For some time now I have been thinking it would be nice to have a tire inflator at home, so it would not be necessary to go to the gas station to get air. As we all know, proper tire pressure is very important to get good gas mileage. Unfortunately, it's often difficult for me to get to the gas station to fill up the tires, so they go too long and end up running low. It would not be such a problem, except you are supposed to fill them up before you drive the car much, which makes it a problem as often the car has been driven and the tires have heated up.

Today I finally went to put air in my tires and I had a lot of trouble finding a gas station with a working air compressor. The compressor at the first station I went to was out of order. The next one worked, or I should say it ran, but when I went to put air in the tires I realized the gauge had been torn out. There's not much point putting air in the tires if I don't even know how much is in them! Finally, after driving to a third station, I managed to get them filled and discovered they were very low. I am not sure whether they were low because it had been so long sinced I filled them, or because the Honda servicement deflated my tires down to rated PSI when it was maintenance recently.

Anyway, all that preamble aside, I really would like to buy a tire inflator for home. I was wondering if anyone here had any suggestions about which companies/models were any good. I'd like it to be a quality product, but not too expensive (not more than about $150 maximum, and preferably less). I don't mind ordering online if necessary and having it delivered. Thanks in advance for any help!

I've always had a small air compressor at home to fill up things like basketballs and vehicle tires. I don't remember what make/model mine is (will post when I'm at home to check) or how much we spent on it, but it's SO much better than having to drive to a service station just to top off my tires. We used to also use it on our bicycle tires, until we got nice bikes and opted for a manual air pump that we could haul around in the truck/vehicle when we go mountain biking.

Here are options on Amazon.com

Mine would most closely resembles this one (but with A/C power, not cigarette lighter) -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...423819-5152820

Note: mine, due to its small size, takes a fair amount of time (at a count of 1 to 15 or 20) to inflate vehicle tires from 35psi to 40psi. My dad has a "real" (large tank type with wheels) air compressor he uses and it's so quick I dislike using it -- very easy to overfill with lots of stops to check pressure, bleed off excess. These higher cost, larger pressure/capacity models are best if you have other tools and purposes you want to use the compressor for. Dad's has things like a nail gun, lug nut remover (I think; probably using wrong terms) and such that attach to his, in addition to the standard vehicle tire pressure attachment.

- Shannon (Geeky, Wild Texan)

look at Sears or Pepboys/Autozone/Trax

You can get a 12V inflator for $20-$50.

Or find someone with a HAH- they come with one instead of a spare!

I went to Sears about a year ago and bought one of those $20 12V inflators, and it has held up admirably considering its cost. (I live in an apartment so 120V tools are a non-option.) If cost and mobility are a factor, I would just do that. Otherwise, my father has had a 120V Black&Decker compressor since...well, basically the beginning of time. I think he had to replace the hose once after the original rotted away (did I mention this thing is old?) but the important bits still perform flawlessly. I don't know if they still make them the same way, but that's what I would look for in a unit for the garage.

I bought a set of four, 40 psi, tire pressure sensor caps. Everyday, I see the driver side caps and at least once a week, I check the passenger side caps. One tire had a slow leak and showed 'yellow' at 36 psi.

About two weeks later, I picked up a metal screw in that tire (the 'tick tick tick' sound) and had it repaired. Since then, no leaks and all tires are showing a green, 40 psi.

I bought them on Ebay and with shipping, it was $11. BTW, I have a tire pressure gage in each car's glove compartment. They don't cost much and having your own means never having to worry about the accuracy of a borrowed meter.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

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The pressure caps sound interesting, but I don't think they'd be much help since my tires are pumped up to 50 PSI.

You select the pressure cap and pressure rating. I remember seeing some up to at least 80 psi. Truckers use them too.

A simple Google search found these:

http://www.vehiclelight.com/airalert.html

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

The lowest prices would be found on the "Asian imports", for example

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=43520

Mine is similar, cost me $20, and has worked for at least 5 years. On the other hand I have seen others non-functional, directly out of the box. Griot's Garage's version is $30

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?SKUupsell=10215

But they would probably do more customer support than Harbor Freight. Some people prefer a combo device, like

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=39954

DAS

I don't recall where mine comes from, but it was a brick and mortar auto store. (Murreys, Autozone, Sears, etc.) but it is a little 12 V compressor with gauge, that's been working fine for a few years. I got it probably 3 years ago when one of the tires in the Explorer was leaking. Now I use it in the first of the month when I clean the FEH, I also check the tires, and put air in as needed.

I'm sure it didn't cost $30, $20 sounds about right.

First 4WD Hypermiler

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I just picked up a $30 inflator at WalMart over the weekend. Yes.. I have turned to the Dark Side I live in the middle of nowhere by my state's standards.. and have a limited selection of stores to go to.

I forget the maker, but its blue and seems to be a rather common/standard Wally-mart item.

It has a built in battery which can be charged.. to run the compressor. The inflator gauge can be set to a certain PSI via a dial. Very convenient. Comes with a few attachments. Has a DC adapter to plug into a wall socket. Has a lighter plug to power from the car. Has a flashlight built in.

I saw a smaller model for $10, but it seemed too tiny (and likely slow). This $30 one filled an empty tire in 5-10 minutes or so. Relatively fast.

-G