Inflation Pump

[Chris]

I am looking for a 12V pump to inflate the small tender that I am going to carry on board when cruising. THere are a number of people selling these BESTWAY Sidewinder Pumps like the one below however I am unsure as to whether its up to the job?

Rule have just brought one out that is definately upto the job but at £75

The one below is £8.00

http://www.atthebottomofthegarden.co...de=ATB%2062059

Chris

[springtide66]

For what you want to use it for, i think it would be fine!

[JABS]

They have some at Costco at the moment. They run on 240 and 12v.

I can't remember the price but they were substantial items.

I will check the price next time I go.

Tony

[Nasher]

Be careful as I brought a 12V pump from a garage once for @£10. can't remember the brand.

It made loads of noise and took nearly 20 mins to pump up an airbed.

Nasher.

[codprawn]

Those turbine style pumps are great but you will need a hand pump to finish off. The best type are the stirrup type pumps - they are much cheaper in camping type places than in chandlers!!!

[Peter J]

This is what I use: http://www.poolstore.co.uk/ishop/691/shopscr452.html

This is my website. I know you are not supposed to sell your own products on here so I won't be offended if you remove this, JK. It is a very good pump though and being rechargeable battery operated is a great help.

[neilb]

I have just purchased a rechargeable one from Argos

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/3671151.htm

Save running wires around the boat and works great. No need to finish off with a hand pump and fills up my 6ft ringo in a few mimutes. If it doesn't work as expected then you can just take it back for a refund within 14 days.

Neil

[prairie tuber]

Try to get the specs on the pumps you are considering in terms of liters/minute, maximum pressure, current draw and power in watts. There are some of the really expensive pumps where you can preset an auto shut off at a certain pressure (Bravo 12 and Bravo turbomax air station).

As a general rule, it is more difficult and costly to get a high output pump that runs on 12 volts than on 120 or 220 volts. As for 12 volt pumps, the ones with any substantial current draw need to be clipped directly to the car battery rather than the cigarette lighter.

The bravo turbomax seems like a fantastic 12 volt pump (1000 liters/minute, up to 4.5 psi with preset auto shut off - description here: http://www.bravo-pumpar.se/skikart.htm ), but it's crazy expensive and nobody in North America seems to carry them.

What I ended up purchasing is a high volume reasonably high pressure (3.0 psi) 120 volt pump (220 volt versions are no doubt available) and picking up a 1000 watt DC-AC inverter that I hook up to a spare battery I had.

Here is a link to the pump I purchased: http://www.sportsstuff.com/dyn_prod....6e951ea8db31f5 I paid $ 75 CDN for it (approx 35-40 British pounds).

I'm not certain of the exact amount, but I believe it pumps at a rate of about 1500 liters/minute. It will blow up my 4.2 m Zodiac SIB from completely flat to 3.0 psi in less than 2 minutes (will time it next time). From there I top off the pressure to 3.4 psi with a foot pump. The pump puts out 917 watts and draws 7.8 amps @120 volts.

Having the inverter and extra battery will also be handy if I want to use power tools in locations where I might not have access to a wall outlet. I also don't have to worry about draining/damaging my truck's battery since I run the exta battery & inverter separately and simply trickle charge it between uses. I will eventually pickup a deep cycle dry cell or gel cell battery to use with the inverter.

[JABS]

Originally Posted by JABS

They have some at Costco at the moment. They run on 240 and 12v.

I can't remember the price but they were substantial items.

I will check the price next time I go.

Tony

Twenty quid at Costco. 500 litres a minute at 0.83 bar.

Make is Intex and model is quick fill.

http://www.intexspares.co.uk/products.asp?cat=11

[bedajim]

Originally Posted by JABS

Twenty quid at Costco. 500 litres a minute at 0.83 bar.

Make is Intex and model is quick fill.

http://www.intexspares.co.uk/products.asp?cat=11

Don't Costco also give 3 year guarantee

[Nos4r2]

If the costco one will pump to .83 bar won't you need to keep an eye on it or get a pressure gauge inline? That's nearly double normal tube pressure.

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by JABS

Twenty quid at Costco. 500 litres a minute at 0.83 bar.

Make is Intex and model is quick fill.

http://www.intexspares.co.uk/products.asp?cat=11

Where did you get those numbers? I tried to find this on the web but couldn't come up with any info. So I called Intex Corp directly and they told me that they don't rate their air flow or max pressure, simply that @ 120 volts it puts out 222 watts and draws 1.85 amps.

.83 bar is 12.03 psi - there is no way in the world that a 222 watt air pump is going to flow 500 litres/minute up to 12 psi !!!

[JABS]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Where did you get those numbers? I tried to find this on the web but couldn't come up with any info. So I called Intex Corp directly and they told me that they don't rate their air flow or max pressure, simply that @ 120 volts it puts out 222 watts and draws 1.85 amps.

.83 bar is 12.03 psi - there is no way in the world that a 222 watt air pump is going to flow 500 litres/minute up to 12 psi !!!

Off the box!! In the store!

I am sure the flow quoted is at zero pressure! I expect that at 0.8 bar, the flow is very low.

Yes, it is too much for the tubes and will need watching!

[prairie tuber]

Interesting. How've you found it so far for inflating your boat? How much pressure do you put into your tubes? Do you see the needle of the pressure gauge continue to rise rapidly as you get near that max pressure?

[JABS]

I think we are getting carried away here. I haven't bought one yet, just saw it and thought it would do the job.

There is no pressure gauge.

Not sure about Costco and a three year guarantee.

Tony

[bedajim]

Originally Posted by JABS

I think we are getting carried away here. I haven't bought one yet, just saw it and thought it would do the job.

There is no pressure gauge.

Not sure about Costco and a three year guarantee.

Tony

They offer a 3 year guarantee on lots of stuff

They also do a great general purpose cleaner clear 5 l bottle with a 1 l hand spray attached green liquid like TFR but better fantastic for tubes etc but my local one has not had any recently.

I've got a LVM inflator from JGTECH looks the dogs but not tried it yet


James

[BumbleAbout]

I use an LVM on the SIB - very pleased with it for both inflation and deflation (although it is very loud and more comfortable to use foam ear plugs when you are using it !).

I seem to remember that the LVM goes up to about 3psi and you will need a manual pump to go any higher (11psi on an air floor for example) - I haven't used a pressure gauge to back that up yet.

[prairie tuber]

Here's a link to info on some of the electric pumps by Bravo. By the way 'turbomax' model only inflates to 3.6 psi (not the 4.5 psi I stated earlier), which is still adequate for most SIBs with hard floors.

http://www.bravo-pumpar.se/AF.html

[mcinfantry]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Here's a link to info on some of the electric pumps by Bravo. By the way 'turbomax' model only inflates to 3.6 psi (not the 4.5 psi I stated earlier), which is still adequate for most SIBs with hard floors.

http://www.bravo-pumpar.se/AF.html

im running a turbomax on my searider. it will pump the WHOLE boat up from ZERO in a few minutes. i can time it, if someone wants.....

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

The bravo turbomax seems like a fantastic 12 volt pump (1000 liters/minute, up to 4.5 psi with preset auto shut off - description here: http://www.bravo-pumpar.se/skikart.htm ), but it's crazy expensive and nobody in North America seems to carry them.

PT;

West Marine actually carries them; not much more expensive than the other few places I've found that have them.

jky