Solutions! Found A Cool Air Chuck

Ever find something that wasn’t really a big deal, but you got pretty excited about it anyway?  Me too.  Found this fun tire inflation air chuck kind of by accident, and works great!  So, just for grins, I decided to make a quick video and let you see it as well.

If you’re not familiar, the device on the end of an air hose used for inflating tires (and other things) is called 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 valve (typical with most tires on less expensive bicycles, cars and over-the-road vehicles).  Don’t forget trailer tires!  Here it is in action.

Video Of The Cool New Tool

Sorry about the less than stellar video quality.  That’s what happens when you’re excited and just make the video yourself.  Oh well.  Please forgive the shakes, misdirection, and unscripted jabber.  I was excited, what can I say?

Another Example Air Chuck
Another example of a clasping air chuck. This one is bigger and does not function as well as the small one in the video above.

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 doesn’t function as smoothly, and it’s quite a bit larger.  Anyway, I like this new one because it’s so compact, and it seems to flow better than other chucks — meaning faster.  Also, it’s so simple to plug on and it just does it’s 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 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.  I asked a lot of questions about consistency of technology in over-the-road vehicles.  This place specializes in equipment for mechanics and especially for tires of all sizes.  While I’ve always assumed Schrader valves are the standard, until then, I’ve 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’ve seen those, but did not know that they are not 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 in the future.

Yep, something new to add to my air tools.

Update:

Per the question in the comments below, this air chuck is a Haltec CH-340 Lock-On Safety Air Chuck.  It 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’s really easy to use.  Also, as a side note, I also designed this device in on a tire filling machine we designed and built for one of our clients at Synthesis.

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 don’t know anything about the Milton products, so I can’t recommend them, but it’s worth knowing they exist.

Solutions!

Don’t Forget . . . This Solutions! category is for you to contribute as well.  We want to hear about your successes too.  What have you done recently?  Or what new tools have you found that make life easier?  All of us DIY’ers want to share in your new found awesome.

Please visit the Customer Submissions Page and let us know about your cool shop Solutions!  Great ideas from you will help everyone that visits the Mechanical Elements website.

Thank you, in advance, for contributing.  Have a wonderful day.

Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
2 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View All Comments

We Found These For You . . .

Article
Attach Chains Free Plans
We often joke about safety — Yup, Safety 3rd.  While it’s fun to joke, there are a few things we do get quite serious about.  How to attach trailer safety chains is one.  Today we’re looking at connecting chains on…

Read The Article

Article
Trailer Wheel Bolts
A friend asked me this question, along with the companion of “How Tight?”  The last thing we want is to lose a wheel — because it will not only delay our trip, but a wheel coming loose can do serious…

Read The Article

Article
Metal Working Files In Action
Often misused and not very well understood — so goes the life of many metalworking files.  Yet, they still do things other tools can’t.  That makes them a tool worth knowing!

Read The Article

Article
Plus and Minus of Low Trailer Deck Height
To some people a low trailer deck height really matters, to others not so much.  Yet you read about it in trailer descriptions a lot.  So, what are the trade-offs for a low deck?  And how do you achieve it? …

Read The Article

Product
24 Foot Deck-Over Trailer

Complete Plans for an awesome 24 Foot, Tandem Axle, Deck-Over Trailer – 10,000 lbs Capacity!  At 8.5' wide x 24' deck length, the plans include plenty of options to build it the way you want it.

Article
Trailer Design Sketch
It looks easy.  Trailer design is not like building a rocket, but it’s also not as easy as putting a few pieces of metal together.  Good trailer design includes meeting goals and ending up with something that will tow well,…

Read The Article

Article
Overslung or Underslung Trailer Springs
Because you asked . . . What are the advantages of Overslung – OR – Underslung trailer springs?  They both have a good purpose, so let’s discuss it.  The concepts are pretty easy to see with some good graphics.

Read The Article

Article
Thread Tapping Straight
A Tap and Die set is a near must for a DIY fab shop.  While the thread creating functions are pretty easy to visualize, sometimes getting the tread to start straight and run true is a different matter.

Read The Article

Article
Common DIY Material and Beam Shapes
Whether you’re an experienced DIY builder or brand new to the party, there are often quandry’s about beam shapes.  Well, I need to do this, but I only have material like that.  I’ll just use it 

Read The Article

Article
Aluminum Weld Adjustments
I’ve heard different opinions, so let’s look again at the Engineering and clear up some facts.  Maybe we can also debunk a few misconceptions.

Read The Article