How to inflate a car tire without a pump: difficult but possible

A long journey can throw up a lot of unpleasant surprises, one of which is a puncture of the wheel. A motorist finds himself in a particularly difficult situation when he does not have a spare wheel and an automobile compressor. Theoretically, there are many ways how you can pump a wheel without a pump, but not all of them are effective and can really help in a difficult situation.

How to inflate a wheel without a pump

It should be noted right away that all, without exception, popular methods of pumping a wheel without a pump are inferior to a conventional automobile compressor, even of the lowest performance. Therefore, they can be used only as a last resort, when there is no other way out. Some of them do not give the desired result, others are rather risky or require the manufacture of additional devices.

Inflating with the exhaust system

One of the most effective ways of pumping up is using the exhaust gases of the car. The exhaust system can provide pressure in the wheel up to 2 or more atmospheres - quite enough to get to the service station or gas station, where you can already fix the wheel and pump it in with ordinary air. The difficulty lies in the fact that you must have a hose and adapters with you, which will be needed to transfer the exhaust gases into the inner space of the tire and ensure the tightness of the system.

To inflate a wheel, you need to connect a hose to the exhaust pipe of the car and add gas. The main difficulty lies in ensuring a sufficient tightness of the hose connection to the exhaust pipe. Electrical tape, washers, bottle caps can help - everything that may be at hand in such a situation.

Another disadvantage of this method is the possibility of damage to the catalytic converter or the corrugation of the exhaust system. Therefore, it should be used as a last resort.

Air transfer from other wheels

Another effective, but difficult to organize, method is pumping air from other wheels. The nipple mechanism prevents air from escaping from the tire. If you unscrew the spool at the inflated tire, then there is a risk of being left with several flat tires.

Therefore, when using this method, it is necessary to attach tips to the hose of the type used on a standard car compressor. You can also use an adapter, which will have to be stocked up in advance. After the hose is connected to the wheel valves, the air from the inflated tire, due to the difference in pressure, will flow into the deflated one.

For pumping, it is better to use several inflated wheels - this way you can achieve that the pressure in the tires will be approximately equal and will be about 75% of the required (from 1,5 to 1,8 bar each).

Using a fire extinguisher

Inflating a wheel with a fire extinguisher is another common way to get out of this situation. Naturally, only carbon dioxide (OC) is suitable, and not powder. Since the average car owner usually drives with powder, this method is of little use.

If you have the right type of fire extinguisher on hand, pumping the wheel looks simple enough. It is necessary to connect the fitting of the device to the nipple using a hose. When the trigger guard of the fire extinguisher is pressed, liquid carbon dioxide rushes out. On contact with air, it transforms into a gaseous state and fills the inner space of the tire in a short time.

This method has a couple of disadvantages. The first of them is the strong cooling of the hose and the fire extinguisher during the transition of carbon dioxide from a liquid to a gaseous state. The second is the need to build a hose with an adapter for connecting to a fire extinguisher.

TO PUMP THE WHEEL WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER - REALLY?

Unreliable ways

Also among motorists there are rumors about other pumping methods.But in practice, all of them have critical flaws that do not allow them to be used in the current situation.

1. Pumping with aerosol cans. The pressure in such cartridges reaches 2–2,5 atmospheres, which is quite enough for an automobile wheel. Another plus lies in the fact that they are easy to connect to the nipple. The main problem lies in the internal volume of air in the wheel, which is up to 25 liters. To pump up the tire at least to the minimum possible values, it will take several dozen cartridges.
2. Explosion pumping is a method that uses the energy from an explosion of vapors of a combustible liquid, usually gasoline, WD-40 or carburetor cleaner. Besides the fact that this method is flammable, it does not give the desired results - the pressure in the wheel does not increase by more than 0,1–0,3 atmospheres.
3. Pumping with the vehicle's brake system. To do this, it is necessary to drain the reservoir of the master brake cylinder, and then connect the tire valve to its fitting. Then you need to press the brake pedal, driving air. To raise the pressure in the tire at least to the minimum values, it is necessary to make a huge number of clicks, so this method is also not suitable.
4. Turbocharged air injection. Due to the fact that the boost pressure in conventional engines is insufficient, this method is also unacceptable.

Folk methods of pumping a flat tire can help out in an emergency situation on a country road. However, all of them either do not provide enough pressure, or are dangerous, or difficult to perform. Therefore, it is important to always carry a car pump with you - even the lowest-performing pump is more reliable than any of the alternative methods.