Kincrome Digital Smart Tyre Gauge K8310

Easy to use tyre gauge but made pretty not tough – Why not DIY Tyre Pressure Monitor System? Was looking at DIY tyre pressure monitor that are pretty popular nowadays. Having a 24x7 tyre pressure monitor with alarm function warning if tyre pressure falls by 20-25% telling you exactly which tyre has issue is an awesome idea. My only problem with it is that they are basically made of 4 transmitter… Read more

with built-in tyre pressure gauge and a receiver that constantly receives signal from each tyre pressure gauge transmitter. This means these transmitters run on battery needing replacement every 2 years at least. They usually come with a reverse nut in an attempt to prevent theft, which unfortunately is not very effective at all.

During each service, all sensors need to be removed if service department want to test tyre pressure thus reinstallation is required after every service. I kind of prefer there is some sort of lock to keep the pressure gauge transmitter affixed to the valve. Cheapest is about $80 and goes up to a couple of hundred dollars.

Bunnings Offerings

Having a tyre pressure monitor is law in America for new cars. So perhaps it is a necessity for safety. However, when was the last time your tyre lost so much pressure without your knowledge needing attention. In my well over 30 years of driving experience, I have only needed to regularly check my tyres when I was a poor student at school and tyres were almost bald. They were losing up to 2-4 PSI a week. I just checked all my tyres with this new Kinchrome Smart Tyre Gauge Digital and the worst tyre has lost .4 PSI out of 30 PSI after months between checks. These tyres are 10 years old! My 2.5 years old set of tyres lost nothing and 0.2 PSI is the biggest pressure difference between the four tyres.

That said, I thought I would buy a standard handheld unit and went to my local Bunnings. There are 4 models:

1. Cheapest $6 Stanley passive pencil tyre pressure gauge. 2. $20 Dial style Stanley passive tyre pressure gauge. 3. $20 Stanley digital tyre pressure gauge. 4. $31 Kinchrome Smart Tyre Gauge Digital.

Looking at the passive units, $6 is attractive for price and size. $20 dial style gauge is nice that it is all metal construction (apart from dial inside and face which looked cheap). It doesn't need battery which is awesome. But I have serious fear it is hard to read the measurement if you want to see <1 PSI. For that digital readout is much better, easier to read. However, the $20 Stanley digital unit has tiny LCD display. This unit does look sturdy and claims to be made of chemical resistant materials. I don't like the lack of documentation that comes with this $20 digital unit. No mention what battery it uses so I assume it uses the same button / disc battery as other similar products.

Kinchrome Smart Tyre Gauge Digital

Good 1. Large and lit display - display is the best part about this unit. It is so easy to read in strong light or total darkness it is miles ahead of the rest. 2. Torch - on demand, light ups the tube valve during use. 3. Memory function to save the reading for each tyre. It has simple but intuitive logic built-in to remember which wheel you measured. Feels like voodoo magic first time I used it. 4. Measurement unit has 3 modes - PSI, Bar & kg-cm2 modes. 5. Metal tip. 6. Ergonomic design with thumb rest for good grip.

Bad It does have it problems. 1. It is fairly large for what it does, especially given there are many similar products that are key-rings. 2. It is painted silver. Whilst it does have a metal tip, the unit is plastic and painted silver which I am sure will come off readily with any kind of scratch or chemical corrosion. 3. The back while being non-slip is a rubber paint rather than real rubber hence will just degrade and turn gluey over time. 4. The display isn't sunken at all and is prone to scratches. 5. Battery is CR2032 (2x) which is expensive and harder to come by. For its size, I reckon AAA would fit and would have made the unit feel more substantial in terms of weigh and feel less like a toy. 6. Battery door is held by 3 screws. Remove and replace the screws carefully and not strip the thread. The battery door has two substantial springs for battery contact that won't hold once the screws threads fade. 7. Feels cheap due to its light weight, painted silver and rubber paint. 8. No details about accuracy whatsoever. Perhaps I am too demanding. Not used to measurement tool not providing this.

Thank goodness its price tag of $31 while more expensive than the rest, is not an exuberant amount of money. I would not have bought it if it sells for $40. Choosing this $31 Kinchrome Smart Tyre Gauge Digital over the other units is a no brainer given how easy it is to use unless you can't deal with this beautiful unit getting its wonderful display and shiny silver paint all scratched up. I just used it in the dark for 8 tyres and it was a joy to use.

I might feel differently when it is old, paint all come off and display all scratched and battery door no longer hold and I have to use a rubber band to keep it in place. It is so shiny, it feels like it should have come with a pouch to keep it protected.