Digital or Mechanical air pressure gauge?

Rickmeister 48

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I've been using a dial type guage and keep my cold air pressure at 32 psi.
Well, had to use it on my uncle's Chrysler Pacifica, which is junk by by the way, his system in the the dash is reading all different and way higher pressures than what we actually put in and were reading with my guage.
So, we tried two other guages that are digital, one on his car on his compressor be and one hand held. Both read higher than mine.
So is my guage the correct one, or reading low?
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That can be a tricky one. I tend to trust analog gauges more, provided they're calibrated correctly. In this case, if the digi readouts are essentially reading the same and your dial is the only one that doesn't match, I'd be inclined to believe the digi readouts. There's no real good way to tell unless you have a pressure source that's at a known and calibrated output, and test whichever gauge you may be questioning.
 
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Rickmeister 48

Rickmeister 48

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That can be a tricky one. I tend to trust analog gauges more, provided they're calibrated correctly. In this case, if the digi readouts are essentially reading the same and your dial is the only one that doesn't match, I'd be inclined to believe the digi readouts. There's no real good way to tell unless you have a pressure source that's at a known and calibrated output, and test whichever gauge you may be questioning.
Yea, my dial is consistent, but calibrated is another story. I just don't know weather to let some air out and start going with the digital at this point or stay with my dial, I'll have to do like you suggest and find a calibrated source somehow to compare.
One thing that is weird though I just remembered, I had my tires rotated last week and they claim they put them up to 32 psi, but they were way low at 25. So maybe it is my guage.
 

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I switched to digital about 8 months ago and won't go back. More consistent readings than analog ever gave me.
 

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I've been using a pencil gauge. I have a digital one but it's a bit tricky to use & if you don't get it lined up just right you let out some air every time. And it only reads in half pound increments.

I have a few pencil gauges & went over to Discount Tire & they checked my tires with a pencil gauge. Then I tried all of mine & chose the one that read the closest to theirs. The presumption is that the tire person has a better & more accurate gauge, but who knows. It's been a few years since I did that & perhaps I should go back & compare again. It would be interesting to compare all the tire tech's gauges & see if they're close.
 


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I've been using a pencil gauge. I have a digital one but it's a bit tricky to use & if you don't get it lined up just right you let out some air every time. And it only reads in half pound increments.

I have a few pencil gauges & went over to Discount Tire & they checked my tires with a pencil gauge. Then I tried all of mine & chose the one that read the closest to theirs. The presumption is that the tire person has a better & more accurate gauge, but who knows. It's been a few years since I did that & perhaps I should go back & compare again. It would be interesting to compare all the tire tech's gauges & see if they're close.
I'm old school, so I prefer the pencil gauge as well.
All other gauges I've tried just feel awkward and like you said, they seem to let air out when you use them. The pencil gauge is the easiest to use for me. A friend of mine has a digital and he swears by it's accuracy, but he said the readout gives him trouble in cold weather.

Either way Rick, as long as the pressure reads the same for all four tires, it shouldn't matter which one you use.
 
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Rickmeister 48

Rickmeister 48

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Thanks for the help guys, not to sound dense and just to be sure, IF my dial guage is wrong and I've ACTUALLY got 36-38 psi in the tires instead of 32 PSI like it says, is that enough to be considered over enough to cause any uneven wear.
Just trying to make certain. I know the tire can hold a lot more and is rated to do so, I'm just asking specifically for our cars.
Thanks again for the help.
 

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I use a digital works fine for me
 


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BriteBlue

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I'm using this one. Works fine and it's rugged with lifetime warranty. It's got a pressure release button to make adjusting tire pressure easier.

https://www.amazon.com/TireTek-Premium-Pressure-Gauge-Integrated/dp/B00PT18QAQ
The picture shows the tip & says "Extended Tip for improved fit onto the valve stem without leaking air". However it doesn't look very extended.

The problem I've had with some gauges is the tip is quite short. This makes it difficult to line up nice & straight onto the stem before it depresses the valve, which in turn causes some air to leak.

Have you frequently experienced leaking air when trying to get a reading?
 

TypeSiR

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The picture shows the tip & says "Extended Tip for improved fit onto the valve stem without leaking air". However it doesn't look very extended.

The problem I've had with some gauges is the tip is quite short. This makes it difficult to line up nice & straight onto the stem before it depresses the valve, which in turn causes some air to leak.

Have you frequently experienced leaking air when trying to get a reading?
I don't have air leakage issue when using it. The tip has a 360" swivel chuck to help you find the best angle for checking air. The key for me is to find most comfortable angle for one hand to apply pressure on the valve stem with the gauge (to check air pressure). I use my other hand to press on the pressure release button to adjust pressure (if too high).

I've used pencil-style and digital gauges before (still have them). So far, I like this one the best. Like most precision instruments, never drop them or throw them around, handle with care to maintain accuracy. It doesn't hurt to compare it against a digital gauge once a year to ensure accuracy.

Honda Civic 10th gen Digital or Mechanical air pressure gauge? upload_2019-10-12_23-36-9
 

BriteBlue

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I don't have air leakage issue when using it. The tip has a 360" swivel chuck to help you find the best angle for checking air. The key for me is to find most comfortable angle for one hand to apply pressure on the valve stem with the gauge (to check air pressure). I use my other hand to press on the pressure release button to adjust pressure (if too high).

I've used pencil-style and digital gauges before (still have them). So far, I like this one the best. Like most precision instruments, never drop them or throw them around, handle with care to maintain accuracy. It doesn't hurt to compare it against a digital gauge once a year to ensure accuracy.
Thanks for the information, I'll have to get one.
 

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