Power Kite Forum

Pre inflating an old arc

Jason-G - 11-4-2018 at 03:05 PM


Will a mattress pump that looks like a pump for a LEI kite that I saw at Walmart in the camping section for $8 be useful for pre-inflating an ARC 840? If not does anyone have advice on a decent cheap electric pump or other method to get the job done.

Thanks
Jason

markite - 11-4-2018 at 03:12 PM

not really - for the volume of air something like a leaf blower works good. There were people that made inflation fans using a funnel or pail with a computer cooling fan and battery - inserted into zip or in case of S arcs the butt flap, then leaving that to inflate while setting up the lines etc.
Those cheap mattress pumps take a really long time to inflate a large camping mattress, an arc would take forever.

Bladerunner - 11-4-2018 at 03:34 PM

If you ate talking about the battery operated ones. More like for filling air beds etc. I have one and it works but takes a long time.
I think a hand pump would be too much.

If you have a little dust buster type vacume you can see it the exhaust end fits in.

I have a ring cut out of a plastic bottle to hold the intake open and use the wind.

mougl - 11-4-2018 at 05:23 PM

Battery operated leaf blower works VERY well...I speak from experience!

RedSky - 11-4-2018 at 08:18 PM

A leaf blower would seem the ideal choice as mentioned. I own a 6" raft pump that throws out a very large volume of air on each stroke. Perhaps it might get the job done. Here is a video I made pumping a 15m kite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKnEoK4p69E


Demoknight - 12-4-2018 at 08:29 AM

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky  
A leaf blower would seem the ideal choice as mentioned. I own a 6" raft pump that throws out a very large volume of air on each stroke. Perhaps it might get the job done. Here is a video I made pumping a 15m kite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKnEoK4p69E




That type of pump doesn't really seem very practical for arc pumping. It is almost as big as the kite bag. I think the best thing I have seen is a large computer fan hooked up to either a 9v battery or a small battery pack for 12v. Arcs don't take much static pressure to pump up. They really just need air flow. The way I usually inflate my Charger is by just opening the upwind wingtip zipper and it nearly always keeps itself open enough to inflate the whole kite by the time I walk my bar and lines out.

jeffnyc - 12-4-2018 at 09:40 AM

Computer fan always sounded good to me... I haven't tried any of these methods yet since I fly my Charger on the beach, but computer fan seems the most portable option. And cheap (or free) if you have an ancient computer laying around, or find one on the street...

Here's a good thread:
http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=29648

RedSky - 12-4-2018 at 07:42 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Demoknight  


That type of pump doesn't really seem very practical for arc pumping. It is almost as big as the kite bag. I think the best thing I have seen is a large computer fan hooked up to either a 9v battery or a small battery pack for 12v. Arcs don't take much static pressure to pump up. They really just need air flow. The way I usually inflate my Charger is by just opening the upwind wingtip zipper and it nearly always keeps itself open enough to inflate the whole kite by the time I walk my bar and lines out.


Yeah its pretty heavy. Great for flying rafts though.

BeamerBob - 13-4-2018 at 06:24 AM

I love my system. Ryobi battery powered leaf blower that uses my 18v drill batteries. Pretty compact with the tube removed and loads of battery reserve. It's also mostly protected from dust and sand and doesn't have any sharp edges. Seems like it cost about $30.

acampbell - 13-4-2018 at 08:16 AM

I still have my 12v 6" muffin fan (like from a PC or any electronic chassis) plus a 9v rechargeable RC car battery. Will fully inflate my 18m Phantom in the time it takes to unwrap lines. Weighs 1/2 lb and will fit in any cargo pocket. One charge lasts much of a season for me.

indigo_wolf - 13-4-2018 at 11:51 PM

In no particular order and Whitman Sampler of arc inflators......









ATB,
Sam

acampbell - 16-4-2018 at 07:01 AM

Then there's...

Fan.jpg - 143kB

jeffnyc - 16-4-2018 at 09:56 AM

That's the one I want!

zero gee - 16-4-2018 at 02:49 PM

Our local kite shop is also a power tools shop. When I bought my twin skins way back they threw in a gas leaf blower. For years that worked wonders on days where there was no wind down low and tons of wind up high and at wind shadowed launches. 100% Inflated the 16m in 50 seconds. :cool::thumbup:

Cheddarhead - 19-4-2018 at 03:27 PM

I used to use a cheap battery powered leaf blower. Fast and effective.

Jack.Oh - 22-7-2021 at 09:31 AM

Hey all,

I realize I am late to the party, but... I stumbled on to this on Amazon.
Do you guys think this may work? They say it will inflate large mattress several times.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088ZLWXBC/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?ps...


Amazon.png - 160kB

pongnut - 5-8-2021 at 08:42 PM

Sorry, but this device is probably not a good fit for inflating an arc. Best for arcs are something with a large flow area (computer fans, desk fans, etc.), or something that can blast a large volume of air (leaf blower) in a short amount of time.