Air Pumps for Inflatables

[chickendog2010]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

I'm thinking getting another pump like that one. Two of them would speed up the work significantly and propably the pumps would last longer from not overheating. I will go for the cheap one as i can't afford another like that, nearly $400 for blow job!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BobnAbout]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

Here are two other "cheap" Bravo pumps, under $100. They are both from Scorpega, an Italian company that supposedly makes the Bravo line. Does not guarantee they don;t have them made by a company in China. A lot of companies contract work with Hong Kong companies for parts manufacture and assembly. Madein China does not mean bad quality although it is cheaper because of lower labor costs.
http://www.nulime.com/Sea-Eagle-MB100-Large-High-Pressure-Electric-Pump/p196638
http://www.simplyinflatables.com/sea-eagle-mb100-large-high-pressure-electric-pump-mb100

i hope CanadaBob gets $60 worth of confidence in his purchase, but I would bet he just gave someone $60 more profit. I still would like to hear from someone who uses the Bravo pump, is it worth it?

 

[chickendog2010]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

Those pump don't pump up to 11PSI so they won't work for me. I have one of the expensive bravo, it's working good now, but i don't know how long it last. I occasionally open it to spray silicone grease. I noticed the brushes of the motor made of copper, so they probably last for some good time.

 

[canada_bob]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

i hope CanadaBob gets $60 worth of confidence in his purchase, but I would bet he just gave someone $60 more profit. I still would like to hear from someone who uses the Bravo pump, is it worth it?

I hear you re the above, if I lived near to a dealer selling the "Made in China" pumps I might just chance buying one, but although they may offer a warranty it wouldn't be of much use to me here in Canada. The cost of having to ship it back would cost more than the $60 in difference, not to mention the agro that Canada Customs, Broker fee's etc can add to what would already be a rotten situation.

Fair enough I may be padding someone's profits, then again maybe not as much as we might think, but what can we expect of an electric pump that sells for $95/$99 ? one that seems to be a blatant knock off of the Bravo pump.

The Bravo pump and the knock off may even be made in the same factory, but after trying No Name cornflakes that was enough for me...

I'm not against stuff "Made in China" but I also think that for the most part you get what you pay for. The last thing I'd want is to be ready to go fishing only to find that the cheap pump was having an off day.

The same thing could happen to the Bravo, but at least I can get service, repair or replacement from a local Scorpega dealer, even if I haven't bought from them, avoiding paying them the $299+ they are asking here in Canada.

 

[Big Mark]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

I have a 14' inflatable pontoon boat, each tube measures 14' x `9". I purchased a NRS Blast pump and it works just fine. It inflates each tube in about 6-8 minutes, but I always have to top it off with hand pump. It also deflates, which is great when I'm disassembling it. The LVM is said to be better, and even better is the Big Blower Pump. You can see them all here.

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product_list.asp?deptid=1114

Regards,

Mark

 

[canada_bob]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

The Bravo pump just arrived cost me $159 + $20 p&p, add to that $38 Brokerage fees crossing the border and another $31 in Canadian tax etc, but I wouldn't mind all that if it had arrived in good shape

I still get a bit of a buzz when I get a parcel, even though I've sort of sent it to myself, so I was looking forward to seeing what the pump really looked like, not on this occasion though. I don't know what had happened along the way, but the pump was in bad shape and now has to go all the way back to Wisconsin

You guys in the US don't know how lucky you are when it comes to buying stuff like this or most anything else. The prices we pay in the Great White North are often 50% more, and that's when the product is on the shelf, but that itself can be a rarity. We have to scour the www to find what we want in the US, then the fun begins

It's bad enough to pay for "International" shipping, not to mention being "dipped in it" at the Border for "Brokerage Fee's" these guys must be making more per minute than I ever made per hour, to add insult to injury we have to pay duties and tax to bring it into Canada.

To add to the misery I now have to pay to ship the pump back, no doubt incurring the glee of the Brokerage guy again, he'll be happy to see it cross the border 3 times

At least Waypoint Enterprise were decent about the situation after I sent them photo's of what I received, that was the only bright spot.

 

[chickendog2010]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

My Scoprega Bravo 11PSI pump just failed yesterday. I have had like 5 uses of it so far in this summer, each roughly about 10 minutes. Opening it showed that brass shafts the hold the plastic gears which move the pistons both broken.

They use a bigger motor than the 4.4 PSI version,(i have both) without considering changing the shafts as well. Now i hope west marine would help out because sending it back to Italy is like sending it into the infinity.

 

[stevetedder]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

Forget those expensive air pumps, get a $20 12v coleman brand. Mine has lasted 4 yrs so far and blow up anything I need and is small to store.

 

[canada_bob]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

My Scoprega Bravo 11PSI pump just failed yesterday. I have had like 5 uses of it so far in this summer, each roughly about 10 minutes. Opening it showed that brass shafts the hold the plastic gears which move the pistons both broken. They use a bigger motor than the 4.4 PSI version,(i have both) without considering changing the shafts as well. Now i hope west marine would help out because sending it back to Italy is like sending it into the infinity.

Bad news above, I hope that the replacement I got {for the one that looked like a refurb} gives better service than that. Your pump should still be under warranty hey ? if so it should be covered by West Marine ? we don't need to send our TV's or cars back to Japan, thankfully, anyway good luck with it, keep us posted.

 

[canada_bob]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

Forget those expensive air pumps, get a $20 12v coleman brand. Mine has lasted 4 yrs so far and blow up anything I need and is small to store.

Depends on the pressure you need in a tube Steve, some boats need way more than the pressure the cheap pumps put out, I know you can finish off with a decent hand pump, but few of them can put 11lbs out and that's what I need for the deck.

 

[chickendog2010]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

Ok i just found out i haven't been using the pump correctly. I have been using the Halkey-Robert header to fill the tubes and floor with valve open then close it and top them off with high pressure pump. Pumping with the valve close put additional pressure on the pump. (but I still think they shouldn' have use the brass shafts, they are the weakest point of the pump)

The right way to do it is to use one of the headers like in this picture, one with the bar inside...

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1707.1

..which hold the valve down during the pumping process and close when unplug.
Pumping is a lot faster now, sigh*. I never really figured out why there was a bar in there, now i know.

 

[Sea-cation]

Re: Air Pumps for Inflatables

Have tried all of the above.
Best in my opinion is any small rechargeable portable electric leaf blower, by Black and Decker, Ryobi, etc. They push lots of air fast and are relatively quiet. You can use the batts in your other tools. I can fill my 14' in about 7 minutes, then top up with a hand pump. Just have to change the air outlet on these machines to match your fittings.