I’m as guilty as the next person; often the one at air down time scrounging around in the bush for small foliage to let down my tyres.
Nowadays, I have emerged from the cave, and regularly use a tyre deflator to do the job better and faster. It’s a great little device; what it can do is safely remove the valve core out of the valve stem, allowing you to air down quickly, accurately and easily.
There is a little bit of a technique that comes with this kind of deflator, so here’s a quick how-to.
First things first, remove the valve cap. Then, mount up the deflator by screwing it over the outside thread of the valve stem. Leave your herculean muscles at home though, over tightening things will just damage the valve stem and cause you troubles.
Tighten until it’s firm, but no more.
Next, we are looking to loosen and remove the valve core from the stem. It stays within the brass housing of the deflator, but gets moved out of the way so air can escape as quickly as possible. To do this, gently push and turn the end rod counter clockwise, and you will feel it grab onto the valve and unscrew.
When this is done, the end rod will pop out under pressure from the air within the tyre. Now, you’re ready to deflate.
Grab onto the collar of the deflator, and pull it back to deflate. Every few seconds, push the collar back and check the pressure on the gauge. Take your time, ensuring you don’t overshoot it and have to pull out the compressor.
When you have your desired pressure, it’s a case of reversing the process. Use the rod to engage the valve core into the inner thread, and screw it on until finger-firm. With that secure, you can then unscrew the housing from the stem, and put your valve cap back on.
