Tire Inflation

[Dave Young]

Another dumb newbie question ... sorry guys, but cut an old man a little slack.

All four of my tires can use some air. Tomorrow, I’m planning to buy a (probably a Ryobi) compressor. Like everything else I’m trying to learn about my new model A, I check things out on YouTube. A couple of folks have stated that when using one of these ‘home use’ compressors, it’s necessary to jack up the car so that the wheel being inflated is off the ground and not taking the weight of the car.

Makes sense, but is it a fact ? ... I wouldn’t even know how to jack up the car!

Please straighten me out before I buy a small compressor that’s a waste of time and money. What they’re saying is, a small home use compressor doesn’t have
the power to lift a car. I’ll appreciate some opinions.

Dave

[marty in Ohio]

Dave,
I've never heard this one. I have a small compressor in my garage that seems to handle the job with the car on the ground. Think about the tiny units that they sell that plug into the cigarette lighter so you can inflate a tire on the road. They seem to work without jacking up the car. They take a while but I guess they work. Just sayin'.
Marty

[WHN]

Jack up a Model A by the axels.

Small compressors? Thay may not be able to handle the weight. You are not just pumping air.

35 psi needed. Look at compressor rating. Enjoy.

[1931 flamingo]

If a manual tire pump can put air in a tire a small compressor can also......................

Paul in CT

[old31]

You most certainly do not have to lift the car before filling with air. I think the person that told you that is full of hot air!

[slammin]

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You can inflate a tire with one of those small portable air tanks. Sounds like those folks were blowing a little smoke! They didn't try to convince you the earth was flat too did they?

[Synchro909]

When on long distance tours, I carry a 12 volt compressor that runs from a cigarette lighter socket. I have a couple of those for accessories like refrigerator, pump etc. If one of those Chinese 12 v compressors can inflate a tyre from dead flat, I'm sure your Ryobi one will be just fine. BTW, it it were necessary to jack up the car to inflate the tyres, how do they get away with those air hoses at service stations?

[duke36]

As stated no need to raise the car to inflate tires, to 35 psi. The important aspects are to fill the tires when they are cold, not after a drive . Hot tires can add 3-5 psi after driving.
We make our own gauges from a stock air pressure gauge that reads 0 to 60 # with a rt. angle fitting on it and some brass connectors to allow easy access to the stem. Most store bought pencil and other gauges are not found to be too accurate.

[1930-Pickup]

Lift in the air?? LOL!
I agree with the others. No need to lift the wheels.
I've used a 12v hand held pump, and a 20 HP compressor. No worries.

[aermotor]

You can put 35 psi in a tire under a train engine if you want. It will still be flat but have 35 psi.

John

[J Franklin]

Maybe putting it in the air just makes tire rotation easier!?

[Tom Wesenberg]

Don't buy a direct drive oiless compressor. They have a short lifespan, and are a waste of money.
I buy the small lighter socket compressors for $5 at garage sales and secondhand stores. I buy belt driven smaller one or two cylinder oil filled compressors for $25 to $50 at garage sales or on Craigslist.

[History]

I have a craftsman battery powered compressor that will do it easily and fairly fast. I've had to jack a few things up that were tubeless just so the tire bead would contact the rim but other than that it will pump it to the correct psi.

[burner31]

If I may suggest:
Before you take your car out again, practice changing a tire.
Better to learn in your garage then on the side of a road.
And get yourself a compressor, to keep your tires pressured up...no jacking required.

[3.6rs]

Originally Posted by Dave Young

Another dumb newbie question ... sorry guys, but cut an old man a little slack.

All four of my tires can use some air. Tomorrow, I’m planning to buy a (probably a Ryobi) compressor. Like everything else I’m trying to learn about my new model A, I check things out on YouTube. A couple of folks have stated that when using one of these ‘home use’ compressors, it’s necessary to jack up the car so that the wheel being inflated is off the ground and not taking the weight of the car.

Makes sense, but is it a fact ? ... I wouldn’t even know how to jack up the car!

Please straighten me out before I buy a small compressor that’s a waste of time and money. What they’re saying is, a small home use compressor doesn’t have
the power to lift a car. I’ll appreciate some opinions.

Dave

Would be very funny at the gas stations ; everybody jacking up their cars for inflating their tyres !
At least good for one thing : more jobs created - "jacking guys"

[Dave Young]

Well, I told you I was a newbie ... how you gonna learn if you don’t ask questions?

Seriously, though, thanks for the info. I’m off now to buy my compressor.

By the way, I had just assumed that the big compressors you find in garages and some gas stations had more power than the $20. one you plug into your cigarette lighter. Like I said,
I’m just a newbie ...

[History]

Originally Posted by Dave Young

Well, I told you I was a newbie ... how you gonna learn if you don’t ask questions?

Seriously, though, thanks for the info. I’m off now to buy my compressor.

By the way, I had just assumed that the big compressors you find in garages and some gas stations had more power than the $20. one you plug into your cigarette lighter. Like I said,
I’m just a newbie ...

They do have more power but the thing is, a larger unit can provide the volume needed to run air tools which needs more air.

[3.6rs]

No offense. Everybody has to learn. But inflating a tyre isn't this something they learn you when you go to do your tests for your driver's license ? At least that's what they teach you over here in Europe.
By the way : don't buy the Les Andrews books because I don't think that this is something that is explained there.

[1930-Pickup]

Originally Posted by Dave Young

Well, I told you I was a newbie ... how you gonna learn if you don’t ask questions?

Seriously, though, thanks for the info. I’m off now to buy my compressor.

By the way, I had just assumed that the big compressors you find in garages and some gas stations had more power than the $20. one you plug into your cigarette lighter. Like I said,
I’m just a newbie ...

Dave-

Don't feel bad about asking a Newbie question. Everyone was a Newbie at one time.

I think there is a cautionary tale here that some people are passing on to you, and it's based on the statement you made in your opening post:

... "A couple of folks have stated that when using one of these ‘home use’ compressors, it’s necessary to jack up the car so that the wheel being inflated is off the ground and not taking the weight of the car. ..."

Use care who you listen to the advice of others. There are many self-proclaimed experts and Know-It-All's out there and you will almost certainly run across several of them in your tenure with the Model A.

I wish the Internet existed when I was a Newbie. You have it easy!

[CHuDWah]

I've had a couple of the cheap cigarette lighter compressors. They didn't last long and I couldn't get more than 30 pounds out of them. That's not full Model A pressure but it's enough to get you to a better compressor. Course they're useless in an A anyway because the compressor is 12-volt and there's no cigarette lighter to plug it in.

Most any 120V compressor should pump up your tires and no, you don't have to jack up the car. If you're running air tools, you'll probably need a more powerful compressor.

[eagle]

FYI. PSI is PSI. Pounds per Square Inch. The CFM or Cubic Foot per Minute is the part that separates the men from the boys. The CFM is the Volume the compressor is able to put out, the PSI is the amount of pressure the compressor is able to achieve. For simple and occasional tire pumping and so on a small air compressor is fine. Pretty much any of them will be able to achieve 50 lbs psi. However the less CFM, the slower it will be. Think of it like this: If you used a 1/4 inch garden hose to water your garden, if you put a valve on the end and closed it, you would get a PSI reading the same as your water main. As soon as you turn it on, because of the small hose size, you will get just a dribble and it will take a long time to water your garden. (hows that for a longwinded answer to a simple question! )

[CarlG]

I have one of those compressors that plugs into a cig lighter socket. It would get the connector so hot that it eventually melted. I cut the cig connector off and put a pair of battery clips on it, and it solved that problem.

It does take a long time to inflate a tire from totally flat, but it has been real helpful several times. Especially at parades when someone shows up not having checked their tires since last year's parade.

Yes, it's 12volt, but it has a long enough cord on it enabling me to pull up close to help someone out.

[Bruce of MN]

Originally Posted by burner31

If I may suggest:
Before you take your car out again, practice changing a tire.
Better to learn in your garage then on the side of a road.
And get yourself a compressor, to keep your tires pressured up...no jacking required.

Good advice to practice at home. Do you know to loosen the lug nuts before you finally jack the tire off the ground? Ditto tightening.

[NCRebel]

The wall thickness of the 19 inch tire are sturdy enough to retain the air delivered from the portable pumps. As mentioned, if a hand (bicycle) pump can do, a Ryobi can also.

[glenn in camino]

I have a fairly large home compressor that I use for painting, inflating tires, etc. I never jack up a tire to inflate it.

[jack99]

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Jack up the car??? Maybe this person who told you this is pulling your leg. He probably has sent someone in search of a "Bucket of Steam" also.

[WHN]

Originally Posted by jack99

Jack up the car??? Maybe this person who told you this is pulling your leg. He probably has sent someone in search of a "Bucket of Steam" also.

You must have been in the Navy. A lot of new sailors have been sent out looking for that bucket of steam.

A tire will inflate faster and easier if there is no weight on it. You most likely can pump up a car tire with a hand pump, but it will go faster and be much easier if the tire (car weight) is off the ground or off the car. Try blowing up a balloon with someone standing on it.

There can be more than one answer to a question. Enjoy.

[steve s]

Originally Posted by eagle

FYI. PSI is PSI. Pounds per Square Inch. The CFM or Cubic Foot per Minute is the part that separates the men from the boys. The CFM is the Volume the compressor is able to put out, the PSI is the amount of pressure the compressor is able to achieve. For simple and occasional tire pumping and so on a small air compressor is fine. Pretty much any of them will be able to achieve 50 lbs psi. However the less CFM, the slower it will be. Think of it like this: If you used a 1/4 inch garden hose to water your garden, if you put a valve on the end and closed it, you would get a PSI reading the same as your water main. As soon as you turn it on, because of the small hose size, you will get just a dribble and it will take a long time to water your garden. (hows that for a longwinded answer to a simple question! )

I agree, completely.

[mhsprecher]

I typically use a hand pump. Good exercise.

One challenge is that many of the connections on the pumps won't fit on 19" wheels with the metal tube stems. When I take my 1930 out, I can expect NOT to be able to fill the tires at most tire pumps at gas stations and the like. You need the old round end connector in order to do that. Many modern pump valve stem connectors won't work either. It drives me crazy. Some old hand pumps with the screw on connector will fit. I am still looking for one that will work, though. The newer lever-type connectors won't fit.

[Roger V]

Originally Posted by mhsprecher

I typically use a hand pump. Good exercise.

One challenge is that many of the connections on the pumps won't fit on 19" wheels with the metal tube stems. When I take my 1930 out, I can expect NOT to be able to fill the tires at most tire pumps at gas stations and the like. You need the old round end connector in order to do that. Many modern pump valve stem connectors won't work either. It drives me crazy. Some old hand pumps with the screw on connector will fit. I am still looking for one that will work, though. The newer lever-type connectors won't fit.

Agree. I bought a brass angled tire-pump fitting with a barbed stem, cut off the lever type, and used a small hose clamp.

[Dave Young]

As a newbie, I had hoped that I could learn something here, and that someday, I’d be in a position to pass on what I had learned, to other newbies. Let’s face it, we all have to learn
at some point.

Instead, I’m disappointed that several ‘senior members’ who should know better, can reply to a legitimate question with sarcastic and insulting comments, insinuating that the questioner is stupid and unintelligent.

I’m done ... I don’t need to be insulted by folks I can’t confront. All you people who have
owned and operated model A’s for many years, who seemingly know it all, should keep
demonstrating how wonderful you are. If it makes you feel good and superior, then stay with it. Folks like me, we’ll muddle through and figure it all out for ourselves. We’re not as stupid as you seem to think we are.

Maybe, you should get a life ... Dave Young. (Former member)

[Slowplane]

Say Dave, don't give it up too quickly. Sure there are some dipshits on this forum, but the information, and the help, found here far outweighs the inconvenience of sifting through a few moronic postings.

[slammin]

Lighten up Dave. If we can't laugh at ourselves how will we cope with all the crap that goes on in the world that we can't control? Stick around. I think you will find a lot of useful information at the Barn. I too am a newbe, having bought my first Model A the end of September. This site has over 1500 pages of posts and I have read thru almost all 1500 pages.

[michael a]

Originally Posted by Slowplane

Say Dave, don't give it up too quickly. Sure there are some dipshits on this forum, but the information, and the help, found here far outweighs the inconvenience of sifting through a few moronic postings.

For what it's worth Dave the good on here outweighs the bad. And I look at it this way, if you are a person that has very little to brag about in your life it must make you feel good to Lord your knowledge over someone else. If my shining star was the model A Ford I think I have missed something in my life.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

[WHN]

Originally Posted by Slowplane

Say Dave, don't give it up too quickly. Sure there are some dipshits on this forum, but the information, and the help, found here far outweighs the inconvenience of sifting through a few moronic postings.

Dave, Slowplane is right. Most of us just give our view which could differ from member to member, but it should be just our view.

There are also a few people that just get off speaking down to people. Making fun of someone’s views.

There out there. In schools, at your work place, on the golf course, rage driving, you name it.

However, you will note, there is also a group of members that really try to give out meaningful information. Just what they have experienced owning their Model A. Isn’t that really what we all want. Enjoy.