I use a handheld digital tire pressure gauge to check my tire pressure (yes, I'm that frugal about fuel economy haha) and I was just wondering how accurate they are? Is it common to see issues with calibration on these things? (Seeing as how they're $5-10 at ChinaMart says enough, so I wanted to verify the reliability based upon your opinion.)
Accuracy of digital tire pressure gauges?
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I had a digital, 2 dial types and a couple of the pen style.
My digital gauge agree's very well with the 2 dial types but I just recently threw out both the pen style since they were so inaccurate.
My digital gauge is made by CH (Campbell Hausfeld)
My digital gauge agree's very well with the 2 dial types but I just recently threw out both the pen style since they were so inaccurate.
My digital gauge is made by CH (Campbell Hausfeld)
In my tire gauge research I uncovered what seems to be a consensus opinion: The digital gauges are fare more accurate and in testing, the pen style was found to often be 15psi off.
Of the digital gauges, the Accu-gauge one seems to get the most love.
Of the digital gauges, the Accu-gauge one seems to get the most love.
Accu-gauge is well thought of.
BUT, they make cheap gauges too so you get what you pay for.
The only pen type that are any good are the steel or stainless steel ones and even they can be off.
Cheap dial gauges are usually worthless too;
I don't recall what I gave for my two Acc-gauges but it was money well spent.
I check the cheaper digital ones against those.
BUT, they make cheap gauges too so you get what you pay for.
The only pen type that are any good are the steel or stainless steel ones and even they can be off.
Cheap dial gauges are usually worthless too;
I don't recall what I gave for my two Acc-gauges but it was money well spent.
I check the cheaper digital ones against those.
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Every digital tire pressure gauge I've had has broken. They're not very rugged.
CU ran a test a year or two ago. As best as I remember digitals were very accurate. Dial gaues were very good and more rugged. Some pencils were just OK. Acu-Gauge and ?? were highly rated. Maybe someone who has the CU issue will chime in. Ed
Two dial type gages have broken so I'm relying upon pencil gages now. I look for US made gages, which are actually hard to find. When the were working the dial gages agreed with any of the pencil gages within the resolution of the gage, which was 1 or 2 lbs. If three gages agree within 1 or 2 lbs that's good enough for me.
I haven't found digital or dial types to be more accurate. I've thrown out more than a few because of inaccuracy.
They can be easier to read.
Unless you get a bad one, a pen type is the same.
They can be easier to read.
Unless you get a bad one, a pen type is the same.
My Mom got a free pen style from somewhere. She checked a low tire and added air. Car felt odd. I checked that tire with my pen gauge and it just about blew out of the end. I bled a LOT of air before I got measurement I could read. I estimated that she put in some 70 psi on a 44 max tire.
Personally, I use a digital. I have a pen style as well and both check roughly the same.
Personally, I use a digital. I have a pen style as well and both check roughly the same.
Putting aside accuracy, the digital are just a lot quicker and more convenient to use. It is often hard to the small hash marks on the pen style gauges. I have one of the 10 dollar Slime brand digitals I bought from OReilly's for 10 bucks and it works great. The bonus is that is has a lifetime replace from O'Reilly's. If it breaks, I just bring it to them and I get one off the shelf. Can't beat that.
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I used some cheap digital that I bought from AA. Checked it against other gauges and they agreed. So ..I consider it accurate. I don't know how long it remains that way. It's a couple of years old
I threw all my pen gauges in the trash. The digitals are just too handy not to have. I wish I could find the link, but there has been some testing on the dial and pen type gauges and they were found to be highly inaccurate compared to the digitals. Of course, drop the digital gauge a few times and its worthless.
Wish i could find a U.S. made gauge, but it is all Chinese. Campbell Hausfeld stuff is all Chinese. I always thought they were an American company?
Wish i could find a U.S. made gauge, but it is all Chinese. Campbell Hausfeld stuff is all Chinese. I always thought they were an American company?
Oh, I like them, I just don't trust them any more than a pencil type.
Just because a digital gauge reads to the hundredth decimal point does not ensure that it is off a few pounds .
My gauges have proven themselves, or I pitch them.
Just because a digital gauge reads to the hundredth decimal point does not ensure that it is off a few pounds .
My gauges have proven themselves, or I pitch them.
"Wish i could find a U.S. made gauge, but it is all Chinese."
A local, non-chain hardware store had some older US made stock so years back I bought enough for each car. Seeing US products disappear I picked up a few more recently as back ups, so I should be set for quite awhile. I found them and NOW THEY"RE ALL MINE ! HA HA HA HA HA !
I think that NAPA also carries some US made gages.
A local, non-chain hardware store had some older US made stock so years back I bought enough for each car. Seeing US products disappear I picked up a few more recently as back ups, so I should be set for quite awhile. I found them and NOW THEY"RE ALL MINE ! HA HA HA HA HA !
I think that NAPA also carries some US made gages.
The most important thing to do is to get one close in range to the pressure you need. So if your tire pressure should be 30, use a 0-40 scale or a 0-50 scale rather than a 0-100. You may need more than one take for all tires.
I have a red Craftsman digital tire gauge and love it.
The greatest thing I found recently (at a Hess and Citgo) are the digital automatic tire filling machines, where you set the pressure and it automatically adds or subtracts pressure and then signals when its all done. The display shows what you started at, what its currently at as it goes through the process and then the ending pressure.
I have a red Craftsman digital tire gauge and love it.
The greatest thing I found recently (at a Hess and Citgo) are the digital automatic tire filling machines, where you set the pressure and it automatically adds or subtracts pressure and then signals when its all done. The display shows what you started at, what its currently at as it goes through the process and then the ending pressure.
I like the Accu-gage dial type. Their headquarters is near me, and I can have my gages calibrated by them easily. The company founder is semi-retired and I love to watch him do the calibrations. Nice to chat with him too. They have manufacturing facilities at their HQ, but I am not sure where ALL their gages are made.
One can damage any dial type gage by dropping it, and by over-pressurizing it. If your car has the small space-saver type spare tire you may need the 0-100 lb gage. Those tires typically require more than 60 psi.
One can order a made-in-the-USA Accu-gage on-line at getagage.com. I have no interest in the company other than I really enjoy chatting with the founder, and they make great products.
One can damage any dial type gage by dropping it, and by over-pressurizing it. If your car has the small space-saver type spare tire you may need the 0-100 lb gage. Those tires typically require more than 60 psi.
One can order a made-in-the-USA Accu-gage on-line at getagage.com. I have no interest in the company other than I really enjoy chatting with the founder, and they make great products.
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Originally Posted By: 9c1
I like the Accu-gage dial type. Their headquarters is near me, and I can have my gages calibrated by them easily. The company founder is semi-retired and I love to watch him do the calibrations. Nice to chat with him too. They have manufacturing facilities at their HQ, but I am not sure where ALL their gages are made.
One can damage any dial type gage by dropping it, and by over-pressurizing it. If your car has the small space-saver type spare tire you may need the 0-100 lb gage. Those tires typically require more than 60 psi.
One can order a made-in-the-USA Accu-gage on-line at getagage.com. I have no interest in the company other than I really enjoy chatting with the founder, and they make great products.
Thanks for the tip. I'll go over there and order me up a U.S. made gauge.
I like the Accu-gage dial type. Their headquarters is near me, and I can have my gages calibrated by them easily. The company founder is semi-retired and I love to watch him do the calibrations. Nice to chat with him too. They have manufacturing facilities at their HQ, but I am not sure where ALL their gages are made.
One can damage any dial type gage by dropping it, and by over-pressurizing it. If your car has the small space-saver type spare tire you may need the 0-100 lb gage. Those tires typically require more than 60 psi.
One can order a made-in-the-USA Accu-gage on-line at getagage.com. I have no interest in the company other than I really enjoy chatting with the founder, and they make great products.
Thanks for the tip. I'll go over there and order me up a U.S. made gauge.
Quite some time ago, Consumer Reports reported on a variety of tire pressure gauges,(pencil, digital & circle gague types). IIRC, two model numbers from NAPA Auto Parts Stores were their top picks in the pencil type. The crew at NAPA should know what these are.
Heres what CR Mag did for their test(again IIRC!). They purchaced 10 of each brand and type from a variety of different stores(as to judge quality and consistancey) and compared them with something of know accuracy. They purchaced hundreds of gauges and chose their top picks in each catagory. The only catagory that I remember is the pencil type from NAPA. Hope this helps a little.
Heres what CR Mag did for their test(again IIRC!). They purchaced 10 of each brand and type from a variety of different stores(as to judge quality and consistancey) and compared them with something of know accuracy. They purchaced hundreds of gauges and chose their top picks in each catagory. The only catagory that I remember is the pencil type from NAPA. Hope this helps a little.
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