Checking tube & floor pressure

[Oldman2]

Time I reinvented the wheel, there has been a couple of previous threads on gauges and their accuracy or lack of.
I wonder about my Bravo BTP12 gauge being correct and looked at buying a stand alone 2nd gauge to check against mine.
I saw you can buy for £12 a gauge with HR fitting that covers 0 to 1.6bar or others that do just a few LB. Neither looked as much fun as cobbling something together yourself, so thats the route I took.
A gauge 0-15psi for £4 on ebay, a multi function valve adapter kit from Amazon £7 plus 2 bits of hose & clips.
Remove the schrader valve from the adapter, connect the hose and gauge and screw on one of 4 adapter ends to suit which sort of valve your boat has and your done.
Cost is pretty much the same as buying one ready made but no fun in that, also this one does 4 different valves.


air gauge.jpg

[lightning]

l wouldn't worry about it, the Bravo gauge is most likely accurate enough, l've had a BTP12 for years and never had any issues with pressure.
l usually set the pressure readout to just below the maximum recommended for the boat.

[Oldman2]

Well it will come on handy for checking once the boat is in cold water if it seems soft. I wont take my expensive pump out with me. I will see if I can find an alternative for cheap onboard top ups.

[36valley]

Why do you think a £4 gauge from eBay is going to be any more accurate?

My experience from checking tyre pressures in my karting days is that even the most expensive gauges can read differently from each other.

But I do get the pleasure/fun in making your own.

[Max...]

Looks familiar!

https://www.rib.net/forum/f50/adapti...sib-42375.html

[Oldman2]

Yes max, there are only so many ways to make a wheel
I added the ability to swop ends as they just unscrew from the red part.


valve kit.jpg


I can compare the Bravo at home to see how far the gauges are apart & at sea it will still give an indication of any loss due to cold water. Better than nothing.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Oldman2

Yes max, there are only so many ways to make a wheel
I added the ability to swop ends as they just unscrew from the red part.


valve kit.jpg


I can compare the Bravo at home to see how far the gauges are apart & at sea it will still give an indication of any loss due to cold water. Better than nothing.

Didn’t the I-titwit post something like that before he retired this parish. I think he was going to use a 12V tyre inflator to inflate his SIB or some such nonsense.

[Oldman2]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Didn’t the I-titwit post something like that before he retired this parish. I think he was going to use a 12V tyre inflator to inflate his SIB or some such nonsense.

Well that would take a while I guess you could top up pressure in tubes through the car tyre valve size fitting (with schrader valve fitted) but for volume that port would take a week wouldnt it.

[pumpkinking]

Yeah don’t look too hard at who condoned the advice in said thread... that was before I had cottoned on to the who’s who of Ribnet...

On a serious note, is there a generally accepted “very accurate” pressure gauge for inflatable boats or does this just not exist, no matter how much you could choose to spend?

[Max...]

I’m satisfied that the ones I made in the link are ‘very accurate’ and still working fine years later.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Didn’t the I-titwit post something like that before he retired this parish. I think he was going to use a 12V tyre inflator to inflate his SIB or some such nonsense.

Retired? Wasn't he reincarnated?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by beamishken

Retired? Wasn't he reincarnated?

Aye, and he soon reverted back to type. Once a troll always a troll.

[pumpkinking]

I admire the DIY effort!

I bought this one on offer a while back for about £10, not from the linked site I forget where, but for the size and convenience I must say it seems great.

https://www.ribstore.co.uk/products/...0aArgCEALw_wcB

I don’t think I’d be able to make something as small for my 3.3m with limited space to store stuff... But where’s the joy in that, not as fun as making your own!

[Oldman2]

I really liked that Ribstore one, but after considering it I realised that with the gauge at that angle to the valve I would with my fat belly and varifocals be in trouble & would have to be a contortionist to be able to read it for the tubes while afloat.

[Allye]

It’s interesting you mention about gauges being inaccurate, at work we used to check the pressure daily with rather pricey gauges, turned out the operation unit was reading faulty. Stretched the boat and had to be sent back to manufacturer!

Unsure how best the pleasure user would calibrate their gauge....