Best Car Tyre Inflators

Since we last posted, it’s come to our attention that not everyone knows how electronic tyre pumps work. It’s a fairly obvious thing to want to know so seems a little odd in hindsight that we didn’t talk in much detail about the practicalities of using them.

Let’s rectify that now!

What’s In The Box

First and foremost, you’ll get the compressor itself. They’re almost always in the form of a plastic box with a power lead and the air cable coming out of them. On the end of the power cable you’ll find a 12 volt plug that connects you your car cig lighter socket – these days in the interests of health you’re more likely to find them labelled as a 12V power outlet, but they’re essentially the same.

You may also find some other odd looking adaptors in the box depending on the model you buy – in most cases you’re unlikely to use them though if you don’t know what they are. Most commonly they’ll be the needle style football inflators and paddling pool adaptors. If you’re planning to make use of them, remember that your average kids pool doesn’t need to be inflated to 28PSI like a car tyre!

There’s also sometimes going to be an instruction manual in the box, but not always. If not, don’t panic, some manufacturers are starting to put them on their websites as PDF files to refer to whenever you need them. It makes a lot of sense, as you’ll almost always have your phone with you, and how often can you find that bit of paper when you need it?

Using The Pump Itself

Using the pump is almost always a simple matter of knowing what to do. The hardest bit is knowing how to set the desired pressure if your chosen make and model supports it. Just connect the pump to the power outlet in your car, and then remove the dust cap from the wheel and connect the compressor’s air hose. Generally you’ll immediately get the pressure currently in the tyre displayed – although some models vary.

Then it’s as simple as turning on the pump if you need more air. Rinse and repeat for each tyre and you’ll hopefully be on your way again. If you suspect one tyre is losing air, do that one first, then return to it once you’ve checked your other wheels. If the pressure has dropped, it’s time to get some help.

It’s really easy to take action to avoid the disaster we talked about last time – just buy a pump!

A foot pump is a pain to use – it’s hard work and a poor quality one will let out air faster than you can get it in. That’s why we’d go for a compressor every time. If you want to learn more about these handy machines, here’s some of the best pumps for car tyres.

They’re really easy to use, even my mum can operate hers without phoning me up for help. As we said last time, wherever you’re going, the football or somewhere else that you need to be on time, these things have a habit of going wrong when you’re in a hurry. A flat tyre isn’t the end of the world, but it can really put a dent in your plans, so investing in a high quality tyre inflator is a great idea.

They’re often available for sale in the supermarkets, and certainly at your nearest Halfords. They’re not the cheapest places to buy though, which is why we really like the ones on Amazon or eBay. There’s a lot more to choose from, and you can even get them delivered for a fraction of the cost of having to drive to the retail park to pick one up. If you’re a member of Amazon Prime, it might even be free delivery!

So there’s how you can get your air compressor for less and even delivered for free to your door – is there any excuse not to now you know how? You don’t want to be regretting not taking action now in a few weeks time, stranded in a lay-by on a stretch of managed motorway – take it from me, that’s not a fun place to be! Spending less than fifty quid on a simple device like this can keep you a lot safer and get you back on the road in record time.

Can you imagine driving to the football, perhaps running a little late, only to get half way and hear the dreaded sound of a flat tyre?

This is one of the times that highlights how valuable a tyre compressor can be – just pull over into a car park or lay by, maybe even as simple as a residential street. Get out the trusty car tyre inflator and you’ll be back on the road again in no time.

On the other hand, if you do what most people do, you’re at the mercy of the RAC or the Green Flag patrol reaching you when you’re the next highest priority customer in the queue. Nice though their mechanics are, they probably don’t give a monkeys what time kick off is, so at best it’s a roll of a dice whether you get to see any of the first half.

Having the inflator in your boot though means that if air is all you need, you’re well placed to make it to your seat in the stands in time for the kick off whistle being blown.

What’s more it’s always the worst moment that something like this goes wrong – like the day you’ve got a ticket for the cup final at Wembley Stadium!

There was a time when being able to change a tyre was as important to drivers as passing their test. It was a sort of rite of passage into becoming a road user. Now many cars don’t even have a spare, so changing one over isn’t even an option.

Pumping up tyres is a simple task by comparison, just drive into a filling station and park up at the air machine. A simple unscrew of four dust caps, a quid in the machine and you’re set to check pressures and add any air as needed.

There is a better way, though, and it will saving you driving to the nearest filling station to do the job, as you’ll be able to do so wherever and whenever you like when you’re out and about in the car.

Buying one of the best car tyre inflators is all it takes, and that’s what we’re here to help you do. See you next time for more info on what you need to know, and what you’ll need to do to be safer on the roads.