Staun Deflators Issue

[shellback91 1,832]

Howdy gang! I wanted to bounce a couple of things off you guys because I am perplexed. Here is the skinny on a couple of questions I have, any feedback is welcome.

 

I have a set of Staun Deflators which are awesome.  I noticed on the Mogollon Rim run that they are dropping 5 psi lower than where I set them. Easy fix based on what I know so off I go to calibrate them.  I go through the process of getting this done a few times and was unsuccessful. 3 of the 4 kinda cooperate, one just goes rouge and will not cooperate. I disassembled them all and took some canned air to them to clean them out and still had the issue. I am wondering if anyone has had these "wear out" for lack of a better phrase.  I am leaning towards replacing them because I cannot 100% trust them so to speak. I could also set them at 5 PSI higher than I want them, but that is kicking the can down the road. 

 

I am also wondering if anyone with a Smittybilt compressor has an accurate gauge. Mine is a little out of whack. Maybe all of them are like that perhaps. Between that reading and my gauge, which I am starting to doubt too, I am getting two different readings. I have learned to live with it and kinda know where I need to be when I air up but am curious about this anyways.

[theksmith 4,019]

weird - i would think they might act slightly different depending on altitude, but not a whole 5PSI.

i've only had 2 problems with my Stauns (beside the PITA setting them initially)...

 

i used to have the lock rings come untightened over time and so the setting would change. i guess just from jangling around in the glove box.

 

then i had the bright idea to use pliers to tighten down the lock-rings. that resulted in one of them starting to randomly "stick" - i.e. it wouldn't shut-off and would air-down way too far. apparently their brass body is easily deformed to not be perfectly round and then the little piston can hang up. Staun even says not to use any tools, only hand tighten - of course i had lost the instructions years ago and didn't realize this.

 

if you do decide to get another set, you might consider Coyote deflators. they are very similar to Stauns, but the company will pre-set them to whatever pressure you'd like when you order them!

 

 

most gauges included on these 12v compressors are crap. if you know which fitting is on the Smittybilt, you could easily replace it with something similar to this... - it probably uses 1/8" BSP though instead of NPT.

 

if you just want a better separate gauge, i've had good luck with the Jaco brand in terms of cost/performance.

 

Edited July 27, 2022 by theksmith

[shellback91 1,832]

47 minutes ago, theksmith said:

weird - i would think they might act slightly different depending on altitude, but not a whole 5PSI.

i've only had 2 problems with my Stauns (beside the PITA setting them initially)...

 

i used to have the lock rings come untightened over time and so the setting would change. i guess just from jangling around in the glove box.

 

then i had the bright idea to use pliers to tighten down the lock-rings. that resulted in one of them starting to randomly "stick" - i.e. it wouldn't shut-off and would air-down way too far. apparently their brass body is easily deformed to not be perfectly round and then the little piston can hang up. Staun even says not to use any tools, only hand tighten - of course i had lost the instructions years ago and didn't realize this.

 

if you do decide to get another set, you might consider Coyote deflators. they are very similar to Stauns, but the company will pre-set them to whatever pressure you'd like when you order them!

 

 

most gauges included on these 12v compressors are crap. if you know which fitting is on the Smittybilt, you could easily replace it with something similar to this... - it probably uses 1/8" BSP though instead of NPT.

 

if you just want a better separate gauge, i've had good luck with the Jaco brand in terms of cost/performance.

 

The Coyotes are out of stock so I will keep an eye on that situation.  One of my Stauns the piston seems to start letting air out when I start to remove it from the valve stem or if I barely touch it.

 

I have learned to live with the gauge on my compressor. It is crap but I almost have it figured out even though it changes every time I use it. I do have a separate Tilka Tools gauge(that is no longer available) which I am starting to doubt too.  At times it shows 5 psi  less than a regular auto part store "pencil" pressure gauge, those can be crappy too though.  I am getting myself twisted up because I can't figure out what is accurate so I trust nothing at this point. 😁 I have an idea on how to solve that before I buy anything new though.

[4x4tographer 2,840]

I have the Coyotes and like them. They DO come preset - there are different presets you can buy. However I ended up tweaking mine anyways to a lower psi when I moved to 35" M/Ts, so you go through that whole song and dance all over again. They've been consistent since I got them about 2 years ago - so I can vouch for them. However, I have 1 that is 3-4 psi lower on a consistent basis - but that's my fault for screwing up the setup process to begin with - just too lazy to take the time to readjust it.

 

For the Smittybilt, the pressure gauge is totally off. Mine always registered 6-7 PSI higher than the real pressure. I've since replaced the gauge with a 3rd party one, but it was cheap and is also off by about 3-4 psi. The new gauge is mounted inline on the air hose and flops around in the trunk and I'm afraid I'll break it eventually.

 

I plan to modify the compressor and "hard mount" a higher quality gauge directly to the compressor itself. I'll be using this video as a guide to doing the modification - however, instead of a pressure switch auto-kill, I'll just thread a new gauge on to the brass t-fitting. Video below shows you how to tear down and modify the 5.56CFM compressor.

 

 

[4x4tographer 2,840]

1 hour ago, shellback91 said:

I have learned to live with the gauge on my compressor. It is crap but I almost have it figured out even though it changes every time I use it. I do have a separate Tilka Tools gauge(that is no longer available) which I am starting to doubt too.  At times it shows 5 psi  less than a regular auto part store "pencil" pressure gauge, those can be crappy too though.  I am getting myself twisted up because I can't figure out what is accurate so I trust nothing at this point. 😁 I have an idea on how to solve that before I buy anything new though.

 

Does the JK dash display allow you to look at your TPMS pressure? I can't remember if that's a feature for you guys or not. On my JL it does - I'll verify the pressure against a more accurate gauge I have and it's typically within 1-2 psi.

[shellback91 1,832]

6 minutes ago, 4x4tographer said:

 

Does the JK dash display allow you to look at your TPMS pressure? I can't remember if that's a feature for you guys or not. On my JL it does - I'll verify the pressure against a more accurate gauge I have and it's typically within 1-2 psi.

My particular Jeep does not, I do not think most JK's have that feature unless they have a non-OEM head unit.  I would like that option along with a digital display on the head unit for engine & transmission temps. I may do an upgrade someday, it's not top of my list at this point. 

 

18 minutes ago, 4x4tographer said:

I plan to modify the compressor and "hard mount" a higher quality gauge directly to the compressor itself. I'll be using this video as a guide to doing the modification - however, instead of a pressure switch auto-kill, I'll just thread a new gauge on to the brass t-fitting. Video below shows you how to tear down and modify the 5.56CFM compressor

 

Thanks for that video. My compressor gauge is 5ish psi higher sometimes with it off, when I'm running it is about 15 psi higher. I've kinda gotten used to it but having an accurate gauge may make life easier.

[shellback91 1,832]

Through the process of elimination I have fixed my issue. It was what we in the IT field called a Layer 8 or PICNIC issue. 

 

I went down to my local tire store and had them check my tires to see where they were at. To my surprise they were all at least 5 PSI over what I keep them at, so they adjusted them down to 35 psi. I then checked them with my gauge and sure as 💩 my gauge read about 4 psi under what they were.  I then used a third cheapo gauge to verify further and it was close to spot on.  Knowing that I was able to somewhat confidently calibrate my deflators using 3 gauges for a good cross reference. I may replace my usual gauge at some point because I was told there would be no math involved with this. 🤣

 

I did check with the folks at Coyote and they said they were 4 to 6 weeks out on having them available to ship should anyone be looking for them. There will be a price increase as well, that is expected given our current environment.

 

Thanks for the suggestions and information, I do appreciate it.

[gearhead 437]

I've had good luck with these:  Rugged Ridge 15104.53 Tire Deflator Kit      I painted a reference mark that lines up with the exhaust hole once I got them set to make sure they stay where I want them.  I just used pliers to snug up the retaining ring. 

 

Edited July 30, 2022 by gearhead

[4x4tographer 2,840]

31 minutes ago, gearhead said:

I've had good luck with these:  Rugged Ridge 15104.53 Tire Deflator Kit      I painted a reference mark that lines up with the exhaust hole once I got them set to make sure they stay where I want them.  I just used pliers to snug up the retaining ring. 

 

 

That's a darn good idea

[shellback91 1,832]

2 hours ago, 4x4tographer said:

 

That's a darn good idea

x2 on that and thank you @gearhead for the idea. I have  something I can use to do the same thing.

Edited July 30, 2022 by shellback91