Is this a crazy idea???

[eavega]

We came across this inflatable "Floating Island" at Sams Club this spring. This thing is HUGE. it has one section that seats 4 adults, plus another section that is a big double lounger. Its about 12 ft x 15 ft when inflated. This thing is perfect for us so people waiting to ski or go tubing don't have to ride in the boat (additional weight) and I don't have to beach the boat to let people on or off. The only problem is that this thing takes a half hour to blow up on the little 12 V inflator that I normally use to blow up the tubes. I figure that I will either 1. burn out the inflator after a couple of trips, or 2. wear down the battery by running the inflator for a half hour (yes, I know I can just leave the boat idling so that the alternator can keep supplying the power, but again, I would have to do that for a half hour, burning fuel the whole time). I have come up with a third solution, and was hoping for some opinions on an idea I had.
The packaging on the "island" mentions to use a "Vacuum with a reverse setting" to blow it up. The only one I have like that is my shop vac, which will double as a blower when the motor/fan is removed from the bucket. Along those lines, I thought I could find a gas-powered leaf blower and step down the nozzle to fit the inflator valve on the island. I figure even a small (28 cc) blower would generate enough wind to blow that island up in a matter of minutes. Any opinions on whether this will work, and would it be safe to take a gas-powered leaf blower with me on the boat? The blower would not stay in the boat. I would just leave it on shore after blowing up the island (and any other inflatables).

Am I just talking crazy here?

Rgds

 

[NewfieDan]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Would a leaf blower give you too much air too quickly? It would really suck to overfill it and end up with a leak. The shop vac might be your best solution.

 

[eavega]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Would a leaf blower give you too much air too quickly? It would really suck to overfill it and end up with a leak. The shop vac might be your best solution.

.

Unfortunately there is no place to plug in a 120V shop vac on one of the islands in the middle of the lake . I tested it with my shop vac, and it worked just fine. I was trying to see if anyone had any insight of a gas-powered leaf blower versus a shop vac in terms of power.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

they make a battery powered leaf blower i think its a makita.

 

[lamphega]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

I have a craftsman 19.2 volt leaf blower and have used it to blow up beach items. You have to watch closely as it is quick. I actually got the blower free when I bought a trimmer, never thought I needed a blower but boy have I found some good uses for it.

 

[eavega]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Those battery powered blowers are pricey new and hard to find used in working condition. I can pick up a used gas powered leaf blower in working condition for $20 on CL. Maybe I can cut vents in the nozzle to prevent over pressure?

 

[John3]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Google 12 Volt Inflator Deflator. There's a ton of, high volume/low pressure, stuff made to do the job relativly well. You want a power deflator to suck all the air out, otherwise you'll have a mess trying to deflate it down to a managable size when it's time to packup and go home. Get one that fits the inlet port on the inflatable. You should be able to gauge when it's properly inflated by "feel", sort of like a baloon. Also like a baloon, with that size and shape even a low pressure air pump could over inflate it. I assume it's unsupported vinyl (As opposed to something like Urethane coated nylon) so it punctures easily. You want to be able to keep it inflated when you're out using it. You may also want to have a high volume hand pump if you're going to beach it or use it as an anchored swim platform.
Also regarding leaks, a small puncture in vinyl can usually be fixed with a repair kit. Tears are something else, try not to tear it.
By the way, it's an inflatable, not a blowupable. So when you put air in it, Inflate it, but please be careful and don't "Blow It Up"

 

[bekosh]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Unfortunately there is no place to plug in a 120V shop vac on one of the islands in the middle of the lake .

If you need 120v power, it sounds like you have a good excuse to upgrade to a boat with a generator. :lol:

 

[Jonnybbad]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

One vote for crazy! I will say it is a very nice thought though. :wacko: I can just see all the leaky holes and patches on that baby from way over here.

 

[matt167]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

I got a 12v auto shop vac from Family Dollar about a year ago. It doubles as an inflator and cost $20

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

I think your idea will work. Some leaf blowers exhaust through the blower itself and others don't. I'd want one that did didn't exhaust into the blower output so as not to fill up the island with oily crap.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

All sounds pretty complicated. Each of my 4.3's burns 1 gallon of fuel per hour at idle, verified with a V-P scan tool. Idling your boat for a half hour to keep the battery charged will use about nothing...

My .02

 

[eavega]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Okay, so according to the specs on the raft, it is approximately 360 Cubic Feet ( 188" x 112" x 26"). Given that the best 12 V pump I have found does about 20 CFM keeps me at the 20 minute range to inflate the island. The specs on the leaf blower is 300 CFM at full throttle, so even giving it full throttle, it will still take over a minute to fill. I am leaning towards at least trying to see how it will work. I've already got the right nozzle to fit the valves on the raft, so its just a matter of minding the speed and pressure. Good call on the exhaust, I'll check to see how the exhaust is being vented.

Its not so much about the fuel, its about running the 12 V pump for a half hour to inflate the thing, all the while listening to kids saying "can I get up on it yet?", "Can we go skiing already?", "When are we going to be able to ride the tube?" etc. etc.

 

[Lurch77]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Don't be afraid to use a blower to inflate it. You are not going to blow holes in it. Just use your head and stop when it is done.

 

[eavega]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

So, I've had partial success. I picked up a used Homelite leaf blower on eBay for $15, and got the nozzle stepped down to where it fits the boston valve on the island. The good news is that the leaf blower works like a champ to inflate these inflatables! It will inflate the big island in less than 3 minutes. The neat thing to note is that while a leaf blower puts out a lot of volume (300 CFM per the specs on this blower), it doesn't put out a lot of pressure, so it will not over-pressure any of my inflatables. This will definitely work for quick inflation where there is no power.

Now for the bad part; Just like embozee suggested, my $15 leaf blower vents the exhaust into the air tube, so I can see that eventually I will fill up the insides of my inflatables with black nasty carp. Since the leaf blower is purchased at this point and the concept is proven to work, I am thinking I will re-route the exhaust out of the tube. The exhaust comes out of the muffler on a straight 1/4" pipe right into where the blower tube starts, so I figure I can add an additional a few additional inches of tubing and route it either straight across and out of the blower tube, or possibly just spin the exhaust around and rout it out the other way. My only concern would be if the exhaust gasses end up near the air intake, it would tend to suck in exhaust and choke out the motor.

Once I have the exhaust problem resolved, I will have my two-stroke portable power inflator.

Rgds

 

[Piratehooker]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

I see no issue with this method. Great thinking and glad it worked out.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

As I was reading your post, I knew we were in trouble at "Homelite" as that's the kind I had that vented into the exhaust. On the cheaper end, I know most Craftsmans do not. My newer Echo doesn't either.

 

[eavega]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

So, employing the KISS method, I analyzed the setup and rather than getting all fancy with routing the exhaust through the blower tube to the other side, I spun the muffler/exhaust outlet around, reattached, and put a bolt with two washers through the opening into the air tube to close it up. Done. No more exhaust in the blower tube, just have to watch that you don't touch the exhaust pipe when the motor is running.

Tested the whole setup again, and worked like a champ. Inflated the big island in about 3 minutes. No overpressure.

I think I'll start marketing these things as "high volume gas-powered inflators". You heard it here first!

-E

 

[dls322]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Glad it worked for you.

Couldn't you have just picked up a power inverter to run off your batteries to power the electric leaf blower or shop vac? Seems like it would have been easier. i run one to power a small shop vac that i use to vacuum out the boat, since there in no electric at the dock, works great for me.

 

[eavega]

Re: Is this a crazy idea???

Couldn't you have just picked up a power inverter to run off your batteries to power the electric leaf blower or shop vac? Seems like it would have been easier. i run one to power a small shop vac that i use to vacuum out the boat, since there in no electric at the dock, works great for me.

Sure, I could have, but I saw a couple of drawbacks to using an electric appliance; first off, my shop vac is a high amperage draw device. An appropriate inverter was going to be prohibitively expensive in order to run my shop vac. Ditto buying a smaller shop vac. Also, using a plug-in device on the water didn't really appeal to me.

I considered the battery-powered blower which would've been an ideal solution, but there were two issues; run time on a battery powered vac/blower, and finding one reasonably priced. The gas-powered leaf blower I picked up for $15. If I would've been patient, I am sure I could've gotten one for free (lots of folks have a non-working one that is sitting in the basement or garage that only need a good carb cleaning to get them running again). the step-down on the nozzle I took from my shop vac. Total cost was $15 for the leaf blower plus $5 for a clamp on rubber adapter so the nozzle fit the leaf blower. Other than that the only issue I had to deal with was spinning the exhaust around, which cost nothing and took about 5 minutes.
With gas-powered blower, I don't have to be tethered to the boat in any way, so there was another plus.

In terms of space, there really wasn't much of a difference between an electric leaf blower and a gas-powered one. The only inconvenience is the possibility of a fuel spill from the leaf blower. Solved by storing it upright and leaving it off the boat when its not going to be used.