Mailspeed dinghy problem ?

bobgosling

bobgosling

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Just wanted to check I'm not being totally stupid before contacting the manufacturer.

I bought a mailspeed marine 2.4 airdeck dinghy and tried it out this weekend. Lovely dinghy but I'm having a bit of a problem inflating it. The valves have a plug which you insert and twist. By the time I have removed the pump from the hole and fumbled the plug into it I have lost a significant amount of air and the tube is no longer rigid. I would have assumed that the valves would be one-way types with a button to expel air when deflating. Have I got dodgy valves or is there a knack to this ? ( Eventually got a passable rigidity by using two people, one to remove pump and one to insert plug - but this isn't ideal ! ). If this is normal is it possible to buy some sort of adaptor to make it a one-way valve ?
 
Sounds like you have the valves in the open/deflation position: just turn the centre bit of the valve 90 degrees or so (can't remember which way) with your thumb and it should spring shut.

That said, the Halkey-Roberts type valve adaptor does hold the valve open during inflation, so you do lose a bit of air while getting the adaptor out, but the valve should then be sealed even before you insert the valve cap.
 
There are probably 2 positions on the inside of the valve. One is with the centre piece of the valve down and one is up. Give the centre piece a quarter turn to change. To inflate, the centre piece needs to be up. To deflate , down. The turn is easy and does not require to be forced at all!
Good luck
 
Bob - the valves should already be the 1 way valves - the footpump should force the air past them and then they automatically seal - the cap just finishes it all off.

We've got a cheapo electric inflator but I cannot get it to inflate the tender through the spring closed valves - so I lock them open, put most of the air in, close the valves and finish off with the footpump ..
 
What has been said is correct, you should have the valves in the up position, in the twisted and down it is as you have found open and you loose all the air pressure when you stop pumping.

The foot pump should push air past the valve even when in the up position.

Some power air-pumps will not push past the valve in the 'up' closed position. Solution, is simple.

If you are like us and have the 'american' power pump, the orange one, look into the tube and there is a bar going across the entrance an inch or so down, not high enough to push the valve in. Open and close a split pin over this bar, so the round end of the split pin is sticking up in the pipe, thus extending the bar toward the front of the pipe, thus pushing on the valve when you push it into the valve part on the dinghy.

If you wanted to be swanky, you can glue a piece of plastic to this bar to extend it.

No bar? Drill a small hole from side to side of the end of the filler pipe, a couple of mm back. Fit a pin and make sure it not extend out the sides of the pipe and damage the valve fitting, think the pin holding the roller onto your log paddle wheel.

hope this helps. Simple really.
 
I have one of these - if you are going to use the foot pump turn and lock the values down to ease the initial inflation. Once the tubes have some "form" to them then remove the pump and turn the valves back to the closed position and continue inflating - you lose a little air but doesn't half mike life easier.
 
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