If you pay for 5 minutes to inflate your tyres - how long would you expect to inflate them for?

BUDFORCE · 27 Jul 2023 at 07:38

AWPC said:
Buy your own portable pump! It pays for itself in a few mins literally!!! I recently got scammed by a local Shell garage for £6 for about 30 secs of air then the machine stopped working!

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theone8181 · 27 Jul 2023 at 07:38

Don't most new cars tell you the pressure anyway, even my wife's fiesta does. Makes it easy to check and tells you if it's low.

Diddums x · 27 Jul 2023 at 07:44

I'm like a one-man F1 pit crew with these things. Before I've even approached the machine my valve caps are off, my car is perfectly positioned, ready to go. Preset the pressure on the machine, tap card, and omgomgomgomgomgomgdon'twannaspendanotherquidomgomgomgomgomg.

When done I replaced the caps, move the car, and spend £25 on crap in the shop.

adidan · 27 Jul 2023 at 07:48

Rroff said:
I'm puzzled why anyone would be in a situation where they need to use one.

Used one when there was a slowly deflating tyre before it got it sorted.

Footpump got destroyed under my boot, probably gone brittle from lack of use, or I'm just a damned brute.

SixTwoSix · 27 Jul 2023 at 07:48

tyke_ said:
i'd trust 1 of these machines more than a £10 home pump

I've got a Ring portable pump and a draper pressure gauge, I can guarantee you the home pump is extremely accurate.

However it wasn't a tenner

Ali195 · 27 Jul 2023 at 07:49

Diddums said:
I'm like a one-man F1 pit crew with these things. Before I've even approached the machine my valve caps are off, my car is perfectly positioned, ready to go. Preset the pressure on the machine, tap card, and omgomgomgomgomgomgdon'twannaspendanotherquidomgomgomgomgomg.

When done I replaced the caps, move the car, and spend £25 on crap in the shop.

Was goings to say, I take he caps off all the wheels, stretch out the line so it's next to the wheel, then insert 20p, BANG GO GO GO !!!

Then I just paid for a 12v one, leave it in car.

Tykey · 27 Jul 2023 at 07:54

SixTwoSix said:
I've got a Ring portable pump and a draper pressure gauge, I can guarantee you the home pump is extremely accurate.

However it wasn't a tenner

ah ok i didn't think of that, using a draper gauge along with the home pump, i wouldn't trust a home pump on its own but yeah with a decent gauge maybe.

SixTwoSix · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:02

tyke_ said:
ah ok i didn't think of that, using a draper gauge along with the home pump, i wouldn't trust a home pump on its own but yeah with a decent gauge maybe.

Don't get me wrong, I don't double check every time I do the tyres - however the times I have checked, it was spot on.

Uther · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:05

Rroff said:
I'm puzzled why anyone would be in a situation where they need to use one.

I've done it once, when my tyre looked a bit flat in a supermarket car park and I didn't have a pump. I keep an electric one in the car now.

Uther · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:06

SixTwoSix said:
I've got a Ring portable pump and a draper pressure gauge, I can guarantee you the home pump is extremely accurate.

However it wasn't a tenner

Exactly my setup. Although I should probably check the tyre pressures more often than I do.

SixTwoSix · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:10

Uther said:
Exactly my setup. Although I should probably check the tyre pressures more often than I do.

That's what my pretty dashboard lights are for

Uther · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:14

SixTwoSix said:
That's what my pretty dashboard lights are for

Same! One actually came on a couple of weeks ago on a motorway in Ireland. I just reset it and carried on

SixTwoSix · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:18

Uther said:
Same! One actually came on a couple of weeks ago on a motorway in Ireland. I just reset it and carried on

Feek · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:35

These used to cost 20p at my local garage. Now they’re £2.

Talk about inflation.

Feek · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:37

Uther said:
Same! One actually came on a couple of weeks ago on a motorway in Ireland. I just reset it and carried on

I had a low tyre pressure light come on while driving over the A62 last year. Stopped at the first available garage and there were a queue of cars waiting for the air hose. We got chatting (as you do) and they’d all had the same thing.

When checked, all tyres were fine.

:confused:

azazl187 · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:39

I bought a rechargeable pump that I keep in the van. It takes a good while but it does the job accurately and is easy

Uther · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:39

Feek said:
I had a low tyre pressure light come on while driving over the A62 last year. Stopped at the first available garage and there were a queue of cars waiting for the air hose. We got chatting (as you do) and they’d all had the same thing.

When checked, all tyres were fine.

I suspect it was a false sensor warning, as I'd hit a bump in the road.My pressure was fine too when I eventually checked it.

[TW]Fox · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:40

sigma said:
Didn't check your tyres and you don't have a pump with you and you're not near home. Doesn't seem that implausible.

Imagine spending 8 hours a day driving your car for work and not thinking that carrying a pump would be sensible.

Feek · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:41

All our cars have one of these in the boot.

https://amzn.eu/d/6K5TFGx

Raymond Lin · 27 Jul 2023 at 08:47

Before the Pandemic Sainsbury's by me use to be free, then it mysteriously broke for ages, and came back with a paid one. £1.

For a 6 month period I paid for air, sometimes in Sainsbury's, sometimes in Shell and couple of others once a month.

Then I bought my own portable rechargeable one. It's slower but i would say a hell lot more accurate That was 18 months ago so I got like half of my money back already.