Issue Checking Tire Pressure At Costco

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kaneohe

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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I usually check the pressures at Costco and it is generally uneventful. Today after checking/filling 3 of the tires, the air supply hose started pulsing high pressure bursts of gas. I called a worker who came over (by now the pulsing had ceased, perhaps because he had done something?) who said I should just
hold the hose gently against the tire valve and not press and slide that locking ring for a more secure connection.

In the past I have found that if I disconnect immediately when the beeping starts (indicating setpoint has been reached) the tire pressure (measured by
my gauge) can vary by 1 psi so I have tended to keep the connection for a few seconds longer. Can this longer connection have caused the pulsing (it never has in the past)? If you fill w/o the sliding locking ring activated, are the tkre pressures reliable and at set point?
 
I don't have the answer to your question, but my MIL just pulls up in front of the Costco tire shop and a mechanic checks/fills her tires. It's not self-serve at all. Maybe that's just her particular Costco (she is in San Antonio)?
 
The pulsing might have been caused by the air tank's pump operating briefly to refill the tank.
 
kaneohe said:
... the tire pressure (measured by
my gauge) can vary by 1 psi ...
Click to expand...
This is completely negligible. Pressure will vary 1psi with approximately 10 degrees change in air temperature, so if the tires are hot from driving you will end up with a lower pressure when they cool. This is also why all of our tire pressure warning lights come on in cold winter weather and we have to add air or at least drive a little until the tires warm up and the light goes off. It is also the reason that the mfg. recommended tire pressures are only approximate as none I have seen state a temperature for the measurement.

I would worry about 1psi when I was racing sports cars and monitoring tire temperatures. On street cars if I am within two or three psi I don't worry about it at all. I do tend to let it go high for a little less rolling resistance at the expense of ride.

Re pulsating, etc. you really don't care what the Costco hardware is doing, only with the tire pressures you end up with; I wouldn't worry about it.
 
I don't use costco to fill my tires, but whenever I fill my tires I use my own gauge to check the pressure as I know it's accurate by comparing it to some others. This way at least something is constant.
 
OldShooter said:
This is completely negligible. Pressure will vary 1psi with approximately 10 degrees change in air temperature...
Click to expand...

So given that, a football filled with 12.5 to 13.5 psi in the locker room prior to a football game and then brought out onto a 50F football field in January in Massachusetts would lose about how much psi? :D But I digress.
 
pb4uski said:
So given that, a football filled with 12.5 to 13.5 psi in the locker room prior to a football game and then brought out onto a 50F football field in January in Massachusetts would lose about how much psi? :D But I digress.
Click to expand...

Dude, from a fellow New Englander... we need to just let that one go. ;)
 
In a car that should be filled with 32 psi, anywhere between 30 and 35 is good. If you want slightly better gas mileage, go to 40 or whatever the maximum is on the tire.

I would guess your air gauge, unless it is very expensive, is not even accurate to 1 psi.
 
Senator said:
In a car that should be filled with 32 psi, anywhere between 30 and 35 is good. If you want slightly better gas mileage, go to 40 or whatever the maximum is on the tire.

I would guess your air gauge, unless it is very expensive, is not even accurate to 1 psi.
Click to expand...

Not to "whatever the maximum is on the tire". The car's suspension is designed for a range of tire pressures, and going to the max of the tire might cause handling problems. That's the safe limit for the tire, not the car/tire/suspension combo.

Follow the car manual, and do not exceed the limit of the tire (which is unlikely - tire limits are generally higher than most car specs).

-ERD50
 
I usually target about 2 psi higher than the manufacturer recommendation on the door jamb label.... I presume that the extra 2 psi slightly increases mileage with negligible impact on performance.
 
Most likely the "set point" you said you dialed in was reached and a mechanical valve release kicks in and the cycle repeats.
 
I am not familiar with the Costco self-serve air machine, but it sounds to me like the pressure regulator was kicking in and out, as it was at or near the setpoint. So instead of a smooth shutoff, it pulsated some.
 
Actually a much better solution is to buy a 12 v tire pump for around $20. Then you can inflate the tires at home before the car is moved in the morning. Also you can buy a good 2 inch round tire gauge from Qeeph for about $20 on amazon. (Much more accurate than the 1 inch gauge on tire pumps). Once or twice this has saved me with a slow leak from having to change a tire, pump it up and then drive to the tire shop.
 
Buy a pump and keep it in your car. You can get a good one for around $30 and you never have to mess with gas stations/service stations again. It plugs into your cigarette lighter (do they even have those in cars anymore :) ? ) or your auxiliary jack.

Mike
 
We have a Discount Tire about a mile from the house so I just pull in there once a month or so for the free air service. Not self-serve and I usually have to wait 5 minutes or so for someone to come out, but works way better than the coin operated air machines at the gas stations these days. I also buy my tires there as their prices are good and their service is excellent.
 
meierlde said:
Actually a much better solution is to buy a 12 v tire pump for around $20. ....
Click to expand...
:) If you have a lot of patience. A 3hp compressor works well too.

MBAustin said:
... Discount Tire ... I also buy my tires there as their prices are good and their service is excellent.
Click to expand...
+1

That is an amazing company. Beyond excellent. Employee motivation is maybe the best I have ever seen. They also resolve problems either with great generosity or at no cost at all. It is literally the only national company where I have any loyalty at all.
 
meierlde said:
Actually a much better solution is to buy a 12 v tire pump for around $20. ...
Click to expand...

I have one and it works fine. I use it on cars, trailers, lawn tractor, bicycles, etc. Mine has a light and a handy feature where you can set the air pressure that you want and it stops automatically when it reaches that air pressure. the gauge in the unit is pretty consistent with my air pressure gauge.

I spliced a couple alligator clips into the power cord so I can also use it off my lawn tractor battery to power it around the yard rather than try to move a car or the item that needs tires pumped up. In fact, I just used the lawn tactor and air pump to inflate the tires on out firewood dolly.
 
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