Good Year Tyre Inflator/Compressor

First Use Report

The unit on the coffee table of our drawing room 

Before my Jaipur/Ranthambore trip in October 2016, I bought a Good Year tyre inflator or compressor from Minku of Indo Radial Club. The model is RCP B2. A 6 inch-ish round disc like thing in the typical blue and yellow colour of Good Year. It's about a couple of inches fat and weighs around 500 gm. This cost me Rs 1300, which is much cheaper than the Amazon or Flipkart price. I purchased it on the last day before the trip, as a safety measure.  In case I had a puncture I could pump in some emergency air and drive for some distance. Somehow, this time I felt more scared about tyre punctures than I ever have. So I put it in the boot just in case. Bought it so late that I couldn't even check to see how it works.

Fortunately or otherwise I didn't get a chance to inflate my tyre in either any emergency or non-emergency during the trip. After coming home from the trip I tried to use it for inflating Mampu's cycle tyre. But I realised that that particular valve (called Woods valve) needed a kind of adapter that I did not have. The adapters given with the inflator are for footballs and balloons. 

The Presta valve of my Merida road bike with the cap off

Woods valve on Mampu's Hero

Before going ahead let me explain that there are broadly three types of valves that are used in bicycles today. And as luck would have it I have all three types in three different bikes. My road racing bike has what is known as a Presta valve. It's for very high pressure tyres. The other type is called the Woods valve (it is also known as Dunlop or Dutch valve). This is what most traditional bicycles in India have. My daughter's Hero has this type of valve. The third type is known as Schrader valve. My MTB bike (the old Hero made new) has this type of valve. This is the same as a car valve. Therefore without using an adapter I cannot inflate any of my bicycle tyres except the ones in my MTB.

This morning, before going out to cycle I realised my MTB bike didn't have enough air pressure. So, I jumped at the opportunity to test my new tyre inflator :-) It's a fairly simple procedure to follow. First you fasten the inflating hose on the valve of the cycle. This hose sits on the back of the unit in a nice round groove for storage. Then you put the jack on the other end into the cigarette lighter holder of the car. This jack is long enough for the unit to reach all the four wheels of the Duster. Now you start the ignition of the car. Then switch on the yellow button on the inflator and it rattles to life. 

Schrader valve of the Restored Hero MTB

I kept an eye on the pressure gauge, which is an easy to read round dial. It's an analogue dial and not digital. It rose steadily from 20 psi to 40 and then 60. Within a few seconds really. I am sure with a large SUV tyre it will take much longer. But that's fine. I am sure the more expensive units will do the job faster.

As I see it, the only issue with the inflator is the tremendous rattle and noise. I held it in my hand. I don't know how safe or unsafe that is. If I have to rest it on the floor, I would like to put it on a well padded surface. Like a small piece of reasonably thick foam. Otherwise the noise will drive me crazy.

The other negative about the inflator is that the jack which goes inside the lighter holder is not smooth. It takes some effort to drive it in and pull it out. I guess with use it will get easier.

Mechanical products such as these need to be regularly used to remain in service. If I leave it in the boot of the car, untouched for two years it will not work when I need it on the highway one fine afternoon in the middle of nowhere. So regularly inflating the bicycles with it is one of the options. I also have an old football that cannot retain its pressure for too long. I guess I will fill it with air every once in a while. Just to give the Good Year some exercise.

This is the first use report. Let me see how well it survives a year of regular use. I shall revisit this page after a year and update with a long term use report.

Report After About A Year (September 5, 2017)

One does not need the tyre inflator every now and then. I did not use it for a long time. Thank God.  I had loaned it to Malcom during his last Goa trip. He also did not need it. The other day when I saw my rear tyre sitting almost flat on the road at the parking lot, I knew I will need to use the inflator. Apart from attracting the attention of casual onlookers on the road (Calcutta has no shortage of them anywhere) it did its job pretty efficiently, albeit slowly. The pressure was down to 10 psi. To pull it up to 30 psi it took about 5 minutes. Slow. But that's fine for I need this back up only once in a while. I had to use it a few more times before I finally repaired the tyre.

Among the cons - apart from being very slow, it rattles a lot. Gets hot a bit after a few minutes. Best would be to let it rest on a towel or foam. I held it in my hand, which was fine.  

I think this is a must have accessory for any car - whether you are going out on a long drive or short city drives. If you have tubless tyres you need it. Tubeless tyres don't go flat right away, unless they are ripped apart. They can retain pressure for a few days even with a nail or screw. This is ideal to have for such small leaks.