DIY Tire Deflator

Gen X

First Fill-Up (of many)
Supporting Member
Location
Ashburn, VA
Saw a guy with a DIY tire deflator on the trail last week. So, not my original idea, but posting a DIY thread on the one I built. This is super simple and took only about 10 mins. Since I’m a 1st Genner, I posted in this DIY forum, but this is a cross gen tool!

Parts Needed:

A tire valve chuck with clip so it will stay connected – got mine at Walmart for $5

1/4 inch male to male connector – one end attaches to the valve chuck, other end connects the hose. You’ll only need one in this particular setup, I picked them up at Home Depot for $2

A length of 3/8 inch inner diameter hose – the connections are all 1/4 inch so this fits snug. I bought a 10ft roll at Home Depot for $5, I only used about 3ft

A pressure gauge of some type. I found one that is normally used to regulate pressure for air tools. It has a ball valve to open and close to release pressure. Found this at Advance Auto for $11

The example I built from was set up with a brass T with the hose coming in one end, a cap on the other, and a pressure gauge in the top of the T. The guy would open the cap to release the air. I was originally going to build the same way until I found this gauge.

A couple of small hose clamps for the two connections, $0.78 each at Home Depot

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Here’s the line-up of parts prior to connecting everything. From left to right, pressure gauge, clamp, hose (I used about 3ft), clamp, male to male connector, valve chuck.

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And here’s how it looks after everything is connected. Again super easy, about 10 mins of work. Connect the male to male connection to the valve chuck, tighten it nice and snug. The ones I bought had a type of pipe tape compound already on, if not, you can use some pipe tape to ensure it doesn’t leak. Use a lighter to heat up the ends of the hose just a bit and they’ll easily fit over the connections. Make sure you have the hose clamps on the hose before connecting. Slide the clamps into position and tighten then down. Done!

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Here's a couple shots connected to the tire reading pressure. A close up showing all connected, then a “stand-up” shot. Now when you’re airing down, you can connect this DIY rig and stand up rather than crouching next to the tire. Open the valve and air down. I would have preferred a more detailed gauge and may eventually replace this. However, I usually go down to 15psi which corresponds to the nice bright red “1” bar measurement on this gauge.

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