Astro Pneumatic Tool 3018 3.5" Digital Tire Inflator with Hose

I've used the Milton 500 series for years in our shops. I can't even tell you how many I've rebuilt. With the advent of Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) and our nitrogen filling services we felt the need for more precision regarding tire pressure.....Especially now that the customer sees the pressure on the dash....I like them all to read exactly the same - it looks more professional.This is a high quality inflator. I love the way the trigger allows both inflation and deflation so that a very precise pressure can be attained. So far this device has proven dead accurate and reads down to tenths of a psi. The large readout and backlight make me wish this product had been available LONG ago. We now own 3 of these and they have all operated flawlessly.....and that is under constant heavy shop use. Shop employees are notoriously tough on equipment and so far this is the toughest inflator I've used.Unless something drastically changes I will never buy another Milton, the moving parts will eventually wear out, which is why they sell rebuild kits. The Milton is only a few dollars less anyway.If you own a shop this is a must buy in my opinion. If a customer is standing there as you use it they perceive that you are a professional and using a very high quality, state of the art tool. Their pressures will quickly be set precisely and they can even read the gauge from a distance.Unlike many tools in the past, my employees take good care of this tool because it makes their job much easier and efficient. They recognized right away what a huge asset this could be.I'm in charge of purchasing and buying this made me look VERY good to the owners.....they love it.My advice to shop owners: Step into the 21st century and enjoy the benefits of this very rugged and precise tool.

I used to steal the older version of this in my friend's garage all the time. That tool was regularly flung about an industrial space and never skipped a beat. Now that I have my own space, I needed to grab one.This version now uses AAAs in an easy to get at battery door under the gauge rubber. Accuracy is as advertised, +- about 1 PSI at most. Usage between the old and new model is the same and still just as easy: partial pull for bleeding air out, full pull to start filling. The screen remains easy to read with a good backlight. Units can be flipped between with a button on the gauge face.Accuracy and reliability are important to me given this is used for moto track and enduro racing setup, causing most of the cheap models on Amazon to be tossed out. If you check reviews, often times you may see folks get one that's 5 or more PSI off.The QD valve chuck is nice. Fully metal except for the rubber seal, and latches on well. Just make sure to push it on firmly to engage the seal.Overall, probably the best unit you'll get your hands on at the price...and really, it's an air chuck. If it's accurate and durable, and not super expensive, what more is there?

I looked around at many reviews and articles for the best digital tire pressure gauge and inflator. This Astro 3018 unit came up as the best choice. My local car dealership's service center uses the prior version in their service drive to inflate customer tires. They had it for years and praised it. Their only complaint was the batteries needed changing often, but they had the prior version that used the small button battery. The current Astro 3018 now uses AAA batteries for longer battery life.I've had mine for a few months now, and I use it every other week to inflate my car's tires with my Porter Cable air compressor. The gauge is very accurate, and it's great that you can inflate and deflate. This allows you to quickly and easily get your tire pressure exactly where you want it to be. It's a little surprising to see how quickly tires lose pressure. Keeping tires properly inflated will increase the lift of tire and fuel economy, which means this tire pressure inflator will quickly pay for itself. Prior I was using a separator run-of-the-mill, analog, pen-style, tire pressure gauge and just a standard tire inflator that didn't have a pressure gauge. It made for a tedious and time consuming process of going back and forth between the inflator and pressure gauge. This all-in-one-unit made it so much easier and quicker.I use my Astro 3018 with a quick disconnect for the extra convenience factor. As much as I really like this Astro 3018 unit, and I have not found anything I would use over it, There are a couple of things that could be improved upon it. Technically I would rate this unit at 4.5 stars. It is tricky at times to get the locking chuck to lock onto the valve stem without having air constantly leak out, and sometimes it is also tricky to remove the locking chuck without losing air pressure in the tire. Also, the stainless steel braided hose is quite stiffly and cumbersome to manipulate. This is mostly due to it's short length. If the hose was just a little bit longer it would make it significantly easier to use and connect the locking chuck to valve stems properly. It is very difficult to get to the batteries. You have to peel away the rubber housing quite far, and it's fairly stiff. Aside from these tiny things that could be improved upon, this is still the best choice for a digital tire pressure gauge and inflator.