Using a pencil tire pressure gauge?

[Stig / Major Tom]

Bought a new tire pressure gauge the other week ($1 at Malwart). One of those pencil shaped ones... the round analog type tire gauge I have for the cars wouldn't fit in the space available without difficulty when checking the back tire of my LIKE 200i. Tested it against my old pencil gauge - and was glad I tossed for a new one - way different readings vs the old one.

 Yesterday I decided to bite the bullet and buy a nice digital tire gauge. $15.
Checked the tires again with this new digital gauge and found I was running on underinflated tires for a week.
Pencil gauge read : 25 psi and 30 psi (F/R) (correct per owner's manual)
Digital gauge read : 18.5 psi and 24.5 psi !

Went to an air tank with an accurate analog gauge built into it, and re-measered with both gauges. Sure enough, the pencil gauge was way off.
Hmmmm.  Lesson learned, again.....I keep having to relearn this lesson. You get what you pay for...usually.


LIKE floormats~!

[wheelsoffreedom76]

 I ran into the same situation. I keep a pencil type in the RV, and small dial types on the bicycles and motorcycles. I used the one from the mountain bike to set the pressure on the AG50 as either the dealer put too much, or shipped with 48 lbs in the tires. My dial gauge was actually reading about 8 psi higher than actual. I never noticed due to running 65 psi on the bicycles (8 psi diff wasn't a biggy) but when shooting for 25 psi, ending up with 17 the front tire was a little squishy. I too went to my portable tank to see which gauge was accurate and it ended up being the slime brand pencil type.

[ophelia]

I found Slime brand pencil gauges work well too, when I check them against a known good gauge. Sometimes cheaper gauges work too, but I have to write down a correction factor of a few psi. Hassle.

[Vivo]

I use the pencil type and what I did was just mark with a red ink marker the correct pressure reading.. This way, I don't have to "read" the gauge every time I check... I just look at the mark...

[Calothrix]

How about the accuracy of the electronic digital gauges?  One came with my work vehicle but I have no idea if it is any more accurate than the mechanical pressure gauges.

[Vivo]

How about the accuracy of the electronic digital gauges?  One came with my work vehicle but I have no idea if it is any more accurate than the mechanical pressure gauges.

Sometimes, when you really need it... batteries are dead...

Although mechanical ones are not that accurate... they're quite reliable and durable

[ophelia]

How about the accuracy of the electronic digital gauges?  One came with my work vehicle but I have no idea if it is any more accurate than the mechanical pressure gauges.

Test against a gauge that you know is accurate at the pressures that you are measuring! Then if the gauge is significantly off, you can return it. I imagine an electronic gauge may go out of calibration just like a mechanical gauge. Only way to know is to test.

I have a handful of different mechanical gauges both standalone and on pumps. They're all quite close in measurement.

[Vivo]

Sometimes I just kick the tires and ride.... 

[CosmoKorny]

Sometimes I just kick the tires and ride.... 

Lol I live in the real world too. 

[08087]

Maybe it's the $1.00 you spent when you should have spent $5.00, just sayin.