No Brand Auto Tire Deflator Review By ZONA

[Chuy]

Some of you guys and gals may have remembered we did a raffle at a previous meet, where I won a pair of tire deflators. Since I had already owned that style in the past I re-gifted them to Zona! The condition of the raffle was that someone do a long term review of them. After months of rigorous use and experimentation here are Zona's personal conclusion.

"Here's my thoughts on the deflators after giving them a try a five different times.

1. I stopped a few times after the deflators were on to confirm the level of air, I am always nervous of deflating to much so I wasted more time stopping and checking and trying to confirm the exact spot for 22lbs., just a big hassle for me.

2. I realized I like to air down and confirm the exact pressure before I move forward.

3. I don't like the idea of not knowing when they're done airing down, is it 10 minutes, 5 minutes? By that time I'm already moving onto a trail."

In conclusion his thought are exactly in line with my experience of a very similar model made by Smitty Built. I found them way to inaccurate and slow when airing down 35's. This was of course compared to my ARB quick deflator. The reason is that they slow down deflating dramatically when airing down to 10 or 15 PSI. Where the ARB quick deflator lets air out at a consistent measurable speed. They are also not as versatile when using them on ATV's or UTV. Overall great bang for the buck at $24.99 not a great value at $74.99

 

[murf]

Gotta go with what your comfortable with

 

[Chuy]

Gotta go with what your comfortable with

Im thinking the big advantage is that you can put them on and GO, but the instructions say not to drive with them.

 

[LongDuck]

Those look almost exactly like the Staun brand, which I've found to be pretty accurate. I just screw them on there and wait. Never bothered to time them, and I have never driven with them on the valves - seems to me they'd be prone to unscrewing and you'd lose one. With the Staun brand (recommended by SaddleTramp), I used his technique of 'setting' them on my spare at home making minor adjustments to get them just-right where I wanted them, and tightened down the lock rings to hold that setting. They've been stable ever since.

I think ARB made some knock-offs that weren't reviewed for very good repeatability or accuracy.

 

[murf]

I've been happy with my Stauns as well.

 

[GWcruiser]

I have the knock-offs, $25 a set from Amazon. The problem is with the o-ring seat and spring. Every time you bump the thing the spring will 'adjust' a bit. At 20 psi, and the valve itself is only 1/20 a square inch, these guys only have 1 pound of force on the valve seat at the 20 psi set point - so any dirt or change in spring load changes actual tire pressure. When using mine, I go around and bump the valves, if I hear hissing after the bump the tire isn't done yet.

The more expensive Staun model has (in my estimation) more area, hence more control. But I suspect they have similar variation issues.

As an experiment, I purchased a precision version, guessing it has about 1/4 to 1/3 of a sq in surface area, yielding almost 5 pounds on the valve seat. In use, it really isn't much more consistent than the cheapo's.

-- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GDY3CU/

After it all, I also have an inflator with a 30 psi pressure gauge ... release the button and pressure falls pretty fast. Let up and you can read actual air pressure in the tire; but in some ways the cheapos are better because whether the tire is 18 or 22 - how much does it matter? And overshooting with the quick method is usually 'get out the compressor' territory (<15).

 

[inkpot]

Im thinking the big advantage is that you can put them on and GO, but the instructions say not to drive with them.

I like them because I don't have to stay there on my knees and monitor/operate them. AND, I can GO out in the woods and visit nature, or I can drag out the maps and do some recon.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I have used my Stauns at least 50+ times over the last few years and never reset them since my initial set. I have found them totally reliable we no need to reset. A dab of super glue Im sure helps.

With that said I have recently been testing knock-offs found on Ebay made in China. I have found the <$20 Ebay knock-off to be basically a POS and would not recommend them.

The Staun although more costly are worth the value IMO. I frequently stop when I hit dirt, screw them on jump back in and drive for a few minutes stop and remove them and keep going. I have developed 100% confidence in the Stauns that I rarely check my pressure when removed unless Im airing down more.

The Stauns are like an on-board fridge they seem over priced and not worth the $$. Now that I have used them if they were to fail today I would order a new set the same day.

 

[Pitch]

I have used Oasis brand deflators with great success. Once set up and calibrated they have been 100% reliable for the last 8 years. They are similar in technique to the Stauns: screw them on the valve stem, when they stop hissing you are done. 33's go from 38 to 18psi in about 2.5 mins.

 

[Chuy]

Interesting review of the most common deflators by FourWheeler

I used my SmittyBuilt ones for about 5 years and they did work great. I liked the set it and forget it idea, and I would drive with them on until the next stop on the trail.


I switched to the ARB model only because I air down to a different PSI depending on the terrain tires and vehicle. I like the variable setting style but at almost $100 each it wasn't worth it for me. The ARB deflator was a compromise between price, speed, and versatility.

 

[GWcruiser]

I have used my Stauns at least 50+ times over the last few years and never reset them since my initial set. I have found them totally reliable we no need to reset. A dab of super glue Im sure helps.

With that said I have recently been testing knock-offs found on Ebay made in China. I have found the <$20 Ebay knock-off to be basically a POS and would not recommend them.

The Staun although more costly are worth the value IMO. I frequently stop when I hit dirt, screw them on jump back in and drive for a few minutes stop and remove them and keep going. I have developed 100% confidence in the Stauns that I rarely check my pressure when removed unless Im airing down more.

The Stauns are like an on-board fridge they seem over priced and not worth the $$. Now that I have used them if they were to fail today I would order a new set the same day.

Bouncing around may actually help them be as reliable as you have found. The same might be true of the knock offs. It's all about stiction and force applied - and why a larger diameter seal is better (near as I can guess). My set of cheapies works well enough that I use them - the set pressure is lock solid (red stuff), but they are temperamental and require that tap. I've seen Staun users do the same tap (where I learned the trick). Driving is the same as tapping them once in a while.

Maybe Staun's are ported and polished...

 

[Stepmurr]

I've used Stauns for six years and like them quite a lot.

However they do not stop at the same pressure when at high (Rocky Mountain High!) altitudes as they do here in the lowlands.

I have mine set to stop at 18 PSI and they generally do. I use the same set of Stauns on the Taco's 33s and the FJ40's 35s, and I always check with a tire gauge after they quit to make sure of the end pressure.

I like running the Taco at 18 psi and the FJ-40 at 15 psi, and the Stauns get me close enough so fine tuning doesn't take too long.

Because I have continuous tire pressure and temperature readings I know that the sunny side of the truck will always have higher pressure than the shady side, and airing down after a long highway trek will give different results than after a long parking session, so I don't sweat getting the four tires exactly matched. Close enuf is gudenuf

 

[DSRTRDR]

I have both Stauns and Amazon knock-offs, and I agree, the knock-offs get out of adjustment more easily - no idea why

but since I measure and let the last psi out by hand anyway, they work

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I have a set of knock off from EBay/CHina used only for testing
$15 comes in the original clear plastic bag

 

[medtro]

Added to Important Club Threads - Check Here First! >>> CSC Technical FAQ

 

[ttubb]

I have used my Stauns at least 50+ times over the last few years and never reset them since my initial set. I have found them totally reliable we no need to reset. A dab of super glue Im sure helps.

With that said I have recently been testing knock-offs found on Ebay made in China. I have found the <$20 Ebay knock-off to be basically a POS and would not recommend them.

The Staun although more costly are worth the value IMO. I frequently stop when I hit dirt, screw them on jump back in and drive for a few minutes stop and remove them and keep going. I have developed 100% confidence in the Stauns that I rarely check my pressure when removed unless Im airing down more.

The Stauns are like an on-board fridge they seem over priced and not worth the $$. Now that I have used them if they were to fail today I would order a new set the same day.

X2 above....I use a bike tire to set them up when changing pressure setting (faster pressure changes for setting)