I too am very conscious about driving these days as well after paying $4.39 for a gallon of fuel I also check my tires for the proper inflation. www.buygogreenonline.com when i went to put air in my tires at the station I normally go to I discovered that they had removed their free air station and replaced it with an automated vending air pressure machine. .50 cents. Unbelievable, I said the air is free why should we pay for air? The attendant said to me that they are losing money because less people are filling up. I said the air is free I understand that fuel isn't. You just lost another customer. Good luck.

The local gas stations have alsways charge for air around my neck of the woods and all the profits have gone to the local hospitals. I've never had a problem with that because ti is clearly spelt out and transparent where the money goes.

Sure its ironic that the money goes to hospitals considering vehicle exhaust causes poor air quality which promotes further respiratroy and cardiac ailments. Viscious cycle that.

However putting a price on air, might get people to recogonize the value of the air they breathe.

I had a favorite gas station that had free air. They had an air compressor in a little exterior room, there was a hole in the wall with a hose sticking out. This is great... a low tech solution to providing their customers to a fairly inexpensive service.

You have to remember that gas stations must buy, maintain, and replace an air compressor, the hose which probably gets ran over all the time, and the nozzle which breaks when people drop it on the ground, plus the electricity to run the compressor. I would argue that the air is free. The cost is for everything else.

Another cost to the station for that air is the pump, hose and nozzels. Customers often obuse these (like not reeling the hose up, then running it over). At a station I used to work at we had to replace the nozzel about twice a month and the hose every 2 months. That's not cheap.
On the other hand, many of the stations can turn their pumps on for you without you paying. If you buy gas or make another purchase they may be more then happy to press the button for you. It also pays to frequent the same station. Once you get to know the employees they'll probably turn it on for you even if you don't buy anything.

Free air for life and a bit of exercise as well...

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?MAN=Sealey-Foot-Pump-Twin-Cylinder&PID=27038

Well, you could use a bicycle pump for the "free" air. I've got a high volume floor pump that works well for car tires.

That way you don't have to use an incredibly inefficient electric air compressor, or rely on a throwback to the days of free services.

In California tire air is free by state law...supposedly...for paying customers of gasoline stations(we do pay more for gasoline here than in most other US states)...often there is a place to put money ($0.25 usually) into the machine, but the station attendant is supposed to provide tokens in that case...in practice the air pumps are out of order quite a lot, or somebody is parked in front of the air station....DB

In California it's a state law that gas stations have to provide air for free. Even if the station has a pump that appears to require quarters, you can get tokens from the attendant.

in the UK and i think a lot of Europe air is free at the big stations and most of the small ones as well. it does suck to be American it seems! may by you should invest in a mini pump yourselves that works of your cigarette lighter point? or there are a few which will run of solar power i think. that way you wont need to be filling up with petrol to get the benefits of inflated tyres.

FYI: I just use my bike floor pump to keep my car tires properly inflated. Unless there is a problem with the tire, it usually only takes a few pumps to maintain proper tire pressure.

Plus:
- No electricity is pulled from the grip to power the pump
- I already have a bike pump because I have a bike (treehugger is alway pushing for more bikes)
- I don't need to drive from the gas pump to the air pump to fill my tires (take the pump to the car while parked in the driveway)
- I get an excellent upper-body work out by using the pump and can now tear phone books apart with my bare hands (right before recycling them)

Some cars, like the Murano, have built-in tire pressure gauges that tell you how inflated each tire is. That made it really easy for me when I drove one. I know, I hated driving an SUV, but it was my first car, so my parents picked it out, not me.

@ Frank J: The air might be free, but they provide electricity to get the air from outside, into the compressor, and into your tire. And there's a maintenance cost as well. I'm sure Ultramar changed from free air to paid air because 1) most stations charge for air these days and 2) the rising cost of electricity and 3) growing awareness of the importance of keeping tires inflated has led to more people taking advantage of free air more frequently. It's easy to let it be free when not very many people take advantage of it.

Quite frankly, if the air was free there and gas was cheaper across the street, I'd go there for the free air and fill up across the street. I can't believe I'm actually defending Ultramar, which is owned by Valero, which actually has a larger refinery capacity than ExxonMobil.... but most gas stations aren't owned by the brands indicated on the signs. Most are owned by little mom and pop leasees, who are being squeezed as much by the high price of gasoline as we are.

Remember when Exxon announced they were going to sell the rest of their company owned stations?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/12/exxon.mobil/

Sorry, my comment was directed at Michael's comment that the air was free... not Frank J.

I would like to add that 50 cents for air is a small price to pay. You will be saving more then that in gasoline, and wear and tear on your tires. Plus there's the obvious benefits to the environment.

Most places that have this PAID air option have the ability to push a button inside to let you have the air at these machines for FREE - Smile and Ask. :)

Want free air? You can pick up an electric air compresser that plugs into your cars 12v for about 10 buck. Your cars produces the Watts anyway. Good luc k finding one not made in china though.

I ahd one of the $10 version. Didn't last for more than a couple hours of use (5 mins at a time).

Got to your local hardware store and buy a good one. Pumps up tires, sprays a little paint, - all sorts of tricks for under $100 (tankless).

FWIW you ought to buy something of quality that will last a lifetime. Better than some cheapo thing that goes into the landfill after justa few uses.

Buy a good car, a good bike, good reel mower, etc. If you can't afford new (not always necessary), buy something used from Craigslist or somewhere similar.

That $10 compressor is a waste b/c you likely did not get much use out of it, fuel was used to get it here from China and now it's going to the landfill. The guts of one of these little compressors is plastic and aluminum. A good compressor has much longer lasting materials.

As a matter of fact, if you need to inflate your tyres more frequently than once each two months, you should change your valves.
I check pressure once every 3 months just to find is fine.
Don't think you need to check every time you refill your tank, as said this has maintenance and electricity costs.

I think enacting "free air" laws in other states would be a good idea. Perhaps a solar-powered air compressor for use at gas stations would be a good idea.

Dear Mr. Alter,

You are correct in saying that proper tire inflation is very important to attain maximum fuel efficiency. This is one of the reasons that Ultramar has partnered with a supplier of air inflation compressors to ensure that this service is available to our customers when they require it. We have found that the reliability of this fee based service is superior to that of other methods we have used in the past. I would also like to point out that Ultramar's portion of the fees generated from the use of the compressors are donated to charity throuth the Ultramar Foundation.

Warren Maynard
Director - Retail Network
Ultramar Ltd.

Air is free but the compressor is not. That said i still think
it should be free like it was when i was a kid

As David H Glover posted earlier, most stations will push the secret button for you and let you pump air for free - if you are a fuel customer OR -as is the case in my neighborhood - you're on a bike.

There are two cheap gas stations a block apart on my way home. One lets me air up for free, the other wants 75 cents. Guess which one I get gas at? Funny, but my car tires have only needed air about twice this year, and yet, I still have a grudge against the Shell station that wouldn't let me air up my bike for free.

Even funnier is that where I work, right next to our front door is an air compressor with a big sign on it that says, "Free Air". At least once a day, some random vehicle pulls up to it and and the driver inflates with glee. Since the maintenance and electricity are already 'sunk cost' for us, we gladly let anyone use it, and suspect that a lot of people find out about it from the DMV across the street.