My compressor will inflate my tires...

Roger Tulk

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3,018
Location
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
I have a 5 gal., 125# compressor, and I bought a tire chuck for it. Air comes out of the chuck OK, but when I put the chuck up against the valve, once I get the chuck seated it makes no sound of flowing air, and the pressure in the tire doesn't go up. I have used this kind of chuck thousands of times; it's the kind that used to be on the end of those tire fillers at gas stations. I cannot imagine what I am doing wrong. I have used the air machine at the gas station a few times, successfully, but this just won't do.

Any suggestions? :huh:
 
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As long as you are sure it's seating and still not feeding air, you might have a bad chuck. The chuck also might have some internal part that's interfering with it fully seating. I have accumulated about five of them over the years, almost all from Harbor freight. None of the gauges are to be trusted, but they all feed air as they should.
 
try turning the compressor as high as it goes. if it's 125psi put the air it in at 125 and check the tire pressure occasionally until you get to the psi you need 36 psi for example.
If you are putting the air in at 36 psi it won't do anything.
 
OK, I'd already pressed the centre pin down to show there is air, and I turned the output pressure up to 125#, and I examined the chuck to see if it had anything in the way of the airflow. I can seat the chuck against the valve to the point that air is no longer leaking around the valve, but no air goes into the tire. This is a chuck I bought today. I think I may have to go over to the gas station and spend a couple of bucks I was hoping to save.
 
I suspect you have a bad chuck. Like Ted, I have a few that barely (or never) worked, and I think all of them came from Harbor Freight.
 
Probably a bad chuck. Though once I did have a valve stem actually get fouled up. The top area of it was bent over so no air was ever going to go in because the stem did not depress. A friend of mine once had to use one of those emergency tire inflater things and it gommed up the stem. But, as with all who have said it I have a fair collection of bad ones myself.
 
I've not had any problem with the tire chuck on my compressor, it works fine, but I've put two different of those pistol type fittings on the end of my air hose and they have both leaked air so the compressor runs intermittently... I've taken to popping the pistol off the end of the hose between uses to keep the compressor silent... mine is a small compressor and only a little air out of the tank will kick it own... my friend has an industrial style 40 or 60 gallon that rarely ever kicks on when he uses it... but he always has air.
 
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