What tire pressure gauge do you use?

Robert - I have an Accurite digital gauge I bought at Camping World near Concord and a plunger/slider type I bought at the truck accessory store right off 3A a few miles out of Concord. Coming from Concord It is a left turn across from the place that used to sell steamed hot dogs and fireworks
A few years ago at the Winnebago Grand National Rally, Michelin was checking gauge accuracy at their booth. The slider one was dead nuts on and the digital one was about 1 1/2 pounds off.

Have been using a "slider" gauge for years.....works just fine.

Sorry folks, I should have left this URL as my reference. REALLY GOOD reading.


http://www.rvtiresafety.com/2012/10/gauge-accuracy.html

Measuring air pressure in tires and a bit about gauges: air essentials

BurbMan wrote:
I use the Accu-Gage by GH Meisner & Co. Accurate and easy to use. I like the short hose with the clip on so I can easily adjust pressure. Also hard to find a gauge that goes to 100 psi when I need 80 in the truck.

Accu-Gage website.

That's the one I use. About 15 bucks at Pep Boys. Good gauge IMO.

As the debate rages on I will answer the OPs question.

If you want to compare digital Here are 2 that I have used and find accurate

Accutire

Tekton

They both have consistent, accurate readings.

2oldman wrote:
I'm not really sure how a 'digital' gauge is any better than a slider. I mean, how do you know? What's the gold standard in gauges? Does a digital readout mean that the internal workings of the actual pressure sensing device are any better?

How do you know a "slider" is better or not?

Pretty much ALL gauges have some sort of error.

Mechanical gauges are not "linear" but if you look at the scale they "appear" to be since the hash marks are evenly spaced. That gauge might be dead on at half scale at say 50lbs but at 10 lbs or full scale could be off 20% or more..

Sliders, well I never had any luck with any $5 or $10 run of the mill cheap SQUARE PLASTIC types.. I could check the same tire 10 times in a row and get ZERO readings of the same pressure.. You have to spend quite a lot on a GOOD QUALITY BRASS slider in order to get consistent readings.. Then you have to be careful about getting dirt on the slider (get dirt in the slider and the accuracy goes out the window)..

I have two different brands digital gauges which I bought at Walmart, cost under $8 and you can take 10 readings in a row and get consistently the same readings within .5 lb.. They also seem to agree with my trucks TPMS so I am OK with the digitals..

wildtoad wrote:

2oldman wrote:
I'm not really sure how a 'digital' gauge is any better than a slider. I mean, how do you know? What's the gold standard in gauges? Does a digital readout mean that the internal workings of the actual pressure sensing device are any better?

But it's digital! Just like my $15 1980's digital (LED) watch was better than my $10 Timex.

"Man with two watches never knows what time it is..." :)

I'm old enough to have used a Slide Rule so I know not to believe all those digits on a meter, of any sort. But I went with a $10 digital that had good reviews on Amazon.

Is it precise? Yes.
Is it accurate? No idea. :)

Another vote for Accu-gage.
It's fantastic that they're available w/ or w/out a hose and different angle/swivel-valve chucks.
I have 4 of them, for different pressure ranges and one for the Presta valves on the bicycles. Your target pressure should lie about half way through the range of the gauge. I, too, hope to never use the slide-stick type, again. The Accu-gages make great gifts, as well. They're not very expensive, for what I perceive as a quality, consistent and reliable product.
I think some people like digital readouts because they're easy to read. As I get older, I have an appreciation for easy to read.

2oldman wrote:
I'm not really sure how a 'digital' gauge is any better than a slider. I mean, how do you know? What's the gold standard in gauges? Does a digital readout mean that the internal workings of the actual pressure sensing device are any better?

But it's digital! Just like my $15 1980's digital (LED) watch was better than my $10 Timex.