Easy way to pump your toobs

[neil.mccrirrick]

Hope this is of some use to you all as the weather goes from hot to cold and toobs are up and down.

This saves all the work on the foot pump, albeit its a dear way of doing it if you don't need an air tank for something else, (like diving :-) )

Valve is an AP valve suit inflator valve, any dive shop should stock them, likely cost £10 up.

Piece of hosepipe, no cost. (this will normally fit straight onto the toob valve).

If you don't want to bend over, bit of duct tape to make a seal and attach it to your foot pump hose.

Connnect to a dive regulator, (Ebay next to nothing, it doesn't need to be anything fancy, you're not breathing off it).

Press the button, toob goes up. Flow rate is easily controlled, you are in no danger of a fast fill, the scuba valve brings the pressure way down to breathing levels.

Tank fill £3, biggest cost here is buying a tank, if this is all you need it for.

[willk]

Originally Posted by neil.mccrirrick

the scuba valve brings the pressure way down to breathing levels.

It's an interesting system - a couple of quid gets you a tyre inflator that fits on the same setup. However a word of caution - the pressure in that system (Intermediate Stage) will be between 8 - 13 BAR, easily enough to blow a tube to hell and beyond if your overpressure valves fail to release.

[cyberstoker]

Unless of course one happens on a first stage+High Pressure hose combination & start inflating at 200Bar!

Joking aside, it's a neat idea and it wouldn't be too hard to incorporate a simple overpressure release to avoid popping the tubes.

Martin

[m chappelow]

Neil I am not picking at your idea, but for those who might see an idea in using other types of gas bottle inflation ie beer co2 cylinders,, go carefull if filling from a total deflate ,though with partialey filled tubes its not too bad ,most inflatables using quick inflate systems ie fire service ,sbs military ,liferafts ,have a diffuser on the inlet otherwise the gas can blow a seam or even a hole before the tube starts to inflate , self righting bags on rnli atlantics had problems whilst in development ,with some gasses ,ice pellets form that come out like bullets ,

[BogMonster]

Surely you'd have to be really cack handed to explode a tube? (yes, says he who had two ... but that wasn't due to inflation technique!)

When I was faffing with fitting my sausage inner tubes I used the garage compressor at 10 bar and the amount of air that goes in through the valve is not so great that it suddenly goes way over the pressure, you blow it up till the tube goes firm and then take it easy from then on - not that difficult.

[neil.mccrirrick]

It really is easy to control, bear in mind that the valve is a suit inflator valve for a dry suit. Its not delivering air quickly at all, if it did you would over inflate a dry suit, and that,underwater would have serious consequences.

You can rest one hand on the toob, while pressing the button with the other. As it gets harder press and release til you get the pressure you want.

The connection to the toob is push fit, as its the same connection if you were filling with a foot pump, if something goes wrong, i.e. the valve sticks open, just pull it off, problem solved.

[Ian M]

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Surely you'd have to be really cack handed to explode a tube? (yes, says he who had two ... but that wasn't due to inflation technique!)

When I was faffing with fitting my sausage inner tubes I used the garage compressor at 10 bar and the amount of air that goes in through the valve is not so great that it suddenly goes way over the pressure, you blow it up till the tube goes firm and then take it easy from then on - not that difficult.

I agree. In fact, whilst not recommending it, we used to occassionally inflate the dive club SIBs directly from dive cylinders, just using a piece of tubing held against the pillar valve, and pushed into the valves of the SIB. As I said, not recommending it, but................

[willk]

There's nothing wrong (and lots right) with this system. My point was simply that there are fairly serious forces involved in the potential pressure inherent with this rig. I use it to put 48psi in the 110's tyres. Unlike the other fortunates on here, I HAVE seen a complete numpty blow the inflatable keel out of a Lifeguard SIB using this technique (while he was standing on it ) which was quite exciting - big bang!
So yes, batter away, just be aware it works very quickly.

[Jelly]

~Once watched an HSE Dive instructor blow the tube on an 18" flubber
it was noisy and a while to fix!

[jyasaki]

My buddy uses one of the bendy rubber air nozzles (the kind you bend to deliver air) with a hose protector as an adaptor to his valves (he's got a Zodiac.) Same quick disconnect fitting to go to a drysuit hose. Fills faster than through a drysuit inflation valve, I think.

jky