Inflate tires by hand

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Looks right on the drain and fill, probably a splash feed with a little blade on the bottom of the con rod (dipper-slinger). For oil I'd check for recommendations but 20 or 30 weight would probably be fine,doesn't even need to be detergent.

regards
mech

I also have an old Sears air compressor (that one looks older than mine) and it says to use 30 weight non-detergent oil. I did some reading up and determined that you can use detergent oil if you need to - plus, multi-weight oils aren't the big issue they used to be. If you can't find straight weight oil a 10w30 will do - although within 30 seconds I found that Advanced still has 30w conventional oil. I have a bottle that I use for this purpose - I'm guessing 10 years old at this point. I change every other year or so and it doesn't use much.

Oh and those 2 drain plugs are the ones: lower to drain, upper to fill (Don't forget to put the lower one back in BEFORE you try to fill. I tried it the other way and it leaks all over!! Big mess!)

[user removed]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer

I also have an old Sears air compressor (that one looks older than mine) and it says to use 30 weight non-detergent oil. I did some reading up and determined that you can use detergent oil if you need to - plus, multi-weight oils aren't the big issue they used to be. If you can't find straight weight oil a 10w30 will do - although within 30 seconds I found that Advanced still has 30w conventional oil. I have a bottle that I use for this purpose - I'm guessing 10 years old at this point. I change every other year or so and it doesn't use much.

Oh and those 2 drain plugs are the ones: lower to drain, upper to fill (Don't forget to put the lower one back in BEFORE you try to fill. I tried it the other way and it leaks all over!! Big mess!)

LOL, ONLY IF YOU REMOVE THE DRAIN PAN TO SOON!

regards
mech

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

It's illegal for CA to require service stations to provide air and water for free. No idea how they enforce that without getting sued.

They are required to provide free water and compressed air for customers who purchase fuel. It's in the California Business and Professions Code, Section 13561, amended 1999:

"(a) (1) On and after January 1, 2000, every service station in this state shall provide, during operating hours, and make available at no cost to customers who purchase motor vehicle fuel, water, compressed air, and a gauge for measuring air pressure, to the public for use in servicing any passenger vehicle, as defined in Section 465 of the Vehicle Code, or any commercial vehicle, as defined in Section 260 of the Vehicle Code, with an unladen weight of 6,000 pounds or less."

[deejaaa]

I have a dedicated compressor in the shop and a 12v unit in the trunk. no plugin, hooks to the battery. it'll fill from 10 to 50 in about 5 mins. that's my workout.

[roosterk0031]

I have a 12v one in each car. Better ones have a gauge and light build in. 40 gallons in the back of the garage with hose at the front so it's always handy, doesn't leak so have to turn it on once a month or 2, unless changing tires.

[Hersbird]

I loaned my car to Tom Brady once and all my tires were at 10.5 psi when I got it back. He blamed a cold front.

Seriously, what is with repair and lube shops messing with the tire pressure? I could see if they were low, but if they are uniformly high don't you think they might ask the customer first? I'm surprised they don't reset the radio presets to some government approved list.

20 years ago I dropped $150 on a Craftsman compressor and it is well worth it. Almost as useful as a cordless drill.

[j12piprius]

I use a bicycle pump and keep my tires at 50 psi.

This is not very hard as they keep the pressure quite well,
and I use a valve extension that fits through the wheel cover holes.