I realized we haven’t been running reviews lately on Cheaplander - the thing is that most of the stuff we get to review is FOOD. So a lot of times, I’ll just run it on Cheap Eats. I’m gonna try get more reviews going on non-food items. They’ll possibly be shorter and less crazy (much to the delight of most people who want an opinion and not an comical perversion of an aesop’s fable).

Anyhow, I’ve had this digital tire gauge for awhile now but just haven’t gotten around to putting up a review. My dad has had a “Radio Shack” branded one for 10 years or so now, and I was getting tired (pun intended) of driving over to their house to borrow it every time I needed to check the tire pressure. Our old Altima (may she rest in peace) had a problem where the tire pressure would leak out faster than normal - it was weird because the tires were pretty new and we had changed them several times.

So I went ahead and picked up one on Amazon that looked similar. In fact, it looks pretty identical. I’ve no idea who makes this stuff, but it’s probably cheap stuff from overseas. The model is was the MS-4021B Standard Digital Tire Gauge, and it cost a little over 10 bucks.

I bought it, despite the bad reviews from several who had trouble getting the little plastic spigot tip to fit onto the tire valve. I never had a problem, but I think I know what the issue was. The tire valve wobbles when you press down on it, so you have to hold it exactly straight up and down. You might have to use both hands to get it correctly.

Other than that, it’s been great. I know that a lot of people swear by those analog tire gauge dials, and I’ve used one of those frequently. However, I really like that this one has a built in light for the LCD. Because inevitably, I need to check the tires at night. Also, I’ve been needing to check the pressure in our reverse osmosis water filter tank which is conveniently located UNDER our house in the crawlspace. It’s nice to not have to hold a flashlight while reading the gauge.

Incidentally, there are some really funny reviews for this tire gauge - a lot of folks were puzzled why the LCD always read 28.5 psi no matter what they did. They were thinking they had one that was broken - it turns out that they didn’t remove the STICKER that is put on the display when new in order to protect the screen. I’m sorry, but - hahahahahahaaa. Ha.

Needless to say, I did remember to remove the sticker and have had great tire pressure readings with the gauge so far. It reads in 1/2 pound increments, from five to 150 PSI. It’s fairly rugged - I’ve dropped it and stepped on it several times.

Oh, yes, I did have that momentary urge to try and check my own internal psi by connecting the tire gauge to my, uh, “rear output”. However, I was saved by the thought of having to ask someone else to read my flattus power. Perhaps if I did it in a dark room, haha. I don’t even know if it would register - but I’m sure someone will tell me what the psi should be of my output.

Ok, I think I need to grow up.