Tire chuck....accuracy tester?

[skulldrinker]

At work we have a couple of imitation Milton tire air chucks. We fill up tires to the correct PSI for the vehicle. Sometimes the sensors register right on sometimes they don't. Who's right? the tire chuck or the sensors? When customers come back screaming their low pressure idiot lights have come on after they just left the shop I don't know what to do. The boss came up with an excuse saying the tire chucks are 3 pounds off. When he's frustrated he leans towards the sensors being right. I find that hard to go along with. I want to know how to check the accuracy of the tire chuck. How can i do that? Is there a tester available?

I have a brand new Milton #506 coming in the mail. I would like to have faith in it.

 

[Danglerb]

In Calif the tire filling device has to meet some minimum standard, most places fill until the tire monitoring system is happy.

 

[MLB0611]

The Pressure transducers in the tires, aka the air pressure sensors for the TPMS will be much more accurate than any beat up old gauge.

Milton and others do sell a Master Gauge to check accuracy of air gauges, used only to check for accuracy not to be used daily, Myer's tire supply and others can order them.

 

[Farmall450]

I would trust a new milton, see if using it solves your problems.

 

[skulldrinker]

Another thing is some car TPMS sensors match are tire chuck reading and other cars don't. So you kind of stand back and say who the hell is right? I'll look into the Master Gauge but it will have to be within my budget I think i would buying it on my own.

 

[Tripp2012]

Tire gauges have a spring in them over time and threw abuse this starts to give inaccurate readings. Dill has a tester for gauges that can be used to calibrate them if your gauge is designed to be calibrated. As stated above California requires this. There are also digital gauges out there that self calibrate.

 

[sberry]

I think I made a test manifold eventually. It has a Schrader on it.

 

[Jim C.]

I guess you get what you pay for. A "Milton imitation" may or may not be accurate. I have a Milton model S-932 dial type gauge that I'm very happy with. I think it's right on the mark as far as accuracy, it's easy to read, and easy to use. The only knock I would give it is that its exterior is made of plastic. I'm careful not to drop it for fear of cracking it, as it wasn't cheap, costing about $31 after tax. Again, you get what you pay for. Generally, I think it was worth the money, and I like the fact that it was made in the USA. I'm all for buying quality USA made products, even if they cost a little more. I believe that you'll be more than satisfied with a Milton gauge.


Jim C.

 

[Heavy tech]

Get yourself a decent digital gauge. Since I've got mine I've found just about every other Gauge in the shop to be off by 5lbs+. Never had a problem with tpms since I got my digital


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[signcrafter]

I went through this myself a while back. The tpms sensors were coming on and I have a handful of quality gauges that some read different then others and they all read different then the tpms sensors. I have a few quality regulators and air gauges for my compressor so I did like Sberry did and made a manifold with three PSI gauges on it and a schrader valve on it and set my regulator to a couple different settings. Made sure all 3 of the "master" gauges on the manifold read the same and then tested the tire gauges on the schrader valve to see if they matched the "master" gauges. Threw out the bad ones. I also bought a quality dial type and so far it's my favorite gauge. I like how easy it is to read and also it has stayed dead on accurate.

Here's a thread I started a while ago about this same thing. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162851&highlight=tire+pressure&showall=1

 

[Tripp2012]

This video will give you a good idea of calibration.

I went to a Joes Racing dial gauge with bleed valve so far it's been dead nuts, Longacre makes some nice dial gauges as well. Dill Air controls has a nice self calibrating digital as well.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00404WDUC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[pepi]

I like and have the Joes also using them for 6 7 years. Big dial easy read.

$0.02

Just for grins, this is a mod I did.

Mounted on an air chuck fill and check one tool

 

[wjamyers]

researched it and ended up getting this:

http://www.sears.com/accutire-digit...p-02823001000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

IMO, those 4.5 stars are earned.

I bought three of these (one for each car) and they all read the same as each other, accurate to .5 psi. My sis was having problems with her Lexus tire pressure warning light coming on. I used one of these to put her tires exactly 3 lbs over the recommended 30 psi, no more problem and she prefers the slightly sharpened handling.

flame away!

 

[skulldrinker]

Just received my Milton s506. Assembled in USA from Domestic and Foreign components. I'm a little concerned about the small see thru bubble. The lines on the scale are so close to one another I'm afraid it is going to be difficult to quickly look at and see what the reading is. I already use 2X safety glasses. I will take this to work tomorrow and run it through the paces and see how it works out.

I really like one of the poster's idea about using multiple gauges on a manifold to get a more accurate setting.

Also I like that Joe's Racing gauge mod. I would need a gauge to go above 60 lbs,,, 90 lbs would be good for the truck tires I do.

 

[Delray]

You may want to look at a Branick. They make a digital and the analog type. I believe these are USA made also. You will be paying around $50 to $100 for it but they are high quality.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

You may need to look at your original concern, "customers come back screaming their low pressure idiot lights have come on after they just left the shop". Is this on cars with actual TPMS sensors in the wheels or an older system like GM had where they use the ABS sensors to calculate low tire pressure. If it is the latter then if you rotated the tires you can have all the pressures dead nuts and the light will still come on if you you do not reset the system. I have not seen any newer TPS system that will turn a light on for a tire being only 3 PSI low I believe the GM systems is close to ten PSI. You need to look at all the circumstances involved also. Lets use tire temp as an example, for every ten degrees of temperature a tire will gain or loose approximately one pound of air. This time of year in northern climates like we have can cause issues with the TPMS systems, as during the day the air temp "in the tires at least" can be around 80 degrees, now if the customer goes out to there car first thing in the morning it is not unusual for the air temp to be in the low twenties. You just lost 6 PSI of air pressure with temp alone, if you were a pound or two to low to start off with now you could potentially have a light come on. We would have customers come in all the time with there tire pressures off after we worked on there car, EX: you work on a car early morning and set the tire pressures, the customer does not pick up the car until 3:00 in the afternoon. Now the tires on the right side of the car are all correct but the tires on the left side are all three or four PSI high, well the sun has been beating on those left side tires "black absorbs heat very well" and has inflated them over the recommended spec. It sounds like your boss and or service writers need a little education in simple physics because all is not what is may seam.

 

[skulldrinker]

The one that broke the camels back the other day was a 200? Pontiac G6 and the woman was just driving me batty. The door said tires should be 32psi so I checked them and they were 38 so I let some out down to 34/35 (on shop gauge). 10 minutes later she's at the counter saying her pressures are way low 31 and 32 ish and she want them to be about 34 (on her dash display) So I put them back up to the original 38. Service writer walks by and he says 38 is way to high take a couple out. OK so now I'm back down to 36. We look at the reading on the dash display and they don't match our readings. The boss walks by and says "how many times I have to tell you guys our gauges are off 3 lbs. So now I'm like WTF . I got a woman that wants the display to read one thing, the doors want another, the tire chucks now can't be trusted, The air in our compressor is @70 degrees, the air in the parking lot is @45, She goes around the block and everything goes haywire all over again.

That's when i said I need to be able to trust one thing and that is my very own tire chuck. So that's why I came here. As long as my gauge is accurate I'll put in whatever you want me to.

 

[skulldrinker]

Today was the first day using the new Milton 506. I was frowning on the tight lines in the glass bubble before I started. I got through the day fairly well it wasn't too bad but if I was able to try before I buy I would have passed it up for a better visual. Maybe my disliking it is caused by the 160lbs scale. Might have even opted for a dial type which at first I didn't like only for aesthetic reasons. But now I'm learning that ease of viewing and accuracy is what is important.

Maybe because it is brand new that this is happening I don't know. I was filling a tire and I let go of the lever to read the scale a few times as it was filling and more than once the reading shot up 4-5 lbs higher than what really was in there. I had to remove it from the valve and then place it back on it and the reading came back down to reality. I then continued to add more air.

We have a shop tire chuck that does the same thing I'd be filling a tire and get to around 28 lbs or so let go of the lever to get a reading and bam it would shoot up to full scale to and stick at 100lbs. First times it would slowly start coming down and level out. Now most times it stays at 100 and you have to take it off and put it back on for it to give you the right reading.

One tech says his chuck requires periodical oiling a drop or two of air tool oil (not as much as you would put in a tool). Has anyone ever done that? I never heard of that. Maybe that would cure the sticking of the slide scale???

 

[scaron]

i am really **** about keeping the tires aired up on all my vehicles (years of alloy rims, i guess, LOL) and i've found that the TPMS on my 07 cadi is always dead on; i've checked it against a few different gauges and it always lines up. i guess it probably varies a little bit between makes and models... why not just carry a good ole bar-shoots-out-the-back type analog gauge in your shirt pocket or something? small as a pencil, cheap and i've always found them to be very accurate. i had a digital gauge i thought was cool until the batteries died, LOL. now i'm analog all the way when it comes to checking tire pressure.

 

[skulldrinker]

i am really **** about keeping the tires aired up on all my vehicles (years of alloy rims, i guess, LOL) and i've found that the TPMS on my 07 cadi is always dead on; i've checked it against a few different gauges and it always lines up. i guess it probably varies a little bit between makes and models... why not just carry a good ole bar-shoots-out-the-back type analog gauge in your shirt pocket or something? small as a pencil, cheap and i've always found them to be very accurate. i had a digital gauge i thought was cool until the batteries died, LOL. now i'm analog all the way when it comes to checking tire pressure.

I understand some sensors could very well be NOT accurate. As for the hand held, I really want to eliminate that extra step. I mean like I shouldn't have to double, triple check it.

I may bring the Milton 506 home and go pick out another unit.

 

[RV77]

Just received my Milton s506.

I have one of these and it always reads 6 psi higher than whats actually in the tire.

Checked it against a hand held guage with the stem that pushes out.

 

[Midnight_America]

Today was the first day using the new Milton 506. I was frowning on the tight lines in the glass bubble before I started. I got through the day fairly well it wasn't too bad but if I was able to try before I buy I would have passed it up for a better visual. Maybe my disliking it is caused by the 160lbs scale. Might have even opted for a dial type which at first I didn't like only for aesthetic reasons. But now I'm learning that ease of viewing and accuracy is what is important.

Maybe because it is brand new that this is happening I don't know. I was filling a tire and I let go of the lever to read the scale a few times as it was filling and more than once the reading shot up 4-5 lbs higher than what really was in there. I had to remove it from the valve and then place it back on it and the reading came back down to reality. I then continued to add more air.

We have a shop tire chuck that does the same thing I'd be filling a tire and get to around 28 lbs or so let go of the lever to get a reading and bam it would shoot up to full scale to and stick at 100lbs. First times it would slowly start coming down and level out. Now most times it stays at 100 and you have to take it off and put it back on for it to give you the right reading.

One tech says his chuck requires periodical oiling a drop or two of air tool oil (not as much as you would put in a tool). Has anyone ever done that? I never heard of that. Maybe that would cure the sticking of the slide scale???

My Milton does the same exact thing...it aggravates the hell out of me. I recently emailed Milton about it in a very detailed email. I received an answer from them a few days later in "not so good English" basically telling me to go scratch....It was a boilerplate response having nothing to do with the specific questions I asked in my email. Being boilerplate, you'd think that at least they'd use correct grammar. It was a complete waste of my time, but exactly the response I expected from a company headquartered in Chicago (yeah, I said it!). Did you try the oil trick? I've taken mine apart several times, which sometimes cures the problem for a day or so. I stopped using the damn thing altogether. I've been a Milton-man my whole life, but after this, I'll spend my money elsewhere. If you find a fix for this problem please post it.

 

[skulldrinker]

My Milton does the same exact thing...it aggravates the hell out of me. I recently emailed Milton about it in a very detailed email. I received an answer from them a few days later in "not so good English" basically telling me to go scratch....It was a boilerplate response having nothing to do with the specific questions I asked in my email. Being boilerplate, you'd think that at least they'd use correct grammar. It was a complete waste of my time, but exactly the response I expected from a company headquartered in Chicago (yeah, I said it!). Did you try the oil trick? I've taken mine apart several times, which sometimes cures the problem for a day or so. I stopped using the damn thing altogether. I've been a Milton-man my whole life, but after this, I'll spend my money elsewhere. If you find a fix for this problem please post it.

Chicago huh? I didn't know that. Maybe I should stop by and see if they have a counter sales person with half a brain.

 

[RV77]

Chicago huh? I didn't know that. Maybe I should stop by and see if they have a counter sales person with half a brain.

Please do and let us know

 

[skulldrinker]

Here's a quick dirty list of some of Miltons guages from the current listed catalog.

 

[skulldrinker]

I'm at 4 days now working with my new Milton 506 air chuck and I am totally disappointed. The scale is all over the place. I can let go of the lever 5 times and get a different reading every time. I emailed Milton about it. Have not heard back yet. Last night I went to HD and bought a $9 Husky digital gauge just so I can have something that I can trust. Now I'm invested in all this $45. I should of just went at first and bought a $70 digital chuck. Dam.

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[RV77]

Think all of us should contact Milton about this complaint.

 

[SwampCat]

Hello you fellow fibbers, I am in the Fox Valley area. Dont know if this is a case of of the NEW stuff is junk, vs the GOOD OLD stuff... but I picked up a old mod.505 at a garage sale in naperdale for 5 bucks, always wanted one of these things since I was a kid. Filled a couple of tires, only to find the pressure was off. Being the curious type I tore the thing apart to see what makes it tick. Figured it needed a good cleaning anyway. Turns out these are adjustable for pressure. You remove the cap on the tube and inside of that is a slotted adjuster, dialed this puppy in. Now granted you should not have to do this to a brand new one.

 

[Midnight_America]

Hello you fellow fibbers, I am in the Fox Valley area. Dont know if this is a case of of the NEW stuff is junk, vs the GOOD OLD stuff... but I picked up a old mod.505 at a garage sale in naperdale for 5 bucks, always wanted one of these things since I was a kid. Filled a couple of tires, only to find the pressure was off. Being the curious type I tore the thing apart to see what makes it tick. Figured it needed a good cleaning anyway. Turns out these are adjustable for pressure. You remove the cap on the tube and inside of that is a slotted adjuster, dialed this puppy in. Now granted you should not have to do this to a brand new one.

If mine was consistently off by "x" pounds, your fix would work. The problem is the Milton is off by a variable amount of pounds. The only time the reading is balls on is when the Milton's chuck is first connected to the tire valve. Give it a shot of air, and the gauge could come to rest on a reading that is 5 lbs too high. Give it another shot of air, and it could read anywhere 2 to 8 lbs high, and so on and so on. Remove and re-attach the chuck to the valve, and the reading is spot on again. That is unacceptable performance in my opinion. YMMV.