Ok, so my tried & true homemade tire deflator has been mislaid (man's way of saying it is well and truly lost ...).

Anyone have any opinions / preferences on what is on the market these days ?

My experience is confined to manually deflating the tire with a gauge (like the ARB offering they ... um .... offer) - but those 'auto' deflators look interesting.

I'm running 40" Treps on beadlocks and need to go to single digits accurately.

Who swears by what (and why) ?

Neville

 

I have used one of those ARBs (many other knockoffs now) that pull the entire stem and have the pressure gauge right there. They work well if you have a wheel that the valve stem has good clearance to get at. With beadlocks I suspect that is not an issue for you. My old fuel wheels were a pita, but current ATX Chamber pros with 2 stems would be easy. I currently have Stauns. I wouldn't pay the premium for them. SUre, it's nice to "set" them at a psi (no clue why I said "temp" originally...working too hardr today). The issue? Everywhere I go when I leave Texas is a different altitude so they are never "set" correctly for the current location. It's not a huge deal for me as I really don't care if the tires are 8psi, 9psi, 11psi or whatever =/-. I do also monitor my TPMS foing up and down which most have scrapped. It is nice knowing they ain't gonna go to zero, but not worth as much as they cost. With TMPS, I'd by fast and cheap things that deflate all 4 at once just cuz you can still monitor. Without TPMS, I think I'd go fast with a gauge a la the ARB or knockoffs. Once that valve stem is out it's fast as you're gonna get, and "checking" the pressure takes not even half a second.

 

I've got ARB's (two of them) and Staun's. They both suck. The ARB doesn't agree with my tire gauge and the Staun's do seem to always be just off. The Staun are in the garage, it's just not worth the hassle. When they start coming down, they can stick and go past your target. With 40's and looking to hit single digits, you should really be looking into one of those powertank systems with the monster valves. I gave it a cursory look just now and they claim to drop 40's in 30 seconds with the oversize valves. They suggest a high quality gauge, conveniently pointing at their tool, for best accuracy.

 

I sure like that idea, but I also know I'm ALWAYS just sitting around on buddies being ready!

 

Hummm ....

Although super useful, my TPMS is disabled - I left out the sending units when I installed the Treps. I specifically left out the TPMS sending units because of my pension for airing down - I figured they were just gonna get broken ...

Maybe I’m just old fashioned, but I really like the idea of watching my pressure on a gauge - even if it takes a little longer to accomplish (perfect time to open the 1st beer of the day!)

I had kinda short listed the Staun's (for the auto version) and the ARB for the manual version.

I’ll wait a day or two for anyone else to chime in, then get that early Christmas gift for myself !

Neville

 

Given that info, talk Karl into selling you one of those ARBs for dirt cheap, cuz i'd give it a thumbs up in your situation. I can't imagine pulling a deflator off to check the pressure. idk, like I mentioned, pressure off-road is not as important to be exact as on-road. I can't say I ever compared the ARB gauge to the TPMS like karl notes a difference. If there was a difference I'd sure trust the ARB more than the computer. I'll sit back and watch so you can get some more opinions.

Thanks for chiming in from time to time. You have a different build than a lot of members and it's nice to have a different perspective.

 

ARB is ok. Jeep tires are not supercar tires so I do not care if it is a few pounds off like Karl says. But at least I know they read high so I measure proper with my old stick that pokes up. It is fairly accurate.

 

I’ve used the staun deflectors for a long time and I wasnt a fan. I just dealt with it because it’s what I had. They were temperamental, they wouldn’t hold their setting (even with loctite). I think the springs inside just got dirty too easy. They were also slow and just annoying to use given their faults.

I finally broke down and got the monster valves when I got my beadlocks. Now, I can’t imagine using anything else. I just use a digital air pressure gauge on my normal valve stem and deflate with the monster valves. Aside from them sounding like a jet engine next to my face, I can’t think of a down side. They’re absolutely fast for inflating and deflating. I’ll air down a 37” tire from 35 psi to 10 psi in a matter of seconds. When I air up, I set my co2 regulator to 200 psi and I’m aired back up in a matter of seconds.

When I get done airing down all 4 tires, I just watch my friends tinker with their awkward contraptions of all types and chit chat till they’re done. Same goes for airing up, no more using multiple hoses on each wheel to “conveniently “ air up all tires at the same time. It’s costly up front but I won’t use anything else now... I’m spoiled.

 

I recently purchased but have not installed yet. The up/down air system.
210-0717 (Jeep JK Front Engine Mount) | UpDownAir

 

Fastest cheapest and easiest to install...I've had a couple of the larger valves that you install in your rim and my wheeling friends have just about ever other way known to man, but these just work and are fast. I can air down my 40's as fast or faster than anyone's much more expensive system.

Jantz Engineering: Jantz J-Flaters