Just paid 50p for air

[V8Wagon]

It's been a while but inflation (no pun intended) has affected the cost of pumping up my tyres. I innocently asked in my local garage 'does the air take 20p?' a price which I already resent paying to be told it costs 50p!!

Is it me? am I out of touch?

[kambites]

If you don't like it, buy a foot pump.

[Fleckers]

got to be a very bad day if I use a garage air machine

[StottyZr]

I use the local Sainsburys, its the only place around here with free air. Always a big queue

[oldcynic]

20p at the local Asda, so worth it if I know I want to add a few psi to all tyres. Unfortunately I suspect their guage is at least 5 psi out as I checked the tyres a week later and they were all equally wrong.

Normally I use a foot pump - approx 10 mins to check 8 tyres, and that allows time to check tread depths and inspect for damage without worrying that the machine will stop before I'm done.

[Thom987]

€1 here in all the garages these days.

[Andyjc86]

It's a cheek isn't it, charging to use a machine that costs thousands to install

[cheadle hulme]

Joe Blow Sport II. Costs £25, feels like it will last forever and inflates bicycle tyres to 140 psi. Car tyres are moved from 25 psi to 35 psi in about a minute too. Decent workout.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?sugexp=ch...

[redtwin]

cheadle hulme said:

Joe Blow Sport II. Costs £25, feels like it will last forever and inflates bicycle tyres to 140 psi. Car tyres are moved from 25 psi to 35 psi in about a minute too. Decent workout.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?sugexp=ch...

I have one of those, stuff using it on car or motorcycle tyres though. I bought a cheap compressor from Aldi for that purpose. No longer have to pay at the forecourt and I will probably break even about a week before I am too old to drive.

Having said that, the included blow gun attachment works great for "sweeping" the garage floor and you just can't put a price on that level of coolness.

[300bhp/ton]

Or buy a pump that runs off a 12v power source.

[LuS1fer]

It was free in the 70s, about 10p in the 80s and 20p in the 90s so 50p is about right given that a 10 year old runabout now costs around £2500.

[okie592]

murco is 50p near me
shell 500m up the road is 20p

[sturobturbo]

Why pay for it then? If I didn't want to pay 50p for air, I wouldn't have used it

[falkster]

300bhp/ton said:

Or buy a pump that runs off a 12v power source.

Really sad but it's taken years for me to buy one.

[Jazoli]

falkster said:

Really sad but it's taken years for me to buy one.

I've got 3, one in the car, one in the van, and one in the garage for the bike (which is small and goes in the tank ag cor group rides out) foot pumps are so last decade.

[MarkRSi]

falkster said:

300bhp/ton said:

Or buy a pump that runs off a 12v power source.

Really sad but it's taken years for me to buy one.

Just bought a £5 12V pump from fleabay, if it lasts 10 uses it will have paid for itself

Also got a hand pump like the one cheadle posted (£10 Oxford one) which also doubles as an exercise machine

Edited by MarkRSi on Monday 18th June 09:41

[GestapoWatch]

falkster said:

300bhp/ton said:

Or buy a pump that runs off a 12v power source.

Really sad but it's taken years for me to buy one.

I looked into this a few months ago and gave up as it seemed difficult to recommend one over another.

Anyone any suggestions?

[iphonedyou]

sturobturbo said:

Why pay for it then? If I didn't want to pay 50p for air, I wouldn't have used it

Tyres need air in them before they go round and round as they should. On very rare occasions, cars can crash because of incorrect air pressure.

And if that happened, OP would feel very silly for refusing the extra 30p.

[300bhp/ton]

GestapoWatch said:

I looked into this a few months ago and gave up as it seemed difficult to recommend one over another.

Anyone any suggestions?

Cheapy ones are fine for car tyres. Although they take some time if you're inflating Land Rover mud terrains. Some work better than others and you'll get what you pay for. But at £5-15 I think it doesn't matter that much. You can get more pricey ones which clip onto the batteries terminals rather than thru the cig lighter, these draw more current and work better and usually more durable construction. But they are also bigger and heavier.

[Essel]

I bought a halfords 12v one years ago. Been used for pumping landy tyres back up after trialling and general use. Refuses to die, which is annoying as its got a lifetime guarantee, and I kept the receipt. Digital gauge, auto shut off at pressure.