Ever find something that was not really a big deal, but you got pretty excited about it anyway? Me too. I found this fun tire inflation air chuck kind of by accident, and it works great! So, just for grins, I decided to make a quick video and let you see it as well.
If you are not familiar, the device on the end of an air hose for inflating tires (and other things) is an Air Chuck. They come in a variety of different sizes, shapes and configurations, but they all do basically the same thing. These are for use with a Schrader style tire valve (typical with most tires on less expensive bicycles, cars and over-the-road vehicles). And, of course, trailer tires too! Here it is in action.
Video Of The Cool New Air Chuck Tool
Sorry about the less than stellar video quality. That is what happens when you are excited and just make the video yourself. Oh well. Please forgive the shakes, misdirection, and unscripted jabber. I was excited, what can I say?
The concept of a latch-on air chuck is not new. There are lots of such devices around with a spring clip or something. Even the straight in capture style is not new. The image here is a different variety, but it does not function as smoothly, and it is quite a bit larger. Anyway, I like this new one because it is so compact, and it seems to flow better than other chucks – meaning it fills the tire faster. Also, it is so simple to plug on, so it can just do the job.
I fiddle with trailer tire pressure a lot (especially to minimize empty trailer bounce). I like to make sure the inflation pressure is right for the load I expect to carry. Anyway, this will come in really handy – both for filling – and for deflating. To deflate, just stick it on the valve without the air hose attached and it does the rest. No more sticking a screwdriver in there to press the little valve stem! Very cool.
Air Chuck Acquisition
On a whim I dropped into an industrial air compressor place in Denver Colorado. I asked a lot of questions about consistency for technology in over-the-road vehicles (often called semi-trucks). This place specializes in equipment for mechanics and especially for tires of all sizes. While I have always assumed Schrader valves are the standard, until then, I have never had it confirmed. Now you know too – Almost all vehicles on the road use a Schrader valve for filling the tires.
There are some big tires that use a larger, high flow valve, but those are the really big tires like on earth moving equipment. I have seen those, but did not know that they are not used for on road vehicles. So, I asked about chucks to fill the bigger semi-truck tires and he showed me several options. This one is just cute and cool at the same time, so I bought it. This will fill a bunch of car, truck and trailer tires for us in the future.
Yup, something new to add in my collection of excellent air tools.
Safety And Control
From a safety and control standpoint, this air chuck does work best when used in conjunction with regulated pressure control, or an automated shut-off valve. If you use it directly from the air compressor, there is no way to tell how much pressure is in the tire.
We recommend that this chuck goes with a regulated pressure line, or a pressure switch so it will turn off when it reaches the desired pressure. As noted in the one comment below, simply attached straight to a high pressure source could be quite unsafe.
Also, it is a big pain to take it off to measure pressure, over and over. So, use it with a hand valve and a gauge, or with a pressure regulator. Enjoy.
Update:
Per the question in the comments below, this air chuck is a Haltec CH-340 Lock-On Safety Air Chuck. While this one was purchased at a Truck Tire Service Center, I would imagine they are pretty common.
Now, after using it for a while, I continue to be quite happy with the performance. It does what I need, and it is really easy to use. Also, as a side note, this air chuck was is now part of the design in a custom machine that does automatic tire filling. It is a machine we designed and built for one of our clients – through Synthesis Engineering Services (parent company of Mechanical Elements).
Just for fun, I did a quick Google search to see what similar products are around. That search yielded the Milton S-696 – 1/4″ FNPT Kwik Grip Safety Air Chuck which is similar. Additionally, something else similar (so it appears) is Milton 1496 – 1/4″ FNPT Kwik Grip Safety Air Chuck. I do not know anything about the Milton products, so I will not recommend them, but if you can’t find the Haltec, it is worth knowing the Milton products also exist.
Mechanical Elements Solutions!
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