Astro Pneumatic Tool 3018 3.5" Digital Tire Inflator with Hose

This is one of my most used tools. I work in a shop and every motorcycle, ATV or SxS that comes in is serviced with this inflator. It's a beast. I used to have the MatCo one and THEY ARE EXACTLY THE SAME TOOL. The Astro is half the price though! The gauge is acurate, the lever has good action and the valve is well built. No leakage. Full pull inflates, half deflates slowly. Perfect for getting tires to exact pressures. This is supper important on vehicles like ATV's or SxS's that run low pressure.Tool is super solid and feels great. It is bulky, but hey, it has it's own special place on my pegboard at the back of my bench. The one thing that you may have to replace after a few years though is the braided hose. I have had one fail. The replacement was ~$20. Well worth it.I also ditched the chuck that comes with it and put a 2 piece system on that has a brass 360 degree swivel first then a right angle JACO swivel chuck. In this configuration this is truly the do it all inflator. Keep in mind this too adds to the price but in my situation it is so worth it. If you are airing tires up all the time in a professional enviroment give it a shot.

This Astro tire inflator is the same as my trusty Bluepoint inflator that finally died. My Snap on rep would not warranty my original...Found this one and realized they are just rebranding Astro's and doubling the price...do you homework and don't get ripped off by the tool truck guy(I know they're just trying to make a living)

Been using this for awhile now and it's been great. Air flow is quick and build quality is on par with any of the top name brands. It holds on to valve stems with ease and the readout is clear and easy to see.

Super easy to read and use

Quick reception of goods and qualityproduct.

The first one showed up and the digital readout was messed up as some of the bars on the digits were not visible. I sent it back and ordered a replacement. I could tell that it was a quality gauge and I know sometimes things get passed QC. I'm giving it 4 stars for the quality of it. I will update after a year if it is still going strong and add a fifth star or take away stars. I was on the verge of making my own tree with a high quality gauge with valves to control airflow and take readings. Because I was not seeing anything of decent quality for sale when I ran across this. I have gone through so many cheaply made gauges I was fed up with what most companies had to offer. I can tell you that when you pick this up you can just tell that it is a well made unit. Only time will tell but first impressions, well second impressions, are that this is a keeper.

I work in a smaller shop with two other techs and out of all the tools I've purchased, this is one of the few I've had absolutely no issues with. To start, the build quality is very sturdy, with brass fittings and a stainless steel braided hose. Moreover, the strainless hose includes a rubber strain relief where the hose exits the tool. Even after months of heavy usage and getting tossed around, the hose shows no signs of wear at all.As far as air chucks go, it's the most comfortable and intuitive I've ever used. The smooth, yet sturdy steel lever is dual purpose. The first 50% of travel will release air. Squeeze it fully and it will start adding air to whatever it's connected to. In my opinion, this is far more comfortable than the vast majority of analog air chucks, which require you to tilt the air fitting off to the side to release air from the schrader valve. The locking chuck is a nice touch, but depending on the condition of the valve stem, it may or may not seal without some extra down-pressure on the fitting. This is less a problem with the chuck and more a problem with worn, dirty or low quality valve stems on tires. In day-to-day usage it's a non-issue for me.The single button powers on the tool with one press. Press it again and it will turn on the back light. Hold the button and it will switch measurement units (PSI, KG and BAR). The back light does not stay on for very long (15 - 20 seconds), but this is okay as our shop is on the darker side, and I still have no trouble reading the display, even with all the bay doors shut. The back light is there just in case you're airing something up in the dark and need some extra light. It's not something you'll use all the time. It helps a lot with battery life. On average, I use this chuck about 20 times a day, 5 days out of the week and I'm averaging about 1 - 2 months on the 2 AAA batteries. In my opinion, this is excellent battery life. Just keep in mind this tool will give you no warning when the batteries are low. It will simply shut off completely and not power back on. There seems to be no difference in accuracy, regardless of the battery life.As far as accuracy goes, this tool is right up there with the best of them. I frequently air up tires on Alfa Romeos which have sensors that report pressures to the nearest 10th of a PSI. Airing them up to factory specs, I find the sensors to always report within 1 - 2/10ths of a PSI to the pressure I set. And this across 100+ different cars on different days with different sensors. This is excellent and great for picky customers that demand their tire pressures be exact across all four tires. Good luck trying to achieve this accuracy with an old-school Milton tire inflator. And if you're worried about this gauge taking a while to update the reading, worry no more. As soon as I release the trigger to check the pressure, it updates the reading within 1/4 of a second. Awesome.In spite of my glowing review, I do see some areas that could be improved in a later version. First of all, the hanging loop built into the rubber boot that fits around the tool is starting to show very slight tearing (I always hang it from a re-purposed coat hanger on the side of my lift. I would prefer a hard hanger molded into the body of the tool for better longevity. Second, it would be nice to have a mode where the backlight turns on as soon as the trigger is pressed (like some digital gauges from Mac). Lastly, there could be more contrast in the display itself. With the back light on, the reading looks somewhat ghostly and not as clear as you would hope. Again, it hasn't been a real problem in my usage, but those with worse eyesight would definitely appreciate more contrast.TL;DR: This unit from Astro absolutely dumpsters gauges even twice the price in overall comfort, quality, accuracy and reliability. If any of you air up tires very often, and you're still using an analog gauge, I strongly urge you to give this inflator a try. After getting used to this gauge, trying to read an analog gauge is like going back to the stone age. You will not be disappointed.Lastly, if I have any problems with this tool, I will update my review. If there are no updates, then you know it's still working perfect.

Bueno