Portable tire inflator?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ScottR @ Aug 16 2006, 10:44 AM) [snapback]304111[/snapback]</div>

What's wrong with a standard bicycle pump? They're light, use no fuel and run silently. (The kind that stand on the floor and you pump with your arms). They also fit in the below-trunk storage space.

It takes about 10 pumps to put one PSI into a Prius-sized tire, which sounds like a lot, but I bet it goes faster than one of those little noisy beasts. When I had a leaky tire on my Subaru, it took about 50-60 pumps on the weekend to bring it back up (12 pumps/psi on those tires), but when I started having to do that twice a week, I knew it was time to get my tire fixed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Aug 28 2006, 06:51 PM) [snapback]310780[/snapback]</div>

I don't shop at Walmart; they're evil.

The local Pepboys are "supposed" to get new stock Tuesday/Wednesday (depending on the store), so I'll check once more. If it comes down to getting the same unit again, I'll get it from Sears. Only fair, since I bought/returned it, and I'd prefer black over lemon-yellow anyway.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Aug 28 2006, 05:18 PM) [snapback]310766[/snapback]</div>

The owner's manual gives some advice about this:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Aug 28 2006, 07:48 PM) [snapback]310822[/snapback]</div>

Seems oddly close in appearance, then, including that weird little curvy bit at the front. But for the color, it seemed to be an exact match.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Aug 29 2006, 05:51 PM) [snapback]311308[/snapback]</div>

I think it's the same. I looked at both: both the Sears and the Pepboys models say "Accurate from 0-250 PSI in 0.5 PSI increments." Even the little icon for how to remove the gauge is the same.

Interesting phrasing; it can be taken two ways.
1) It measures from 0-250 PSI and is accurate to within 0.5 PSI.
2) Is able to measure (to a non-specified degree of accuracy) from 0-250 PSI. Measures in 0.5 increments

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Aug 29 2006, 06:03 PM) [snapback]311314[/snapback]</div>

Seeing your question, I stared at it, trying to figure out why we would need a holder, and finally it hit me. With the Prius, we don't; but for other car models, you take the (non-attached) plug out of the 12 volt supply and pop it into one of the the rings (leaving the other around the inflator's 12v plug). Keeps you from losing it.

I guess so. Seems to make the angle easier. My guess is that it was an afterthought. Maybe they received complaints?

Seems sort of superfluous as a handle. With the airhose in place, it's a PITA to grip; otherwise, it's really too small to be useful as a handle (at least for my hands). My guess, though, is that someone thought it looked cool to have. It is handy for storing that little angle thingy, though.

My question: With the gauge removed, I can see what looks like a nylon cord inside the center slot/tab that snaps onto the gauge (i.e. on the inflator body). Why would that be there? Anyone else?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Aug 28 2006, 07:00 PM) [snapback]310784[/snapback]</div>

Right on, brother! I was beginning to think I was the only one with a bicycle tire pump in my trunk!

 

But measuring to within +/- 0.5 isn't the same as being accurate to same. The instructions clarify this: yes, it measures in 0.5 increments, but "the gauge will display the current tire pressure + or - 2 PSI."

 

I think that Craftsman is a Sears-exclusive brand that you can't find anywhere except Sears. So my guess is that the two products under discussion are, indeed, different - even if it's just the brand stamped on the item.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ScottR @ Aug 29 2006, 09:02 PM) [snapback]311409[/snapback]</div>

Yes, +/- .5 PSI is the degree of precision.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brandon @ Aug 29 2006, 10:37 PM) [snapback]311423[/snapback]</div>

Pretty sure not. The inflator from Pepboys is exactly the same as the one from Sears, but in yellow. Found a pic of the one from Pep Boys; it's made by Bon-Aire. Here they are, side by side:

[attachmentid=4681][attachmentid=4682]

But for the color and the label, they are exactly the same, down to the smallest detail

Interesting. Looks like the Craftsman inflators are rebranded Bon-Aires. See also

[attachmentid=4683] [attachmentid=4684]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ScottR @ Aug 29 2006, 10:18 PM) [snapback]311432[/snapback]</div>

The Craftsman name is Sears-only. However, their products are sometimes OEM-rebranded. I wanted a keyless entry for my garage door opener, which is a Liftmaster Security+. After some research, I determined the Craftsman Security+ garage door opener was the same product, just rebranded (altho nobody told you that). Downloading their installation manuals showed the same pictures and large parts of the text were the same. So I biked over to Sears, picked it up, and it worked just fine.

Rebranding of OEM products is pretty common. Working at Zenith (the TV maker), we would sometimes sell other people's products as our own (particularly from LG when they took over the company), and sell our TVs to other manufacturers to sell under their name, often under relatively unknown labels. It was all very confusing, but part of that is deliberate. The store can say this is the best price for the AlphaBeta product and it has all the standard features of the big names, which is true. But it turns out AlphaBeta is only sold by that chain of stores, and it's really the same as a GammaDelta discounted in a big box store down the street, but the literature won't tell you that.

 

How come whenever I look for the Michelin one, all I get are links to the UK. Isn't it sold in the U.S.?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Aug 29 2006, 11:57 PM) [snapback]311445[/snapback]</div>

Indeed, I should have clarified. You can only get Craftsman at Sears, but that doesn't mean you can only get that product at Sears. The only trick is to find out what other name it's sold under.

Having come up empty for an alternate, I went and bought the same darned inflator again from Sears. I didn't feel bad returning it the first time: I was considering doing so anyway, because it had clearly been already returned by someone else!! More importantly, the package was missing some items. Interesting story: I brought it back, told the guy at Sears Auto that it was clearly a returned item missing a few things, and he took it and put it right back on the shelf. When I pointed out that someone else might not want a returned item that wasn't complete, he looked perplexed.