I had a simple 1-man brake bleeder for many years. It crapped out on me. I had to find a way to bleed my brakes without help. I finally hooked a strap on the underside of the brake pedal arm, looped it under the smooth jack handle, and was able to pull the strap to apply pressure and also work the bleeded screw.
Meanwhile, I tried several kits and have them posted at
My next try was a POWERBUILT #648400 which has a checkvalve. It also has an adapter to the bleeder screw that simply does not work on our small bleeder screws. This new model of the 648400 (I had bought one a few years back) has that adapter easily removable, so all is not lost! The check valve is a really neat little unit that has a check-ball with a spring. The new model has a nipple on the intake end, but threaded female connection on the exhaust end for installing another nipple for an extension hose. Super neat unit, but I could not get it to work. Either the check valve would not allow fluid through the right way, or when it did, it did not check it from returning. I have tried two of these and neither worked. I don't know why. Buy one just because they're really neat. Don't buy one to help you bleed your brakes!
Finally I was able to get to my up-the-street FLAPS and they had a new version of the unit I had used successfully for years. It is a KD Tools kit #2538 and it is the simplest and most effective of all I looked at. It is simply a piece of tubing with a checkvalve that works. It comes with two adapters but I chose to use just the tubing over the end of the bleeder screw. I also added a piece of tubing to the exhaust end of the valve to keep from immersing the valve in the yucky spent fluid in the milk jug.
I paid under $10 for each of these kits. Only the KD was acceptable. I have never used a pressure bleeder but from what I've read in this group, they are really a great way to go. This simplistic check-valve approach works great however and cost under $7.89. Lisle