What's the best (and cheapest) method to cordlessly inflate a kite? I'm thinking it'd be a good idea to have a fan or blower so that I could fill up the 16m Scorp on light wind days so it doesn't bowtie. Maybe a high output computer fan?

Dryer vent tubing duct taped to a/c vent on car/truck!..........aj

Rofl, I was thinking more along the lines of a Coleman Quickpump?

Quote:

Originally posted by action jackson Dryer vent tubing duct taped to a/c vent on car/truck!..........aj

actually he's serious................you do realize he's the "Dean" of Arcs..................

big computer fan (caged!) and rc car battery.

nice call EW..................ACampbell has a rig similar to that

Sean,

When AJ pipes in with arc advice/tips it should be digested..................

I know he was being serious, and it's a good idea. Except I can't get my truck to my flying spot, as there's a huge ditch and a fence in the way. I have to walk my gear.

$50 for a refurbished Black and Decker cordless leaf blower with 2 batteries. Not the cheapest but I didn't have to build anything.

+1 on the cordless leaf blower.

Quote:

Originally posted by action jackson Dryer vent tubing duct taped to a/c vent on car/truck!..........aj

That's curiously genius! But I park 200ft away :/ Great hack though!

Leaf blower works really well but do not overinflate

There have been a bunch of PC fan experiments but I don't think they have enough force or flow rate. It'll fill in time, but not completely. you'd need a big or multiple fans and most of these fans are not caged or caged well so you'll risk catching fabric. For the cost, the leaf blower is faster and easier and less likely to clog from debris (like sand and mud).

Coleman Quickpump is noisy, but works fine and is compact. Surely not as noisy and big as a leaf blower. Bought one for $21 from Amazon, with the charger, and was good to go. Inflates a 12m Arc in the couple minutes it takes to lay out the lines and set up the bar. Faster and easier than zipping and pushing the air into the ends by hand . Only need to use it in light winds and with my older Arcs that need 100% prefill to launch.

krumly

We use the Black and Decker. @$50 it's not the cheapest but it's super fast, easy, small (ish) and tough as hell.

On a single charge I can inflate 2 Ch19, 2Ch15, and a few 12 and 10m. We've played with muffin fans but this is a lot faster.

Muffin fans are nice when you're out in the wilderness and in a pinch but I'm too impatient to use it at the anchor.

Also I atually use the Black and Decker in the garage and breezeway when cleaning. I'm all about multi-taskers when it comes to equipment.

Quote:

Originally posted by Seanny I know he was being serious, and it's a good idea. Except I can't get my truck to my flying spot, as there's a huge ditch and a fence in the way. I have to walk my gear.

this idea woulld work with an inflate at the vehicle, then walk to and set up at your spot............leaf blowers work great too, have a look on craigslist for a deal..............

angus has the ticket . small, quick and effective all day.

i really don't see the need for it, BUT for the fan unit Angus has and the instant fill feature, it can easily be added to gear drag without complaint. esp. for submarginal days to get the apparent fix thats needed.

can't find the thread. yet.

Angus's Thread: Low Wind ARC Inflato-matic

Sofa King's Thread: the POWER prefiller project !

Herc's Thread: 4D Matress Air Pumps-Arc kite?

HardrocS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s video from the 3rd thread



ATB,
Sam

If your parents have a dustbuster I think you have a fan already ? Stick the exhaust end in the kite.

@BR
We do have one, but it has a cord

What kind of battery would I need for this?

http://www.weirdstuff.com/cgi-bin/item/18097

thanks iWOLF,

Quote:

Originally posted by PHREERIDER thanks iWOLF,

You're welcome.
iWolf.... hmmmm.... very Apple-ish.

Quote:

Originally posted by Seanny What kind of battery would I need for this?

8 Lithium Ion AA batteries wired in series should do it. Should be able to source battery holders from Radio Shack or Digikey.

or

2 6 Volt lantern batteries (although kind of heavy and cumbersome.

or

Energizer A23, but runtime might not be great.... fairly cheap though.

or

If you want something that is rechargeable and low maintenance.

Cabela's Rechargeable 12-Volt Battery



Intially expensive, but over time it should even out.

The battery pack itself is 4"H x 6"L X 2-1/2"W.

Can be purchase as:
Battery & Charger: $29.99
Battery Alone: $19.99
2 Batteries & Charger: $49.99

ATB,
Sam

That's a pretty slick set up in the tupper ware. I love the LED.

i dont know if i already posted this on here but this is what i use when the wind isnt playing ball......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQN0Pi5XD3w



its a ryobi petrol leaf blower

As posted above cordless leaf blower feel up ARCs fast....
I use Makita 18V blower from my tool box ....... small and light.... battery fully charged let me fill 15m synergy about 20 times.....
You do have to start slowly since 179mph blow can destroy you kite inside structure ......
Here is fill up vid


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wHsL5QDEjA

Quote:

Originally posted by Kober As posted above cordless leaf blower feel up ARCs fast.... I use Makita 18V blower from my tool box ....... small and light.... battery fully charged let me fill 15m synergy about 20 times..... You do have to start slowly since 179mph blow can destroy you kite inside structure ...... Here is fill up vid

Would a couple of relief holes in the tube on the leaf blower slow things down enough to help with this?

I post that a few weeks ago !

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=17077