produktkategorien/pumpen/

 

Edited 6 July, 2023 by Carlston

[Gaz]

2 hours ago, skomaz said:

 

Same here too.....

 

And here too - either a twin cylinder foot pump (£7 at ECP) or a track/stirrup style bike pump.  Pen style gauge does the job for me (as a double check - both pumps have inbuilt gauges).

 

I've got a 12v electric one, but it hasn't been out of its box in probably five years.

 

Gaz

[Warrior193]

9 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Michelin Digital Micro Tyre Inflator

By 'corded' I mean the type that plug in to one of the 12 volt sockets in the car.

[Graham Butcher]

5 hours ago, Carlston said:

 

I've tried both, and it's easier to use a bicycle track pump.

 

There are no trailing electrical leads, and they don't break after a couple of years.

 

The SKS Rennkompressor is one of the best bicycle track pumps and can last a lifetime. Because it's designed to pump high pressure bicycle tyres up to 230psi, it makes very light work of car tyres. Cycle teams have been using the SKS Rennkompressor on the Tour of France for over 50 years, as it was the original bicycle track pump.

 

SKS Rennkompressor

https://www.sks-germany.com/produktkategorien/pumpen/

 

Problem as I see it is that they are pretty big to carry in the boot and they are also way more expensive than a decent 12v compressor.