Accurate dial tire gauge

[zendriver]

No doubt this topic has been beat death, but I’m just looking for a product brand consistently accurate I’ll go electronic if that’s the way, but I’d rather not have to mess with the batteries

Seems like every tire gauge I own old or new read something different sometimes forcing me to go to the” closest two out of three!

Thanks


Grab this old gem and notice it’s not even zeroed out

 

[theoldwizard1]

Accu-Gage will re-calibrate if you pay shipping.

I like this one - Accu-Gage H80XA ! Accu-Gage has many more styles to choose from, both low pressure and high pressure.

 

[Beanscoot]

I had a couple of the newer cheap dial type gauges and I brought them to a friend who worked in an instrument shop to calibrate.
One was within one psi in its whole travel.

The other was exactly ten psi out through the whole travel. He used the proper puller and removed and reinstalled the pointer in the right place.

Unless you can get a gauge calibrated it's not possible to know if it's good. You can have an expensive unit but if it's been dropped or banged and the gear teeth on the rack have jumped or something similar, who knows if it's accurate?

I've often thought that certain garages that do safety inspections say, or State or Provincial inspection stations should have calibrated, certified test facilities for the public to test these gauges. The authorities are adamant that the public should keep vehicle tire pressures correct, after all.

Where I live and probably most places, all the scales and balances at grocery stores have annual certification stickers on them issued by the guvmint.

 

[Steve_P]

I used dial gauges for decades and finally gave up because half of the "ANSI certified" ones on Amazon, including some of the Accugauge I've purchased, are 2-3 PSI off out of the box. I gave up after I dropped an accurate dial Accugauge 2 feet and it was then off 3 PSI.

I've since bought a JACO digital which I believe also won the PF test. it uses AAA batteries, and I have plenty of them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RJ2R6BN?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[willf650]

I used dial gauges for decades and finally gave up because half of the "ANSI certified" ones on Amazon, including some of the Accugauge I've purchased, are 2-3 PSI off out of the box. I gave up after I dropped an accurate dial Accugauge 2 feet and it was then off 3 PSI.

I've since bought a JACO digital which I believe also won the PF test. it uses AAA batteries, and I have plenty of them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RJ2R6BN?tag=atomicindus08-20

I bought one as well after seeing PF test them.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VV78RZ1?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Beanscoot]

Will you trust those gauges in five or ten years?
In industry gauges are typically recalibrated every year, even very high quality ones.

 

[ericm]

Will you trust those gauges in five or ten years?
In industry gauges are typically recalibrated every year, even very high quality ones.

Very few home shop guys are going to get their gauges tested. And to be honest if a tire gauge is off by 5% most people won't notice, and it won't matter. Especially if it's still consistent. If it's off by 10 or 15% you'll probably notice eventually that it's always low/high compared to your other gauges. Then you'll either throw it out or add/subtract how much you think its off.

Is the digital gauge, due to it's design, more or less likely to lose accuracy over the long term than an analog gauge?

 

[Notgrownup]

I have a Longacre analog and a JACO digital. Both very accurate.

 

[whateg01]

Unless you are racing and need to be able to adjust in less than 1 psig increments, it doesn't really matter if your tires are at 32 psig or 34.

 

[Beanscoot]

True, if a gauge is a little off it will still get all the tires the same, or proportional to their correct pressures.
My concern is that a lot of people will have had gauges like mine that was ten psi off. So instead of thirty psi they have twenty psi in their tires.

 

[whateg01]

True, if a gauge is a little off it will still get all the tires the same, or proportional to their correct pressures.
My concern is that a lot of people will have had gauges like mine that was ten psi off. So instead of thirty psi they have twenty psi in their tires.

33% error is pretty drastic. Most probably read within 5%, or maybe 10%.

 

[zimman]

If you have a air compressor I'd get one like my Bluepoint digital. It's a workhorse. Got me through a decade in the shops and another in real life traveling.
Zim

 

[RTM]

No doubt this topic has been beat death,

Most recently.
ETA oops, never mind, I grabbed the wrong thread, coulda swore there was one recently that’s not coming up, tread depth and pressure aren’t even close, thanks to @KnurledNut for catching my faux pas.

Dial type tire tread gauge recommendations please

This bad boy worked great but if I missed the groove it put pressure on the needle and it broke within a few weeks. They gave me my money back and I tried to put humpty dumpty back together again to no avail... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1D8HQSZ/?tag=atomicindus08-20 I don't like the...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I used one of these today and it was a really nice unit. Granted, it carries a premium price.

https://powertank.com/products/ventoso-trooper-red

 

[drmarkr]

We use a Longacre analog for our race cars. Have not recalibrated it for a couple of years now....time to do so, I suppose.

 

[KnurledNut]

Most recently

Dial type tire tread gauge recommendations please

This bad boy worked great but if I missed the groove it put pressure on the needle and it broke within a few weeks. They gave me my money back and I tried to put humpty dumpty back together again to no avail... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1D8HQSZ/?tag=atomicindus08-20 I don't like the...

www.garagejournal.com

That thread was about tread depth gauges. Zen is inquiring about pressure gauges.

 

[willf650]

Will you trust those gauges in five or ten years?
In industry gauges are typically recalibrated every year, even very high quality ones.

More than likely it will be fine for me.

The only time I ever notice a big difference in tire pressure is on my fat tired mountain bike where 1/2# will make a noticable difference. I'm only running 8# in it but its rigid carbon fiber everything so every twitch is noticeable.

For my limited automotive and towing use not so much. Maybe if I was racing it might make a difference but that's not my situation.

 

[Aileron]

I bought the harbor freight inflator a few years ago and pulled the gauge off and installed a 1/8 mpt x1/4fpt fitting and a digital gauge. I built one for 60psi and put a 90 * chuck on it and a 200 psi and put a pencil chuck on it for trucks. They seem to work fine. I also used it for filling bladder expansion tanks.

 

[RTM]

That thread was about tread depth gauges. Zen is inquiring about pressure gauges.

Fixed it, thanks. Here is the worst part of that thread.

Dial type tire tread gauge recommendations please

This bad boy worked great but if I missed the groove it put pressure on the needle and it broke within a few weeks. They gave me my money back and I tried to put humpty dumpty back together again to no avail... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1D8HQSZ/?tag=atomicindus08-20 I don't like the...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[zimman]

Will you trust those gauges in five or ten years?
In industry gauges are typically recalibrated every year, even very high quality ones.

We're talking about a tire gauge here, not a nuclear weapon trigger. LMAO
Zim

 

[cgrutt]

Are tire thumpers still a thing?

 

[zendriver]

Are tire thumpers still a thing?

I use one about 8 times a day and although I can detect a pressure drop, for the most part the tire is either full or flat. Usually not much in between

 

[Beanscoot]

The tire bumper seems like a good idea if you a fleet mechanic or similar, you could quickly detect a dangerously low tire.
And then you could take it fishing.

 

[bonneyman]

After years of struggling to measure my tires with all kinds of gauges, I asked my tire shop what brand they use. The mechanic whipped out this AstroAi unit. I bought a pair off of Amazon (one for my and the wife's car) and have had absolutely no issues since. Inexpensive, fits the hand well, 1/10 PSI accuracy, can be adjusted to standard or metric pressure, auto off after a set time to save the battery.

Amazon.com: AstroAI Digital Tire Pressure Gauge 0-150PSI (Accurate in 0.1 Increments), 4 Units for Car Truck Bicycle with Backlight LCD and Presta Valve Adaptor, Sliver : Automotive

Buy AstroAI Digital Tire Pressure Gauge 0-150PSI (Accurate in 0.1 Increments), 4 Units for Car Truck Bicycle with Backlight LCD and Presta Valve Adaptor, Sliver: Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

 

[whateg01]

After years of struggling to measure my tires with all kinds of gauges, I asked my tire shop what brand they use. The mechanic whipped out this AstroAi unit. I bought a pair off of Amazon (one for my and the wife's car) and have had absolutely no issues since. Inexpensive, fits the hand well, 1/10 PSI accuracy, can be adjusted to standard or metric pressure, auto off after a set time to save the battery.

Amazon.com: AstroAI Digital Tire Pressure Gauge 0-150PSI (Accurate in 0.1 Increments), 4 Units for Car Truck Bicycle with Backlight LCD and Presta Valve Adaptor, Sliver : Automotive

Buy AstroAI Digital Tire Pressure Gauge 0-150PSI (Accurate in 0.1 Increments), 4 Units for Car Truck Bicycle with Backlight LCD and Presta Valve Adaptor, Sliver: Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I questioned that accuracy spec. Precise to 0.1, sure. Accurate to 0.1? Doubtful at that price

 

[zendriver]

I questioned that accuracy spec. Precise to 0.1, sure. Accurate to 0.1? Doubtful at that price

Yep, in the 21st century, everybody knows quality is dictated by price.

Some thinks these guys are shills, but FWIW their preliminary test put this unit pretty close the claimed spec.

At about 4:18. The $10 " Etenwolf" is right there.

 

[Ohio Andy]

I've been very happy with all my digital products from Jaco.

I assume that any non-digital products from the same company would have the same level of accuracy...

So based on recommendations from here, I own several of these

https://a.co/d/2JfIDbo

Those strictly measure pressure and nothing else, but I found them to be accurate and reliable and they've held up to abuse

This is what I have attached to my air compressor when I'm putting air in tires

Amazon.com: JACO FlowPro Digital Tire Inflator with Pressure Gauge - 200 PSI : Automotive

Buy JACO FlowPro Digital Tire Inflator with Pressure Gauge - 200 PSI: Air Compressors & Inflators - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

a.co

Previously I was trying to use a different brand and I was never happy with it and it was strictly a dial gauge. But it was leaking so badly. I just couldn't use it anymore. Say like something about an elevator so this is the link the one I had bad luck with

https://a.co/d/ewisa56

 

[51dueller]

I bought this one several years ago and have been happy with it. It shows the same pressure as the tpms reports on my vehicles. I wanted a dial gauge that could handle 80 psi truck tires.

 

[engineer2]

I'd take Project Farm tests with a grain of salt. He is not very technical, omits certain brands, and is known to favor certain brands. A guy I worked with tested various Chinese digital pressure gauges. They were reasonably accurate, but they did not do well if the ambient temperature changed. Most had no calibration provisions or calibration instructions. If they were off, throw them away and buy another.

 

[KnurledNut]

This was my go-to for quite some time. Very reliable and accurate. I wish Snap-on still offered it. Loved the way the trigger mechanism worked.

No complaints about my Jaco.

I use an Milton monthly and its been consistent and the pressure hold works very well. Good range for automotive tires. Great for single hand use.

If you work on stuff besides cars, a low pressure gauge can be quite handy.

This one gave me issues. Unfortunately, GH Meiser sold Accugage to Milton and when I reached out to them they were absolutely no help in trying to get it repaired or replaced. Customer service blew me off so I have been hesitant to do any further business with them and question the current quality. They may be great, but mine wasn't and I won't recommend them.

My much older Accugage still works and is accurate but lost the cover.

If you don't know how bourdon tubes work, its worth researching. High quality ones are pretty resilient.

 

[whateg01]

Whatever happened to the days when everybody just trusted that this thing was the gold standard that everyone should use?

 

[engineer2]

Mechanical or digital gauges are fine for general tire pressure. Digital is better because of readability and accuracy.
2-3 PSI error won't matter for street car tires since ambient temperature affects readings anyhow, about 1 psi for every 10F temperature change. For auto racing or aircraft tires, quarter percent accuracy or better becomes important.

 

[rancherbill]

I use the lost cost ones. I thought I would treat myself to a good one and bought a Milton - what a POS. It was 6+ pounds off coming out of the box. It went back and I upgraded my buying a better cheap one this style. I'm very happy with it. To me it is obvious that Milton is relying on their brand name instead of buying and building a good product. With their existing business. they could afford to have the biggest, the best and lowest cost manufacturing facilities in NA. Instead they are giving shareholder dividends as their business goes away. They are giving away the market to foreign companies.

 

[mikegt4]

I use the lost cost ones. I thought I would treat myself to a good one and bought a Milton - what a POS. It was 6+ pounds off coming out of the box. It went back and I upgraded my buying a better cheap one this style. I'm very happy with it. To me it is obvious that Milton is relying on their brand name instead of buying and building a good product. With their existing business. they could afford to have the biggest, the best and lowest cost manufacturing facilities in NA. Instead they are giving shareholder dividends as their business goes away. They are giving away the market to foreign companies.

That looks like one of their EXELAIR product line. Sadly Milton, like most manufactures, has to use offshore sources in order to stay competitive if not just survive. Unless you purchase one of the legacy products ($$$) the box will probably say Made In China. Today's business reality is that everyone shops by price, not quality or value.

​

 

[MovingAlong]

Seems like every tire gauge I own old or new read something different sometimes forcing me to go to the” closest two out of three!

"A man with one watch knows what time it is, a man with two watches is never sure."

I only own one tire gauge, an Accu-Gage from years ago:



My checks are done with the four TPMS units on the wife's car. All four tire sensors report/match what the gauge said exactly...

Close enough for me.

 

[Jokester]

Recently bought a Longacre 50417 and the thing is fantastic, especially build quality/function for the price point. Thought I'd miss the 'hold psi reading' that other gauges I've owned have had, but definitely not the case. No reset needed OR needle fluctuation like with other gauges, just press squarely onto the valve stem and you get a very smooth fluid-like reading and done. Inflate a bit high, press onto the valve stem and slowly bleed excess and have perfect readings in real time.

 

[zendriver]

"A man with one watch knows what time it is, a man with two watches is never sure."

I only own one tire gauge, an Accu-Gage from years ago:



My checks are done with the four TPMS units on the wife's car. All four tire sensors report/match what the gauge said exactly...

Close enough for me.

Don't own any watches, but I do like to have a pressure gauge in every vehicle, if I need one when not at home.

That Victor is probably pretty old, just one I picked up at an estate auction. just looking for modern gauges, that should be accurate.

The one you have looks like a nice price as well.

 

[jimbee]

Whatever happened to the days when everybody just trusted that this thing was the gold standard that everyone should use?

I have a Milton S-921 in every car I own.

 

[bwringer]

Whatever happened to the days when everybody just trusted that this thing was the gold standard that everyone should use?

I used to buy those by the handful at bLowes; for some reason the brand they sold in buckets at the counter was very nice quality, but only a buck each. I'd test them on a large car tire when I got home, then toss any that didn't read the same, which was maybe 1 out of 10. I kept several on hand and gave one to everyone I knew who didn't have a tire gauge in their car. Dunno... saggy tires just bother me. (Sadly, bLowes stopped selling these; the pencil gauges they have now are much lower quality and much more expensive.)


Anyway, yeah, the Jaco clearly came out on top in the PF video, but the Merlin from HF was a close second, so that's what I've got in my garage. I had a HF coupon, and they're like a mile and a half away.

Sometimes the screamy PF guy encounters a Chinese alphabet soup brand on Amazon that tests really well, like the Ettenwolf tire gauge, but I have less than zero trust that what I get if I order it will be the same thing.

I do have to say that the delicate gauge unit banging around at the end of a stiff hose and facing the wrong way 90% of the time is the MOST annoying and useless possible form factor on the planet. Can't we do ANY better as a species? How about a model on a nice flexible Flexzilla hunka hose with swivels at both ends, and maybe a display on both sides. Maybe make the display so it detects orientation and flips as needed so the numbers are always right side up. How about something I could use one-handed? I would honestly pay handsomely for a better mousetrap here.


Also, checking motorcycle tire pressures is an even more ridiculously annoying task because you need a gauge with a right-angle chuck in many situations, and these are very hard to find. Often you can make an angled chuck work, but the common straight on chucks are right out. Getting a dingle-dangle-on-a-hose style to work on a motorcycle is a lot tougher than it needs to be.

And no, I'm not installing right-angle valve stems; I've seen way too many of those stupid things leak and break.

 

[Notgrownup]

I know it ain’t rocket surgery but if I buy a gauge, I like to think it is giving me the correct result. you can pay $15 for a crappy one that is off by 4 psi or a bit more for one that is accurate.