Tyre Air Machines at petrol stations

[Gathursty]

I seem to have a hate-hate relationship with my local supermarket's (free) machine where 80% of the time, it likes to give up after a second of pumping air in and show an 'E 1' message. However, at other petrol stations with coin operated air machines, I seem to be able to sort my tyres out fairly quickly.

What's your experience of the air machines?

 

[Crossover]

I haven’t used one for a while, but one of the local supermarkets has a free one and it does spend much time ‘bagged’ out of service

I have only used a paid for one once and it worked fine but I probably can’t comment on one vs the other definitively.

 

[GusB]

The last time I used one was at Sainsbury's and it was free to use. However, it only gives you enough time to do one tyre before you have to restart it again.
Asda charges for their machine, and I found that I had to feed it another coin before I could get the full set done. I wasn't too pleased.

 

[Andy Pacer]

How much was the charge?

 

[GusB]

How much was the charge?

I'm fairly sure it was 50p.

 

[Cowley]

The one at the Esso station near us takes 50p to get round all four tyres on the car, which I think is fine bearing in mind the equipment needs maintenance etc.
I don’t recall it ever not working, unlike the car wash...

If I do the tyres on the van up to 50+ psi but I’m on the side where I can’t see the readout on the machine I find it takes a slightly nerve inducing long time until I hear the tone that says it’s reached what I’d set on the machine.
It’s quite strange the way it seems to gulp and blow compared to the old ones on garage airlines that blew at a fairly constant pressure too.

 

[AM9]

I rarely have a problem with them working or not, - I normally use the facility at one of the two local Sainsbury stores. I do though have a general issue with public compressed air facilities in that their accuracy isn't stated and they don't seem to have a visible calibration record. Given that incorrect inflation of tyres not only causes irregular wear, but in the case of an incident, could lead to a prosecution.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Probably they are weak for fear of over-inflation
Remember to inflate and check pressures when the tyres are cold
Apparently tyres can heat up quite a bit and show a higher pressure if exposed to the sun

 

[thejuggler]

I was so fed up of them being out of order I now have an electric pump in the car.

 

[telstarbox]

I got one from Screwfix and it's brilliant - runs from the lighter socket.

 

[Bobdogs]

I bought one from Tesco for about £12 when they started charging 50p. Got me out of trouble when I found a flat tyre one morning and I was able to drive to the garage.

 

[PeterC]

Probably they are weak for fear of over-inflation
Remember to inflate and check pressures when the tyres are cold
Apparently tyres can heat up quite a bit and show a higher pressure if exposed to the sun

My current car has sensors to check the tyre pressures. It came as quite a shock to see just how much variation was caused by the weather.

 

[Mojo]

The only Supermarket that I find is consistently free is Sainsbury’s. Sadly someone drove their car into the side of the local Sainsbury’s petrol station a few months ago, and although it has reopened, still no air & water machine. Are any other supermarkets always (or ever) free?

I was told once that as a condition of license, official motorway services have to provide free air, but apparently this is only “encouraged,” so no idea on how this works on the ground.

As an aside, had to pay for tyre inflation at a petrol station near here just a few weeks ago. First & only time I’ve ever paid. Attempted to use an electronic pump that plugs into the cigarette lighter but don’t know how to use it, so it just deflated the tyre.

 

[JohnMcL7]

I've not had any issue with air machines I've used but also bought a cigarette powered one since the alloys on my car are rubbish and I find it's very handy since I can keep it with me and works well.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

My current car has sensors to check the tyre pressures. It came as quite a shock to see just how much variation was caused by the weather.

What is the temperature range? Car tyres are very thick, unlike cycle tyres, so maybe temperature/pressure variations do not matter quite so much

 

[lyndhurst25]

I find that my tyre pressures vary by about 10% between hot and cold days. Even the sun shining on one side of the car produces a measurable difference.

What's wrong with a foot pump? You get a free workout into the bargain!

I find that the pressure gauges on foot pumps, electric tyre inflators and the garage machines are often way out, so it's worth investing in a decent pressure gauge. Overinflate the tyres a little and then let them down to the exact pressure after the car has had chance to cool down in the shade.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Very few 'accidents' are caused by mechanical faults
But if a vehicle is parked with two wheels in bright sunshine and two in a damp ditch the pressures would differ, might handle quite differently
I imagine pressures equalise quite soon after driving off

 

[lyndhurst25]

The problem is, like my daft dad keeps doing, if you check the pressures and pump up your tyres with one side of the car in sunshine and the other in shade - then you get persistent uneven pressures from one side to the other.

Car accidents due to mechanical faults are quite rare, but I've had quite a spectacular one. I'd upload the dashcam video but I think that the forum only accepts still photographs.