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I have
to say this is one of the coolest gadgets I've come across in a long
time. I first got to check one out at Dora's vendor tent outside Camp
Jeep this past July. Unfortunately she only had one on hand and it had
just been sold! I told her to send me one as soon as she got more in,
and she did! I had to pay for it of course, but it's well worth the
$45 or so price tag.
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The air hose
kit that comes with the PowerTank includes a simple tire chuck,
the kind you have to press and hold against the valve stem. Sure,
it works just fine, but airing up a set of four 33x12.5"
tires (soon to be 35's) from 14psi to 30 psi can take a while,
even with a PowerTank. After a while your fingers can get sore
from pressing that chuck against the stem, especially if it's
cold out.
True, I could get a clip-on chuck, but I'd still have to take
the chuck off to check the tire pressure...
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That's where
the inflator comes in -- this nifty gadget does it all. The large
dial gauge is protected by a rugged rubber casing and goes from
0 to 60psi in 1psi increments, so you can set your tire pressure
to exactly
what you want. The markings are even big enough that you could
probably set your pressure down to a half psi if you wanted. I
checked the gauge against two other tire pressure gauges and all
3 read the exact same, so I'm guessing it's pretty accurate.
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The chuck
swivels and clips onto the valve stem. It uses a spring-loaded
clip, not a clamp like others I've seen.
PowerTank
also has a version that uses a long dual-head style chuck for
use with dually axles. Obviously, I opted for the clip-on version.
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The inflator
also features a thumb trigger. Squeezing the trigger airs up the
tire, letting off stops the air flow and lets you read the tire
pressure on the gauge.
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The base of
the inflator is setup to accept a standard male air hose fitting,
so you can mount it directly to your airhose. You can also install
a male plug on the end, which is what I did since my PowerTank
hose and the hose on my home air tank both have female plugs on
the ends.
Doing this allows you to use the HD inflator with any OBA or home
compressor setup.
Regardless
of what OBA setup you use, the PowerTank HD inflator is great
to have and should definitely be a part of your trail gear. Definitely
gets two thumbs up. Oh yeah, and it comes with a life-time warranty.
Can't beat that!
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