Have you ever walked around a parking lot and caught eye of a vehicle with obviously flat tires? You can see the “flat” tire patch literally, which is more prominent on the front tires since they bear more weight from the engine.
It’s not always as obvious as the tire in the picture above, more often tires are only lower than their ideal pressure by around 4-6 PSI, which isn’t visible to the eye. However, this amount is enough to cause extra tire wear and reduce your mileage, as well as affect your vehicle’s handling ability. So yes maintaining optimal tire pressure is very important, not any more, not any less.
I used a hand pump for many years, one with an onboard pressure gauge. I was naive and trusted it until when performing a tire alignment, the technician discovered that my pressure was over 45 PSI when it should be at 36! Over inflation is just as bad as under inflation, no wonder my car was more noisy ever since I became too diligent…
There are higher quality hand pumps with good accuracy that can do the job, but the price is fairly close to a cordless digital electric pump. Being the lazy human being we are, a cordless pump with digital gauge + auto shutoff should appeal to more people…
Features
- Inflates up to 160 PSI ( great for big tractors with big tires)
- 0.5 PSI Accuracy Level ( more on that below )
- Threaded/Screw on chuck
- Can be powered by 20V MAX* battery, 12V DC, or 110V AC
- High-volume inflation and deflation modes
- Hose Length 29″
- High Volume 15.2 SCFM
- 12V DC Cord Length 13.75‘
The left side LCD displays the PSI value of the attached unit, the right side displays your target PSI, which is adjusted via the dial.
This design is very handy, saving time by allowing you to quickly reach your desired PSI number rather than having to push a button continually such as the case with Milwaukee M12 12V Lithium-Ion Cordless Compact Inflator 2475-20 and Ryobi P731 One+ 18v Dual Function Power Inflator/Deflator.
In terms of precision, the DEWALT Inflator achieves +/- 0.5PSI as opposed to +/-1PSI. I don’t know about you, but I’m more of a perfectionist seeking higher accuracy in things.
To keep things consistent, unscrew the threaded chuck at the same speed to get same pressure level on all of your tires. This inflator will inflate to a slightly higher value than what you set, about 0.3 PSI more, to compensate for the air leaked when releasing the chuck.
The inflator seems quieter than other inflators I’ve tried, such as the Milwaukee M12 2475-20.
Inflation speed is noticeably faster as well, due to its 20V voltage over 12V perhaps.
I haven’t had time to try out the High Air Flow Mode, maybe next time I put an inflatable swimming pool in the backyard I’ll test it out. It would be silly to purchase such a unit for that purpose only, but if you already own one then it would be nice to be able to use it.
It seems that your battery size has little effect on the inflator, no need to use a 5AH battery for pumping up your car tire’s minor lack of air.
If duty calls for long duration inflation, you’ll need to break after 10 minutes as pointed out in the user manual. Apparently the unit will shut off to prevent it from over heating.
A somewhat redundant feature… yes the thing has this small LED light which… proves to be mostly useless due to its dim lighting and bad location, but hey, beats having nothing at all. Don’t know about other people, but I turn on the lights in the garage when inflating tires…
One obscure feature mentioned in the manual is that you can calibrate the inflator to match the atmospheric pressure at your location, useful when performing inflation at high altitude locations.
Accessories
Provided on board storage is very neat, with the left side holding the high pressure hose and a 12V DC cable inside the compartment for connecting to your car’s cigarette port, and the right side having the high air flow hose and Presta valve adaptors and needle etc. The two ports are for inflation and deflation purpose respectively.
Keep caution not to connect to the deflation port and power on the unit in a dusty environment, the inflator is not a vacuum, you’d clog the air inlet, which doesn’t seem to be easy to clean, at least it isn’t mentioned in the manual. I assume there are filters in place.
Pricing
In terms of price, the DEWALT DCC020IB is more expensive then models from its competitors, but being the comparatively top of the line unit I’d say the price pays off. My personal favorite features which are exclusive to this model are the dial pressure adjuster and the low noise level.
Being slightly less popular than cheaper models, you’re better off wait for it to go on sale, I managed to get a decent price during summer time when my local hardware store had deals going.
On the whole this thing is a real pleasure to work with every time, I show if off to my neighbors who wonder how I got into DEWALT in the first place… that would be a long story.
If you have comments or questions please post them below, I’ll get back to you asap. Until next time! Subscribe!
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