My arthritic hands are tired of wrestling with gas station air hoses in winter time. So, I’m thinking of investing in a small portable tire inflator for the home. My uses will be topping off car tires and rare use inflating bicycle tires and a wheelbarrow tire (although I do have an old-fashioned hand pump for those latter two uses.) I’d prefer one where I can set the psi I want the tires inflated to and it automatically shuts off at that point. But that is not a necessary feature.
Looking online I see an abundance of tire inflators and small air compressors with all sorts of good, bad and indifferent reviews. I need something relatively small, light weight and inexpensive but which will last and be worth the money. And it needs to be one very easy to use with arthritic hands.
Any small 115VAC (house socket plug in) compressor will work for inflating tires. I’d recommend not trying to use a hand pump, because car tires require a lot of volume relative to bike tires, and you’ll kill yourself trying to get them up to pressure.
It clips onto the valve so you don;t have to hold it, the trigger is easy to squeeze, and the gage is easy to read. And, this type of gage (called a Bourdon Tube gage) is durable and plenty reliable and accurate enough for tires.
Also, I connected it to the hose using “quick release fittings”. That allows instant release of the inflator end and attachment of other devices should you want to use them.
I have a Black and Decker Air Station that is 25 years old and going strong. I highly recomend one. I recomend the ones with AC plug in as they are more powerful. The other option is a compressor with a separate portable air tank which I doubt you would be interested in. I have no use for dc car plug ins for home use. They are great for travel but I like the durability of the sturdy, although heavier AC pumps. I have no answer for arthritic hands trying to hold the valve on, though home snap on valves all tend to be easier to work with.
Thank you Mountainbike. Yes, bicycle hand pump for car tires doesn’t work – been there, tried that.
Uhm, looking at the link you provide, I don’t see what the source of the compressed air is??? It looks like it is just the gauge and connection paraphenalia. I’m confused (but then I confuese easily about such things! LOL)
What I use probably won’t meet your needs, but I’ll mention it for your consideration anyway. I have a Duracell Powerpack 300. The advantages are that it’s cordless and small, that it can run small electrical appliances, and that it can jump-start a battery that’s not too dead. The disadvantages are that it’s expensive, that it’s fairly heavy for its size, and that the valve attachment probably isn’t great for someone with arthritis. Mine has held up for a number of years now.
Marnet, you are correct in that you need a small compressor, to which the paraphanalia I recommended attaches. The photo does not include the compressor. IMHO any small air compressor will work well for your application.
I have a 120V unit that works fine, had it for many years. The gauges on these things are not very accurate, so I check the pressure with a tire pressure gauge. I doubt the auto shut off feature would be accurate, so I would not spend any extra money for that feature. I also have 12V jump start box with a compressor built in. The 120V one is better and faster, but the 12V in the jump box works pretty good too.
Thank you Uncle Turbo for the information, especially about not spending extra for a shut off feature. It’s not hard to use a tire gauge to check the pressure. I don’t go just by what the car’s instrument panel says, I double check it with a tire gauge, especially as the sensor on one wheel is a trifle funky and usually gives a reading several pounds lower than what two different tire gauges always read.
Thank you lion9car for the information.
I will use everyone’s info and suggestions to good use!