Correct inflation pressure

lightning · 03 February 2012, 17:42

I previously had a Rule high speed pump for my Zodiac SIB. It seemed to pump the boat up hard enough but the wooden floor did bang about a bit in rougher waters.
It did not have a pressure gauge but the handbook advised that it would achieve "2.5-3 psi"

I've just tried my new Bravo BTP12 which has a two stage pump, with a digital pressure readout.
Compared to before, the boat seems much more solid. Although the Bravo is slower, taking maybe twice as long to inflate it.
The handbook for the boat states that it should be pumped up to 3.4psi. I wonder what pressure I was running before.

Lincoln Charlie · 20 February 2012, 18:17

I know precisely what you mean. I have a Zodiac FC-470. I have been wanting to purchase the BST12 for some time now but haven't had the spare funds to do so. Instead I have been using a hand pump (very physically demanding) to pump it up until it's rock solid. Proper inflation is key and I would love to see the difference in performance when inflated to its precise requirements. What model Zodiac do you have?

lightning · 21 February 2012, 07:26

My boat is just the little 2.85m Zodiac (285s)

The Bravo pump is a fairly expensive item, but worth saving up for. They do a cheaper version with a pressure gauge instead of a digital readout, which works just as well.

Lincoln Charlie · 01 March 2012, 16:24

I got lucky on eBay. Got a Bravo BST12 HPP for $80! Talk about a steal. Supposed to be arriving tomorrow. I'm anxious to hook it up and see exactly what 240mb/3.5psi looks like.

I'm curious though and I'll have to look into this, but I've seen people say not to inflate to the max pressure. Haven't figured out yet if they saying to not run the pump to the max pressure but to finish by hand. Or if they're saying to simply not inflate to the full pressure. That doesn't make sense to me though. Especially as the FC series are designed to be inflated via compressed air tank and the excess pressure is released through over inflation valves.

Either way I'm going to set my pump to 3.5psi and let it go. Ideally I'll take it out on the water tomorrow too. We'll see!

NWC100 · 01 March 2012, 16:41

Thats mine pumped up this afternoon in my garden! I used my bravo10 and set it on the pressure marked on each valve 3.4psi for main tubes and 11.4psi on the airdeck, the bravo shuts off when its at the right pressure and I checked it with the little zodiac pressure gauge and all looked good. The best thing about the bravo by far though is the ability to suck the air out of it, it would be pretty hard to fold it otherwise especially on a coldish day like today.

Nick

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Lincoln Charlie · 01 March 2012, 16:53

Looks great! Good to know about the pressure readings being the same too. Do you notice a difference in the precise pressure amount opposed to manually inflating until it feels hard?

viking61 · 01 March 2012, 17:57

Those Bravo pumps are great , a word of warning though. Be very carefull when using them to deflate as they suck in any grit or sand thats around , then they die. If i still needed one ( sold my Honwav to make way for RC ) then I would carry the stirrup pump for deflating , leave the Bravo in the car when inflating and get a longer tube , that way it can't get dirty and die !

Lincoln Charlie · 01 March 2012, 18:18

Thanks for the heads up!

Max... · 02 March 2012, 09:12

What you must never do is inflate one tube to full pressure while the adjoining tube is empty - that will put huge pressure on the baffles. You need to go round and inflate each tube in turn to 1/2 pressure first then finish each one to full in turn.

Lincoln Charlie · 02 March 2012, 21:31

The FC-470 has intercommunicating valves as it is designed to be filled up by a compressed air tank. So you can set all valves to the inflate position and fill each chamber up simultaneously. That's the good thing here.

The bad thing is that this pump (bought used from eBay) was only running about 5mins before it started to produce smoke and subsequently shut off. Never to turn on again...

Sometimes in an effort to save money, you lose money.

NWC100 · 03 March 2012, 16:20

That's what's happened to my zodiac, when you pump it up the front and one of the sides go up together, you can hear the air whistling between the two tubes, it states quite clearly in the manual to do each tube to 50% and then finish them off.

First is air floor and then main tubes. It will only make a difference if it deflates in the water, but I guess its a smallish leak so should give me just enough time to abandon ship

Nick

BrAinZ · 10 March 2012, 08:37

What order would everyone recommend blowing up the tubes/hull/air floor?

I saw a video on YouTube that showed nose first, then sides, then hull, then air deck last. Last post sounds like the other way round.

NWC100 · 10 March 2012, 20:29

I'm pretty certain that's what the zodiac manual said, airfloor first then 50% in each then top up, one of the baffles has gone in mine and you can hear a distinct "leak" as the air moves between the two tubes bit once at 100% it stops and is quiet again.

Nick

Lincoln Charlie · 03 April 2012, 04:13

On my FC-470 I can open all valves to the (intercommunicating) inflation position and then pump to capacity which is 240 mbars or 3.4psi.

I am friends with the South Eastern US Regional Manager for Zodiac Mil-Pro and he told me these things are built so well that I could inflate it up to 14psi and the seams still wouldn't separate but that the over pressure valves would expel all excess buildup. Very impressive. Nice to know the FC class of their inflatables are made to such rigorous standards.

Bighag7 · 07 April 2012, 09:45

Guys,
I use F470 for work in the Marines. We use either a "spider" system with compressed air and keep it going until the pressure release valves operate, or we use a more high tech solution when we cant get our bottles recharged by the lazy Matelots..... an old Henry hoover set to reverse!! Amazingly, it works a treat although we can't get it to blow the relesae valves it does get adequately inflated. If you get the correct pressure, you'll know about it because it becomes a fantastic handling craft on the water.

Lincoln Charlie · 09 April 2012, 15:09

Very cool. I plan on getting the rapid inflation system for mine in the near future as well. Without a doubt correct pressure/inflation is of the utmost for proper handling. Mine performs remarkably -> now that it's properly inflated.

I'm curious; with yours do you use the roll-up or hard deck flooring system? Or have you used both? I'd like to hear a comparison between the two.

Bighag7 · 09 April 2012, 17:04

Hi Mate,
We use the roll up deck because we have to roll them quite often for caching or lobbing out the back of Chinnooks. Very little difference in handling since there's a trade off on weight however the hard deck copes better in big surf since it helps us power through the waves although there's another trade off in as much that the roll up deck flexes more when you're going with the surf.We stick to the roll up.
Additionally, the hard deck floor is a major pain in the arse to set up!!!!
A big point of contention for us is dragging them about and I've tried turning the MOD on to the joys of transom wheels to no avail. Dragging one of these babies about with 4 fuel bladders, a 50 Tohatsu, all our kit plus boat spares between 2 guys is no joke.
We all have knackered backs and knees. The annoying part is that the transom has the pre-placed holes already for the wheels!!!!

Lincoln Charlie · 09 April 2012, 18:08

I appreciate the response Bighag7, I'm actually quite surprised they expect just two men to carry one of a fully loaded F470 by themselves. 6 men would make light work of it. Anyways, thanks for the good description of the different types of response experienced between the two floor systems in different conditions. Good luck out there and be well.