The Indeflate system lets you deflate or inflate several tyres at once and in sync, and it’ll run off an ordinary compressor, for example. That sounds promising. But how does it hold up in practice?
In our article How tyres work we recently showed you where grip comes from and what you can read off a tyre’s tread. Along the way we also touched on the subject of adjusting tyre pressure off-road. There are various ways to fine-tune your tyre pressure, and today we’re introducing the Indeflate system.
How it works and how it’s built
The Indeflate is made in South Africa and is now in use with plenty of overlanders right around the globe. That’s no great surprise. Because the moment you pull it out of the sturdy bag it comes in, one thing stands out: the build quality is excellent.
The fitting itself is precision-made from aluminium and hard-anodised. That not only looks good and feels high-end, it should also take a fair bit of punishment. The Indeflate has a combination pressure gauge. More on that later. The three-metre air hoses are very flexible and so easy to work with. Even so, they too feel well made and hard-wearing. According to the manufacturer they can handle pressures up to 200 bar and operating temperatures from minus 10 to 60 degrees Celsius. Once coiled up, the hoses are held together with the supplied hook-and-loop straps.
With the patented Indeflate you can inflate or deflate several tyres at the same time. The clever bit: the Indeflate automatically equalises the pressure between the connected tyres. To inflate, you simply hook the Indeflate up to a compressor or even to the spare wheel. The built-in gauge shows the pressure.
Versions and accessories for the Indeflate system
The Indeflate system comes in various versions. First, you can choose between a two-hose and a four-hose setup, depending on whether you always want to inflate or deflate two tyres at once or all four. The author went for the two-connector version, since he usually runs a different pressure at the rear than at the front.
Then you can also choose between a classic analogue gauge and a digital one. The analogue gauge has the minor drawback that it only reads in psi and kPa, not in bar. No big deal, since the simple multiples are quick to convert (100 kPa equals 1 bar). It’s nicer on the digital display, though. There you can pick between kPa, psi, kilograms per square centimetre and bar. The digital gauge needs two AAA batteries (included).
There’s a range of accessories to go with it. The Indeflate hook lets you hang the fitting off all sorts of spots on the vehicle, so it doesn’t have to be held or left lying on the ground during inflation or deflation. The clip-on connector is handy too, for when you want to hook the Indeflate up to a conventional compressed-air hose. Unfortunately the connector doesn’t fit a standard 7.2 mm workshop coupling. You can buy that separately from a pneumatics supplier, and the clip is then easy to retrofit. The sturdy bag that comes with the Indeflate has room for a fair bit of accessories or other compressed-air kit, such as an air hose or a blow gun.
This is how simple the Indeflate is in practice
To inflate, you still need to connect an air hose with a suitable compressed-air source to the Indeflate. For deflating, you can skip that step.
Verdict on the Indeflate system
The author has tried plenty when it comes to letting air out and topping tyres up on the move. Pressure gauges with a deflate function, a pressure hose with a gauge, a conventional workshop test fitting, and yet none of these solutions was truly satisfying. Kneeling in the hot sand next to the car with the simple pressure gauge, the sun beating down, and doing the whole thing four times per round in the heat… something else clearly had to come along.
Of course the Indeflate takes up a bit more storage space. But the easy operation, well-thought-out design and quality really do win you over. Unpack it, hook it up, set it going, and enjoy a cold drink in the shade while the Indeflate does its thing. For drivers who adjust their tyre pressure to the terrain regularly rather than just now and then, the Indeflate system is well worth a look.
Where to buy
For a long time the only way to get one in Germany was to import it yourself, but the Indeflate is now available in various versions, along with matching accessories, from Genesis-Import. You’ll find the Indeflate shown here, with two hoses and the digital gauge kit, here in the Genesis Import shop. The same goes for accessories like the quick connector and the Indeflate hook.
Video on it
You can watch our test on YouTube here.
© Photos: Björn Eldracher