A dangerous freebie...

Originally Posted by Sythree

It says at Sainsburys petrol station that the petrol pumps are checked for accuracy by Trading Standards. Anyone know if they have to check air lines too?

Here's the reply from the Trading Standards Department:

Originally Posted by Trading Standards

Dear Mr Austin

I am in receipt of your e-mail of 16 November 2005.

With respect to tyre pressure machines, we have not tested any recently,
but we have done in the past.

We have not long had our test equipment recalibrated with a view to
carrying out routine checks on tyre pressure machines at the same time as
we test the accuracy of petrol pumps, so this is something we will be doing
more of in the future.

We will test them if they are available for use by the public regardless
whether you have to pay to use them or not.

I hope I have answered your queries. If you wish further advice, please
contact my colleague Steve Law who will be responsible for testing the
machines in the future. Mr Law can be contacted on 01743 254136 or
stephen.law@shropshire-cc.gov.uk. Please note that Mr Law does work
part-time so he may not be able to respond to you immediately.

Yours sincerely

Frances Darling
Acting Operations Manager
Trading Standards Service
Shropshire County Council
Tel: 01743 254138
Fax: 01743 254114
E-mail: frances.darling@shropshire-cc.gov.uk

thanks...

well done.

[tinpants]

Ta muchly.


Nice one

Well done mate, maybe when they get out & about it will stop me getting my eye blown back into it's socket as i press the lever on the loose/held on with tape/leaking handpiece at my local petrol station, always check preassures with my own guage though (for obvious reasons).

[tigersaw]

Trouble with inflating tyres at a petrol station is, since you drove there, they will not be cold. Tyre pressures are quoted cold, i.e. the ambient temperature. I have noticed 2 psi difference in the car tyres simply because one side of the car is parked in the sun.

I too have found digital guages to be the most inaccurate, as discussed on a earlier thread, in fact dangerously inaccurate in the case of my van, which takes 60psi. I have several gauges, and find the pen gauge to be the most accurate. I keep bidding on a calibrated pcl mk3 gauge/inflator on fleabay to go with the compressor, but they always go silly in the last few minutes..

That is worrying. I use the one at my work, it's calibrated every 6 months, and if it fails by toio much it's chucked away and new one is bought. I use the new ones