Advice: inflating wheelchair tyres

[ciphergoth]

A recently wheelchair-using friend is finding that a bicycle pump doesn't seem to fit her wheelchair tyres, and they are slowly getting flatter and flatter. She mentions that she once had the tyres inflated from the compressed air at a garage, but I know that if I take the chair to a garage they will have no idea what to do or whether I'm in danger of blowing the tyres up. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

One can get foot pumps that will inflate car tyres, with appropriate connectors.
However, of the ones I've used, the gauges have been very inaccurate, so a separate gauge would be required to inflate them to the correct pressure.
Clearly you need to know what pressure to inflate the tyre to. If you take it to a car garage, most of them these days have tyre-inflation machines where you set it to the desired pressure, apply the nozzle to the tyre valve and the machine chugs away and goes BEEP BEEP when it's done. If it's anything like a bicycle tyre, Michelin suggest pressures around 6 bar for street riding.
I expect the tyre will have a maximum pressure rating written around the side, do not exceed this.

Pump fittings

[stefanc.livejournal.com]

There are 3 types of valve on standard pneumatic tyres, 1. Schraeder (on cars, bikes bicyces, wheelchairs etc.) 2. Presta ( on bicyles and wheel chairs), 3. Woods (on bicycles mainly, usaully older British cycles and Asian). Number 1 should fit most tyres and is the one in service stations. When you look at the end of the cycle pump fitting it has a cross and wider diameter thread. Numbers 2 and 3 have the same thinner diameter aperture and no cross. To inflate a Presta valve tyre, you must un-screw the vale top until no more and then inflate, after which you should care screw it bach in to the vale without pushing down on it (which will let air out insead). Cycle pumping by hand until hard should be utterly safe on wheelchair tyres. Good luck. A cycle pump should work on wheelchair tyres as the pump has a one way rubber valve allowing you only to infate, not deflate the tyre.

[pavlos.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what British service stations are like. In most parts of Europe there is a self-service (and free) compressed air machine somewhere off the pump area, usually close to the car wash. The machine maintains a reservoir of compressed air automatically, and you just use it as a dispenser.

Car tyres are inflated to something between 2 and 3 bars. Not that much. I believe street cycles take more, and generally the smaller the tyre the higher the pessure. Plese do check what your tyres take.

Garage compressors should be able to give you at least 5-6 bars. There's usually a pressure gauge and +/- valves, and you have to get the pressure right yourself. You do have to be careful not to blow up the tyre, but it's not hard so long as you use short bursts.

[stgpcm.livejournal.com]

By "doesn't seem to fit" do you mean "it is completely wrong" or "it looks like it ought to work, but doesn't" ?

Either way, probably the best bet would be to go to your local "familly run" bike shop and ask there

[gingiber.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good idea. I suspect a pump like this would work It has an Presta valve fit on one side, Schraeder valve fit on the other. We have one and it is so much easier to pump up stuff than a silly little hand pump.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

I guess I'd look for a maker's mark on the tires (or, failing that, on the chair), and Google for the right PSI.

[cillygirl.livejournal.com]

yo, I'm guessing no pressure written on the tyres? that makes it hard... generally written... somewhere, as part of the material, I remember. if you know the pressure (and how to apply the pump) using a petrol station one shouldn't be too much of a problem...

good luck!

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

Don't use a garage air pump! (Unless the wheelchair tyre manufacturer says it's Ok.)

I know this is a big mistake for bike tyres - there's a serious danger of the tyre blowing up in your face.

It's down to physics. It's true that car tyres are typically inflated to lower pressures than bike tyres. But it's not just about pressure. Car tyres hold a lot more air - simply because they're so much bigger. So a garage air pump - designed for much larger car tyres - will tend to pump far too much air in to a bike tyre, running the risk that it'll overinflate before the pressure sensor has time to cut off the air supply. You might get away with it, but the pressure won't be accurate and you are running a serious risk you don't need to.

I don't have particular expertise with wheelchair tyres, but they look about the same size as bike tyres, so I very strongly suspect the same issues apply.

My top tip for bike tyres, which should work for wheelchairs, is a thing called a 'track pump'. It's like an ordinary bicycle pump turned on it's end, with a plunger on top like a cartoon bomb detonator and a pressure gauge built in. They tend to be a bit larger in air capacity than an ordinary bike pump, but the really big advantage is that you have gravity helping you on the compression stroke. It makes keeping tyres inflated to the correct pressure way, way easier. Whether this is any use for your wheelchair-using friend I don't know - probably depends on why they're using a chair and/or how they feel about getting someone else to do it for them.

[lovingboth]

Yep to all that.

If your bike pump doesn't fit, it's probably a Presta, and all track pumps will have one of those, as it's what Real Bicycle Tyres have.

Hello

[violetdisregard.livejournal.com]

Hello,

It's Sam...from Whitby and B-movie and the ball...

Just thought I'd say a quick hi before i have to get back to work.

Hope you're recovering from the weekend better than I am because I've started coming down with nasty flu. My throat is killing me.