Digital tire gauge with sealed battery

[y_p_w]

Was at Walmart looking for another pressure gauge so I didn't need to swap my trusty Topeak/Eddie Bauer gauge (really one designed for bicycles with a Schrader/Presta switch and higher pressure readings) for use in different vehicles. So all they basically have are two ones marketed by Slime - model 20017 and model 20187. I settled on the latter even though it cost about a buck more. It looked sort of like a hockey puck with an LED display with a LED backlight and a hose that wrapped around the gauge. Seems to work fine.

However, my primary reason to get that one was because the instructions said it would take a single CR2032 battery (and I've got plenty of those). In fact when I got home I swapped it out for a Sony CR2032 battery since I don't trust that I'm not going to forget about it and the Chinese-made battery inside leaks.

However, the cheaper one said that it contained a sealed battery that wasn't user-serviceable. I get the point of a sealed non-recharageable battery in a giveaway item or maybe in something like a pregnancy test kit (I took one apart and noticed it had a regular lithium coin cell inside) but if I'm spending $9 on a tire pressure gauge I'd like to be able to replace the battery in a couple of years. I've also seen smoke detectors with alleged 10-year sealed lithium batteries, but with those they typically recommend that the thing be replaced after 10 years anyways because of the half-life of the radioactive material. And of course a sealed rechargeable battery could at least be charged even though the battery will slowly lose its capacity.

Would anyone here care if a tire pressure gauge couldn't have its battery replaced? I certainly understand that someone buying one for $9 and who goes to Walmart (and sees the replacement battery selling for $3) probably isn't going to care, but I get my batteries in bulk cheap. I've had one that still works (although the control button is a little wonky) with only a couple of battery changes over a dozen years.

 

[901Memphis]

I'm guessing the battery life should out last the durability of the object. Your average joe will probably buy the gauge and put it in the glove box and never use it.

 

[raytseng]

in a cheap unit, the electronics may fail with the same probability as the battery going out; so it's somewhat a moot issue among all the other failure mechanisms.

If going cheap, where you don't need such precision PSI;
Might as well just use the plain old stick reader, no batteries to run out there. Can someone fill me in what is the problem or hassle the digital gauge is solving or making easier?

If calibration is an issue, Check it once against a known more accurate gauge, and then go against that mark.

Unless you're changing your tire pressure every day to match today's temperature, getting it to the exact psi is a bit of a moot point too.

 

[mattwithcats]

I have one of those Slime gauges with a "non replaceable" battery.

Already took it apart and replaced the battery.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
in a cheap unit, the electronics may fail with the same probability as the battery going out; so it's somewhat a moot issue among all the other failure mechanisms.

If going cheap, where you don't need such precision PSI;
Might as well just use the plain old stick reader, no batteries to run out there. Can someone fill me in what is the problem or hassle the digital gauge is solving or making easier?

If calibration is an issue, Check it once against a known more accurate gauge, and then go against that mark.

Unless you're changing your tire pressure every day to match today's temperature, getting it to the exact psi is a bit of a moot point too.


Digital is accurate. No need to run to a tire shop to find an accurate reference point. I don't use digital myself as I prefer the analog with a hose a bleeder valve.

 

[WANG]

I have been using the same Roadgear digital gauge for 12 years. The non-replaceable battery is still going strong. If it [censored] out tomorrow I would still feel that I got my money's worth.

 

[opus1]

Sometime in 2001 or 2002, I bought a several of "non-servicable" digital gauges from Menards, 2 for my fleet and one for my Dad. All 3 are still going strong.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
If going cheap, where you don't need such precision PSI;
Might as well just use the plain old stick reader, no batteries to run out there. Can someone fill me in what is the problem or hassle the digital gauge is solving or making easier?

I suppose easy to read and typically reads out to 0.5 PSI. I've tried reading a stick gauge and had a hard time reading out. I also find stick gauges aren't terribly consistent if I check several consecutive times. There's also the issue with parallax errors reading a dial gauge. They're also more resistant to shock and don't really drift since they don't use traditional moving parts. Once it's properly tested for accuracy at the factory they're pretty stable for the life of the gauge. I dropped a Meiser dial gauge once. The dial rested at about 10 PSI and the pressure was way off afterwards. I don't know how many times I dropped my digital gauge, and it's still accurate when compared to other known good gauges.

 

[kkreit01]

I have one from the Shack that's also sealed. I've had it for ~14 yrs, and use it a lot. I once dropped it, and the backlight quit working for awhile. Then, it magically started working again. I think I got my $10 out of it.