BLACK+DECKER ASI500 12-Volt Cordless Air Station Inflator

This really has been a game changer for me, in terms of checking my tire pressures regularly and keeping them perfectly to spec. Being completely untethered, able to refill the tires any time and place, helps even more than I thought it would. This inflator turns out to be a great buy, with an accurate digital pressure gauge; yes, it is about 1 psi off, you will need to establish a fudge factor, but it is extremely consistent. Once you have that factor, you just aim about 1 psi above your target. The controls are very easy to use, including setting it to a pre-set pressure and allowing the inflator to bring the tire up to that set point, then shut off automatically. Furthermore, though the battery is low-tech lead acid, it seems to be even more capable than cited in other reviews -- I can inflate all 4 tires at least 4 or 5 times between charges -- and is not too heavy, either, the unit is easily carried by its handle with one hand, no strain. Cord and inflation tube storage (both high and low pressure inflation tubing) is very neatly done, and one very nice feature is that you can pre-set the pressure to higher values than other inflators; I'm not sure what the upper limit is, but it is over 40 psi. The ONLY con is that, strangely, it does not save the pre-set pressure; you can keep it going from one tire to another, but you will need to reset it each session. I wish they would have used a bit of flash memory to save that value, but it's a minor point. This unit also has a low pressure inflation option, with its own tubing, which I do not use, and it can operate off your vehicle's 12V lighter outlet, with its own built in adapter and cord, if you forget to keep it charged. It will not operate on AC directly, but it does almost everything else!

This is my first portable inflator and it is good. But the drawback is that i sent one back as defective and got another one due to it not working properly. I figured out what the issue is with this product, possibly an old battery as the manual is(dated to Aug 2009). Since I reordered same product since I really do like it and it is handy. I filled a tire with 10psi and I turned it off and then realized my other tire needed air, went to hook up to fill and ERR was on LCD and it gets locked in KPA units. This was the reason I returned the previous one so I was less than happy. I went upstairs charged for about 15-20minutes and it was fully charged on the AC power showing green (mind you I already fully charged roughly from 3am-9am the same day and used at 10:30am. Then I tested on a tire I have in my apartment, and it was working flawlessly (but this time I never shut it off as I did previously, just unplugged and replugged latch), kept testing continuously and got 62psi before low battery warning (keep it mind did 10psi previously so 72psi in reality), and filled up to roughly total 85psi before battery didn't allow me to inflate anymore (and it had an indication of 0 bars on LCD). However, I waited around 10minutes before trying it out again, got it off standby mode, and got another 13psi. Again then battery wouldn't allow me to inflate anymore due to low battery, waited 5min got it off standby and then I got another 4psi.Did the same thing again,got 2.5psi. Total 104.5psi/(114.5psi), which it probably will die soon since seems to allow less and less. So the battery indication on the LCD,the battery low beep, the idea you cant inflate anymore due to low battery unless you wait, something is not accurate with how much battery is actually left.(this is why I mention finicky battery possibly below).Due to all this my assumption is that there is a glitch, or battery is finicky due to Aug 2009 date, or that it doesn't hold a charge well,(so you wouldn't be able to charge and leave it stored in the trunk of your car for an extended period). This is why I gave it a 4/5. I will try to buy another battery in the future to test my theory. The backup option however is that you could always use your cars 12v socket which is a nice touch to the product as well that you have two options for power. The product is simple to use after you read the manual, it will be second nature to use (I'm unsure why people find it difficult). Also, air does come out when you release the latch so as previous reviewers said, rule of thumb add an extra 1psi on fill up which is no big deal. Overall the product is great, fills up fast about 1psi a second or with higher psi jobs I filled from 19psi to 41.5 in about 2.5 minutes tops. Besides the weird functioning that I experienced with battery/software, I do highly recommend this product.*update after this day of testing and it working fine. one week later, issue with defective one I returned occurred again. Now the problem shows up ERR, but it is fully charged, and I have to switch power switch on and off repeatedly for it to not get locked showing 888 instead of showing 0 when you turn it on. I really want to like this product, but the defective rate seems to be high. I will be trying one last time to get another one in hope I am lucky like another amazon reviewer and finally get one that works.

I bought the ASI500 from Amazon in February of 2010. I liked the IDEA of the unit: battery powered and not needing to drag around a power cord. Seemed like a great idea.The unit works OK and is enough to pump up 8 (or more) tires that are just a little low (when topping off both of my cars). As others have pointed out, the method of entering the desired pressure into the LCD is quite cumbersome and I usually just press buttons until it finally works. Even the manual is not exactly clear on the process: sometimes the light comes on, sometimes it zeros, sometimes it counts up.In my opinion, Black & Decker is using the same 3 buttons for too many different functions. Add a couple of extra buttons B&D.Also note that the charging process is different from the running process. The battery has to be charged in order to run. Can't run off of the 120VAC transformer.But the unit actually works. So had I rated this a week ago, I would have given it 3.5 stars (I like the concept, but the implementation has a couple of minor issues; see my itemized summary below).However, the unit died this morning. I have the same "Err" problem that others have reported here in the reviews. I tried to use the ASI500 this morning, but "Err" is displayed on the LCD. So I plugged in the 120VAC wall transformer to charge it up. After awhile, the transformer said "Green". So I unplugged the transformer and tried to use the ASI500 again. But "Err" came up on the screen again. I power cycled, pushed buttons, pushed +/- together, etc., but to no avail.Also, in addition to displaying "Err" on the screen, it is also stuck in kPa mode (kilo Pascals). Pressing +/- simultaneously is supposed to change pressure units (psi, bar, kPa), but it doesn't in this case.I haven't used it that much and I certainly expected it to last more than 28 months. So I'm giving it 1 star.I'm going to look for an oil-less unit that has a tank. That has portability, and also avoids the battery issues, the complex button arrangement, and the LCD display.Black & Decker makes Dewalt, and I've always been happy with my Dewalt products. But perhaps this ASI500 is too complex for B&D to make reliably...ASI500 Positives:1. battery powered unit makes it easy to use2. for pressurized items (tires, soccer balls, etc.) and pumping (air mattresses)3. 120VAC transformer charging4. also has 12V DC car "cigarette style" plugASI500 Negatives:1. fails after 28 months2. button layout/functionality is confusing3. can't run off of the 120VAC transformer (for charging only)Scott