It’s crucial to put the recommended air in the tires because neither low pressure nor high pressure is good for the vehicles. While underinflation causes accidents and additional tear and wear, the over inflation, on the other side, leads to over bouncing and difficulties in controlling the cars. Having a tire pressure gauge in your vehicles helps you always determine the right pressure to inflate the tires. But what if you don’t have the pressure gauge when you are out and about?
In this situation, how to inflate the tires without a pressure gauge? There are, of course, still a few techniques to deal with this circumstance, although you are always recommended to have a pressure gauge.
Here are the ways you can apply when you are in need of a quick check without a gauge.
How to Put Air in Tires Without Gauge? 3 Ways Explained
1. Hands-on Approach
Using hand heel to check the pressure while inflating the tires is very common method. You can assume how much pressure is going inside the tire by pushing the tire with your hand heel. When pushing the tire at an interval, it will feel like hitting a rock if there is enough air in the tires. On the other hand, if there is less air in the tires, it will feel like pushing back. That means you can continue putting air in the tires until you start feeling like hitting a rock.
2. Eyeball Method
In this method, you have to keep the car on a flat surface like a road. Then start inflating and watch the tire from a specific distance. When it’s inflating, you can observe the distance in the pressure level in the tire as it’s on the flat surface. When there is sufficient gas in the tire, the bottom of the tire will no longer be flat to the road surface, and a little or no bulging will be noticed on the sidewall of the tire. What it means is this is the time to switch the air off. Don’t continue inflating until the bulge disappears. Doing so will cause over inflating.
3. Calibration
When you have no idea about hand feeling and eye check, calibrating a right pressure tire maybe an excellent way to check the pressure. Hand check or eye observation may not always be accurate if you don’t practice it often. In this situation, use a tire with recommended pressure as a standard and compare the hand feeling on the standard tire with the one you are inflating. This will give an idea about how it will feel like when the tire is inflated with the right pressure level. For calibration, the tire used as standard must be as same as the one you need to inflate.
To conclude, the above-mentioned methods are suggested only when you are on an emergency. And of course, they will work for you to face the unwanted situation. People involved in heavy driving vehicles should know these techniques. Further, you can go to a nearby gas station, but it may not be possible. So it’s always safe to have a small gauge in your vehicles.
Recommended: How to Put Air in Car Tires at Home?
Olivia Archer provides in-depth coverage of air compressors, air compressor accessories, tire inflators and all things related to air compressors. She is a mechanical engineer and air compressor expert with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the industry.
Olivia’s articles are informative, well-researched and provide readers with valuable insights and information to help them make informed decisions when purchasing air compressors and accessories. She is passionate about the industry and is always looking for new ways to share her knowledge and expertise with readers. When she’s not writing for the website, Olivia can be found working on her own DIY projects, experimenting with different tools and techniques, and expanding her knowledge of the industry.
