My local high performance parts store said to stay away from any kind of speed bleeders,they have had nothing but complaints and said they were kind of hokey.
Any one been using them for long ?

I have some on my Chevelle. Been there for 6 or 7 years. Made the task of bleeding the brakes much easier. I think they are made by Russell.

I got some from Summit. I think they were Earl's. They worked great.

How do they work? Some sort of check valve?

Yep. They are basically a normal bleeder, ,with a check valve to prevent air frrom getting back in. You can bleed the brakes by yourself, by loosening the bleeder, and putting a hose on it into a bottle. Just pump the brakes. You don't have to keep tightening it after each pump.

If you always have someone around to help you with bleeding the brakes you probably don't need them.If you frequently work alone there worth the money.

they are sold in every good auto parts store in the ever useful "Help!" section.
no need to call Summit or Jeg's and spend the $$$ for the package that says Russell or Earls..

they are sold at any good parts store in the most useful part of the store-the "Help!" section.
no need to get the RUssell or Earls stuff thru mail order. you can just get it locally.

I use the Russell brand and they are great. If you do alot of the work by yourself they are the only way to go. Most people who have problems with them use them in dirty environments. After you use them put a small vaccum cap "rubber" on them to keep the dirt out.

I use the Russell brand and they are great. If you do alot of the work by yourself they are the only way to go. Most people who have problems with them use them in dirty environments. After you use them put a small vaccum cap "rubber" on them to keep the dirt out.

I agree. I used them ("Help" from Autozone) for the first time when converting my '69, and all I can say is "Wow, why haven't I used these before?". I bled the whole system myself from totally empty to a nice, firm pedal in about 30 minutes, doing each wheel twice. It sure beats the old "push the pedal... hold it right there... let go... now push it again..." routine.

The only possible problem I can see is that dirt could clog up the check valve, so those caps are a must. It's definitely worth a try, they are fairly cheap and they make bleeding so much easier. And to those of you who are worried: There won't be any catastrophic failures if they quit working, they will still work as standard bleeder screws.