12V Air Pumps

[bds85466]

Are there any good recomendations out there? My current 12V (crappy one for air mattresses) won't cut it any more to get my tube up to desired firmness. I'd like to inflate/deflate on the boat since it's far more convenient than bringing out a fully inflated tube. Should I use a hand pump to finish the job?...I'm guessing a few 12V high volume pumps really can't be relied on for good pressure after you've reached a moderate level of inflation. The manual for my tube says you need to give the heavy gauge pvc bladder a good stretch (to fill the liner) for the tube to perform correctly.

 

[Thad]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

Wish I had an answer that you would like. I have been looking for one to do the job for a few years. No luck. My daughters tubes are large and require more psi than I could find. Even with the hand pump.

Friday I solved the problem MY way.
I installed a 500w power inverter and bought a 120v air pump. Used it Saturday to blow up a Big Mable, a two and three person flat tube. The guy at the beach next to me saw the firmness of our tubes and asked...
We added air to his and I am pretty sure by next weekend, he too will have one on his boat.

Bonus to this...I can make Margaritas and Daquiries

 

[bds85466]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

I can see this conversation quickly turning into an enzyte commercial... "this is Thad...before the inverter, he couldn't achieve the firmness he was looking for...Now all his friends are respecting the firmness of his tubes"

Even with a decent hand pump you had trouble acheiving the 'firmness' you'd like? Wow.

A few things:

I looked at a few inverters -- the cheapies like 100W. You'd probably need quite a few more W than that to hook in a 120V compressor pump, right? How much wattage does one of those require? I'm sure your inverter isn't one of those cheapie plug into the cig lighter right? Which one did you get/how much?

I couldn't find a real rating for my tube. A few hand pumps I found said they could carry 14psi, but that still doesn't sound incredible.

I'm not looking to invest too much, so if you could just move to MN and just follow me around the lake, that'd be nice. Daquiries for the ladies? Excellent.

 

[Thad]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

Too D#*" cold up there, my boat has skis, but they are on the inside. I don't think that's gonna help.

And all of the guys DID admire Thad's...
Also, ladies, daquiris on me all day

It is a Trip Lite 500w powerverter. It has three outlets, two fuses, and I believe 750w max surge.(I hope to NEVER test that) And a cooling fan.
It is around $225.00. But shop around, I saw a used one on the net for around $50.00. I also doubt that one that large would even be needed. But I have a bad habit of overdoing things.
I already had 6ga. wire and fuse blocks in place for my amps. So hooking up the inverter for me was only another $26.00 worth of 10ga. power and neg. wire to get from the blocks forward. Another $20.00 for the new air pump at Wallyworld. Another $5.00 for mounting hardware at ACE.
So all told, about $275.00.
As far as what is required from the battery for watts or volts...to be quite honest, I never gave it any thought. I have three failsafes in place on my boat so that I will never be without someway to start my boat. (learned that one the hard way)
I do not see why a 100w with battery clips ( I would not run anything that requires 10 or 12 ga. wire through a 12v dcc outlet with 14 or 16ga. wire feeding it) would not work for an air pump. It most likely would not help with getting the ladies thirst quenched though.

I could not find a psi rating on the box or unit, I looked when I bought it. The box stated it would inflate a queen mattress in 60 sec. I believe it.
I will keep my 12v on the boat for a back-up, but imagine I will never use it again.

As far as mounting and triing to save $$$, you could probably mount one more to the stern, but I would worry about water/moisture.
I also would not think that anything more than 10 or 12 ga. wire would be needed for running just an inverter occasionally.
Mine fit right up under the dash with my amps. Nice and dry and out of the way.

 

[bds85466]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

I saw some that had gator clips on for connecting quickly to the battery -- like 500W for under a hundo. That way you could store it without mounting, or mount it if you wanted to. I'm guessing most electric AC pumps can't be more than a few hundred watts.

I think in terms of getting my tube inflated with all things considered (need something by the 4th weekend) I'm going to buy a hand pump tonight and see if it can satisfy firmness requirements. If not, I think I'll consider the inverter option -- which would pop this post right into SilverTip's forum (hooray!).

 

[Thad]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

I guess you could actually have another option yet. How far from a gas station are you and can you secure a tube to your sun deck? I had bought a couple replacement caps for my tubes. They have a valve stem for compressor inflating. Use a ratchet strap to secure the tube to the boat and off you go.
Next time you're in Illinois, stop by...you can have mine

 

[bds85466]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

good ideas all around. i actually have an apartment on the lake -- the boat is slipped with a land accessible gas station nearby. 19 foot runabout. I guess I'm still too lazy to hassle with a tube between my apt and my boat and keeping it inflated on board. I tend to have a full boat when I go out (man those daquiries would go far for all my guy friends lol) so it would kind of suck to keep it tied down for a full day on the water. I'm really looking to get the on demand inflate and deflate. Thanks for the advice! Next time I'm in IL I'll try to not be killed by your insane drivers!

 

[Thad]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

! Next time I'm in IL I'll try to not be killed by your insane drivers!

I think you have us confused with Wisconsin
Our drivers are not insane, they are just plain nuts!
Stay off of the sidewalks and you'll be ok.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

I use my 12 volt pump as far as it will take the tube and then finish off with a good hand pump. No issues so far.

 

[bds85466]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

I just bought the airhead hand pump at fleet farm last night to try it out. No problems getting it (the tube) up to a good pressure. Problem solved. The 12V will be used to get the thing inflated, and the hand pump to time it to the proper pressure.

 

[Thad]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

Cool!

But will it make daquiris?

Good tubin' and safe boatn'

 

[Tabes117]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

Airhead air pump A+++ I first bought the Airhead pump that plugs into the outlet. I liked it so much I bought the one that clips onto the battery and keep it on the boat. It blew up the kids three person tube on the boat pretty darn quick. Plus it has a red safety valve so don't over inflate.

Here is a link to it at Walmart for $34. If you don't like it you could always return!
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5543947

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: 12V Air Pumps

I bought the cordless rechargeable Coleman for $20 at walmart. It inflates my 2-person tube in less than a minute. No issues, it had plenty of power, plus no cords to drag along.