For at least a couple of years now, I have had those visual tyre pressure indicators fitted to both the car and the caravan. You know the ones - they show green when the tyre pressure is correct and turns red when the tyre has lost a couple of pounds.
Very nice I always thought until that is last Saturday evening, to find one of the tyres on the car had completely deflated.
Bugger I thought, I've got a puncture.
Went to the tyre place on Sunday morning and after a very careful and thorough inspection could not find a puncture. Purely by accident the fitter and me between us discovered that the valve cap had failed causing all the air to escape.
Thankfully, no puncture, even better no new tyre required and reversion to an ordinary valve cap remedied the problem. Dropped the bloke a fiver and went on my merry way. Needless to say the other three valve caps have been consigned to the dustbin and when I go to the caravan, those there will go the same way.
The moral of this story.........if you've got these visual tyre pressure valve caps and they're more than a couple of years old get rid of them or at least keep a very keen eye on them and don't get caught out like I did.
I had a similar thing happen a few years ago with an alloy wheel that had a metal valve fitted. It looked a lot better than the rubber ones, but just shattered as I went over a bump.
To cap it off, my spare wheel was at home as I had an LPG tank in the spare wheel well. I pulled over (in the dark) and rumaged in the boot for a tyre repair aerosol, before I discovered it was the valve that had failed.
At this point, it started to snow, leaving me to carry my shopping a mile home and then return with the spare wheel. By this time there was almost a foot of snow.
How many years have we had a perfectly satisfactory system of Schrader-valve, dust cap, inflator and tyre pressure gauge? Then some wag spots a chance to cash in on (laziness?) and comes up with this visual contraption. When I saw these things on the market, I decided to keep my cash and retain a trusted method. reading this thread convinces me that I did right.
Technology is a marvellous thing, but we should ask ourselves how reliable/necessary a gadget is before we trust/invest in it.
Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 03/8/2010
How many years have we had a perfectly satisfactory system of Schrader-valve, dust cap, inflator and tyre pressure gauge? Then some wag spots a chance to cash in on (laziness?) and comes up with this visual contraption. When I saw these things on the market, I decided to keep my cash and retain a trusted method. reading this thread convinces me that I did right.
Technology is a marvellous thing, but we should ask ourselves how reliable/necessary a gadget is before we trust/invest in it.
Bertie.
Not laziness with me I'm afraid Bertie. Prior to having two replacement knee operations which incidentally cured the problem, I was unable to bend in order to check the tyre pressures conventionally.
Before you make borderline snide observations you might like to think beyond your own smug little world and take a peek into the wider version!
Sorry about that Vic. No snide remarks intended. Let's face it, though, for most people, these visual valves are superfluous for the majority; and you yourself highlighted a downside. Ok, you have good reason to rely on them (how was I to know that? Your response is a bit OTT), but many of today's gadgetry gets a market simply because it makes life ridiculously easy.
Fine, we too have to use some of these gadgets (we are in our mid-70's), but I haven't gone belly-up on every aspect of physical effort. I suppose it comes down to what makes a chore sensibly easy, and what is unnecessary spending due to "reluctance to make an effort".
I still value what physical effort I am myself capable of, and would never deride a person with a problem. And I am one of the first prepared to offer help if it is needed.
Quote: Originally posted by The 2 Tops on 03/8/2010
Sorry about that Vic. No snide remarks intended. Let's face it, though, for most people, these visual valves are superfluous for the majority; and you yourself highlighted a downside. Ok, you have good reason to rely on them (how was I to know that? Your response is a bit OTT), but many of today's gadgetry gets a market simply because it makes life ridiculously easy.
Fine, we too have to use some of these gadgets (we are in our mid-70's), but I haven't gone belly-up on every aspect of physical effort. I suppose it comes down to what makes a chore sensibly easy, and what is unnecessary spending due to "reluctance to make an effort".
I still value what physical effort I am myself capable of, and would never deride a person with a problem. And I am one of the first prepared to offer help if it is needed.
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Topic: A word of caution
