12V inflatable pumps!

I find a good stirrup pump does wonders.

I focus on somebody I really dislike and then pump all my anger away.

The boats gets inflated, I get fit and my foe never realises how much I dislike them :p
 
I use a cheap pump which gets the dinghy into shape, but won't get the pressure required. About a dozen strokes with the handpump gets each chamber up to pressureand warms me up ready to start rowing. My Honda CR-V was chosen as it carries the dinghy and all my kit in the boot and has a 12V socket for the pump. By the time I've unloaded everything, the dinghy is ready for the final pumping.

I considered getting an expensive pump, but what I have works for me.

Rob.
 
Zagato,

be careful with high power ( LVM ) dinghy pumps; they have to be attached directly to the battery with croc' clips, NOT via a cigarette lighter socket on the switch panel.

I was once on a boat on fire for this reason, as all the wiring burnt out leaving us with an ' interesting moment ' - the owner, who'd fitted out the boat, was a ' professional electrician ' ! :rolleyes:
 
I have a Bravo super turbo. It pumps up my airdeck with ease.

However, they draw a lot of current. I have a 30A socket specially for it.

By the time I have got the pump out from its bag, plugged it in and pumped the dinghy up I have saved myself at least two minutes over doing it with a foot pump. :confused:
 
This type of thing:
3406199_R_Z001A_UC135307


Does not burn out the wiring, works even if the battery is flat AND can be taken with you in the dink in case it's needed
 
I bought a 2nd hand 12V vac. on eBay about 10 years ago. It is still working and blows the dinghy up in 2-3 minutes. However, I need 12 strokes on manual pump to finish.

Not bad for £10 and perfectly acceptable. Always look at the Amp. draw in spec. and don't bother with anything under 10A. Mine pulls 13A and works on car socket. Inflation speed relates fairly well to Amperage and higher is better. As mentioned, above 15A you need to connect directly to battery (on install a special socket).

Very useful piece of kit but Amps, Amps, Amps. Don't waste money on pathetic lightweight kit. The item OP mentioned says 300 litres/minute. An Avon 280 must need 2,800-3,00 litres and would easily take 10 minutes to just get into shape and another 5-10 minutes to get a bit of pressure.

I zoomed in to see that Ad. pic. said 40W, about 3.3A so I'd expect mine to inflate at least 4x quicker.
 
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I was lucky enough to get one of the LVM expensive pumps for very little money on eBay. It was second hand and the owner didn't describe it very well so other bidders probably didn't find it.

Haven't used it on a dinghy yet, but it certainly seems convincing when you turn it on! A powerful blast of air completely different to the cheapo electric pumps.

I'm going to run a special circuit for it with a socket on the foredeck (probably inside the anchor locker). I'll put matching plugs on the searchlight and anchor light while I'm at it (though of course these don't need the same power).

Pete
 
Thanks for the feedback, it's a bit more involved than I thought. Luckily my batteries are just inside the cockpit locker so easy to get at and I can use the car battery at the other end :) I was thinking of using the 12V cigarette type sockets at both ends though :eek:
 
I have an LVM (came with the boat) and a Coleman £10 job.

The LVM pumps at a much higher pressure, so it only needs a few strokes from a manual pump to finish off. But it's hellish noisy, uses loads of power, and has a tendency to blow fuses.

The Coleman can be used in any 12v plug (including the car), can be used without running the boat's engine, never blows fuses, and is far quieter. It takes about the same time to pump up the dinghy, but you need about twice as much manual pumping to finish it off (i.e. 20 strokes rather than 10).

I hardly ever use the LVM- generally only if I've left the Coleman at home.
If it hadn't come with the boat, I wouldn't miss it at all. The way I see it, if you're willing to spend £60 extra to save ten strokes of a pump, then you must value your time exceedingly highly indeed!

One other advantage with the cheaper pump- it has an outlet hose which lets you hook it up, and then get on with something else for the two minutes it takes for the dinghy to inflate.

This is all based on blowing up an Avon Redcrest- maybe a bigger dinghy or an airdeck benefits from the LVM's extra output?
 
I have the same pump as Dylan's link.

I've used it regularly for about 5 years, about 18 months ago the trigger mechanism broke into pieces, I think it was a very cold day and the plastic was very brittle. Spares not available BUT, I mended it for free using half of a wooden clothes peg!

I inflate the dinghy on land using the car battery but on the boat I have a twin cable with crocodile clips at one end to connect to the boat battery and two bolts mounted on a board at the other end to enable the croc clips on the pump to connect. It works well, but be careful not to drop it over the side if connected to the battery!!

All in all I'm very satisfied and it makes short work of inflating the dinghy

JuSw
 
I use a coleman hand operated stirrup pump
It has the advantage over foot pumps that if inflating on deck on the boat it does not keep slipping away all over the place & pumps a lot of air per stroke
Do not need an electric pump
 
The real advantage of an electric pump for me is for deflating the dinghy. But it is very quick at inflating too.
 
Zagato said:
Argos £10 pumps to £120 Bravo pumps. Any suggestions, I've no need for something powerful for an airdeck.
Would this be any good for an old Avon R280
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3401778/Trail/searchtext>ELECTRIC+PUMP.htm
What do you use?
Click to expand...

Our objective was to spend minimum time between parking the car and being on the water at the various locations we use the dinghy (a 3m Avon with airdeck and 'keel'). We use the Bravo (£120) solution which allows the various different pressures to be set and pumping to complete automatically at the correct pressure for each cavity. About 15 mins is 'par'. We use croc clips on the car battery - keeping the engine running (having first sought advice from the pump manufacturer that this was OK to do).
However when on board, it usually falls to the crew (who 'need the experience') to pump up by foot in easy time long before the dinghy is needed for duty (i.e. no time pressure).
If the cost is not a problem, buy the Bravo but carry the footpump everywhere.
Cheers Bob
 
Got a 12v inflator from Aldi a few years ago, brillinant and cost about £8, IIRC. They stock them every year so will come around again. Not dissimilar from LVM to look at, obviously not same but against £80......
 
I have seen people use cheap electric pumps and if I start inflating my dinghy at the same time with a foot pump I'm normally finished by the time they have done one tube. I also have the LVM on board which is good but noisy. Foot pump gives the crew something to do !
 
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