Review by William Warner for Black & Decker ASI300 Air Station Inflator
Rating:
Overall works pretty well.

Positives:

- All hoses and wires and adaptors store inside the unit, for neatness.

- built-in handle is nice

- long 12V auto power cord

- two-year warranty

Negatives:

- When it stops automatically after inflating one item (such as a tire), it must be turned off and back on to inflate another item, or to increase pressure setting and continue filling.

- the AC power cord is extremely short. Pretty much requires an extension cord.

- the air hose is fairly short.

- The noise it makes is quite loud, though not as loud as some I’ve heard.

- fitting the cords and hose back into the storage compartment is not easy.

- the valve adapter is plastic, not metal, and doesn’t seem sturdy. It works so far, however.

Review by J. Kelly for Black & Decker ASI300 Air Station Inflator
Rating:
I am pleased with this inflator so far. (I hedge a bit, given the reviews stating that the device has failed for other users. But that’s what the warranty is for.) It is easy to use, effective, and convenient with its storage compartment for power cords and inflation hose. I especially like the automatic cutoff feature; I can turn it on and let it do its thing while I’m doing something else. I run my automobile tires at higher pressures than most (60 PSI), and it had no trouble with those. It takes a couple of minutes, of course, but that’s to be expected — this is not a mechanic’s air compressor, and I don’t expect that level of performance. I haven’t tried them on my higher pressure (90 PSI) bicycle tires yet.

Negatives that other reviewers have mentioned and my comments:

* Gauge readability: Yes, it’s a little hard to discern small PSI increments on the gauge. But I never rely totally on any pump’s or inflator’s built-in gauge for my tires; I always verify with a good quality tire pressure gauge. The inflator’s gauge and cut-off get me in the ballpark, and then I fine-tune using the tire pressure gauge. They are within 1 or 2 PSI of each other.

* AC power cord length: Not an issue. I likely would have to use an extension cord anyway. And the short power cord adds a bit to its portability — no fiddling with it or trying to store a long (and useless while traveling) power cord with the device as it sits in my trunk.

* Noise: No worse than any other inflator I’ve used.

* Small storage compartment for cords and hose: Not too much of a problem, though it might take a little practice to get them coiled up the right way. It’s handy to have the compartment.

* Short inflation hose. No shorter than other inflators in this price range I’ve used. Plenty long enough to reach a valve stem at top dead center with the device on the ground next to the tire.

* Plastic connector that *might* break. I’ll judge it if or when it actually breaks, not before.

* Having to cut the power switch off and then on again to run it after an automatic cutoff: Gimme a break, how big a deal is that??

Review by S. Marks for Black & Decker ASI300 Air Station Inflator
Rating:
I bought this model to replace my older B&D air station. This one is much quieter than the old one and it has the nice automatic “shut off” feature. However the hose connector is plastic (seems flimsy) compared to the metal connector on the older model. My beef with this model is that to see the actual tire pressure on the gauge, the unit must be shut off. Then if the pressure is not adequate, then it is to be turned on again. But doing this too fast and too often will blow the internal fuse. I’ve done it. Now I have to tear apart the unit to replace the fuse on the internal pc board. What a pain! BE CAREFUL!!

…..Six months later… My “3-star” rating has been reduces to “1-star”

I’ve used the inflator off and on since November when the fuse blew the first time. However last night, I was inflating my car tires. The first 3 tires went fine. When I turned on the unit to inflate the 4th tire, the unit immediately turned off. I knew that the internal fuse had blown. I disassembled the unit and replaced the blown fuse with a fuse of same ratings. Upon power up, the new fuse blew. I suspected that there were other problems with the control circuitry. To confirm this, I soldered a thin piece of copper wire across the blown fuse. Upon power up, the copper wire vaporized with flash and loud pop. This confirmed a bigger problem. Being an electrical engineer who has designed consumer products to UL standards for over 20 years, I suspect that this inflator is designed with very little safety margin. When the fuse cannot protect the other circuitry, it is not adequate. I advise not buying this product. Most of the B&D products are made in China, and probably are built without any UL standard being enforced. I believe that the units are designed to meet the standards, but the manufacture of them is in question, in my mind. The manufacture of these products is supposed to undergo UL scrutiny every so often. However we all know how the US Customs office is often deficient in its review of such imported products.

My advice……DO NOT PURCHASE.