Hello fellow riders, I'm looking for some help on tire pressure for my mountain bike. I'm not quite sure how much PSI I can safely inflate my tires to without risking damage. My rims are labeled as 47-622. I know that too low pressure can cause pinch flats and reduce the performance. Does anybody know the maximum (recommended) tire pressure for this setup? I want to find the right balance between performance and safety without causing any unnecessary wear and tear on my wheels. Thanks a bunch in advance!

The max tire pressure should be written on the side of your tire. Of course that's likely to be way more than you need. So just fill your tire up to the pressure recommended by any of the many bicycle tire pressure calculators you can find on the internet. Then ride that pressure for a dozen or so rides and see if it works for you. If you get pinch flats, then you need more pressure in the tire or you need to avoid the things that give you pinch flats. If you think you can do better, then adjust it up or down a few psi and ride that for a dozen or so rides. Check your legs and see how well they feel and check any metrics you might have from a cyclometer or GPS device.

Otherwise, what terrible disaster do you imagine is going to happen? Even at very high speeds I usually just come to a stop when a tire blows out. Perhaps on a fast down hill hairpin turn with a sheer cliff on one side it might be a concern.

Welcome to BF.

Veimos: If you didn't see the (Tire Pressure calculator Comparison and Accuracy) post under general discussion, then take a look at it.

Thanks for your help and the warm welcome. By the way, I use French valves on my bike.

French valve? You mean the Sclaverand valve?

In my years here on BF I've never seen them called anything but Presta valves. I use them too.

Many of the off brands in the rain forest are calling presta valves "French valves" now. I don't know why.

It gives them that certain je ne sais quoi...

Any advise or estimate that you get here or from a calculator are only starting points. Only you can determine the right pressure based on your weight, load, terrain, rim/wheel and tire size and personal preference. This is something that you need to learn for and by yourself.

Pump by numbers, looks like the Mona Lisa until you look closely....

Well, I don't know what pressure will be best for you, or anybody else, From reading other threads about tire pressure, however, I can state that someone, or more, will be able to present concrete evidence that what ever pressure you are using, you will be better off increasing it, or decreasing it, changing tires, tubes, wheels, etc. so don't worry too much about what you are currently running.
P.S. Welcome the the Forum.