I finally built the inflator of my dreams.

Impressed! ...and only running on batteries. What is the power output on that fan?

very nice. mine took about twice as long with a 9v. +1 for infkators for inland winds.

I don't know the specs on the fan. It's a 12V Variable speed PC fan. If you find the right wires it'll just run at full speed the whole time. That's what I did. I'm even running it at 16V. I happened to have a 4-cell battery pack so that's what I used.

The cells are 4.2v Lithium Ion cells I pulled from laptop batteries. They can drive this fan for a long time.

Philip

It's hard to believe that a PC fan would have the power to inflate that kite. I've read somewhere of using a PC fan but thought it was a joke!

That looks faster than my Bosch leaf blower! Not to mention a lot lighter and smaller. cool

It's not really about the power, it's the volume. The kite provides very little back pressure until it is inflated. Then and only then do you hear the motor strain a little.

As to size, yes, that was critical for me. I want everything to fit on the buggy as I roll from the car to the launch zone. Between the kites, the accessories, water and chow, there is very little room to add something bulky. I have seen very few inflators this small.

The other critical design parameters were unattended operation and availability. Hands free means not having to fiddle with it while it's running or being there when it finishes. That was the original plan but it has the added bonus of being able to hand the inflator to anyone and knowing they can figure it out, not dork their kite or break the inflator.

Availability means the inflator will be there and work when I need it. There are no fiddly bits to break. The batteries have charge even if I haven't used the inflator in months. This forced the decision to use lithium ion batteries. They have a great shelf life. They're probably second only to alkaline. I do not have to worry about the charge on these batteries. The power consumption to inflate a kite is so low I could probably charge these batteries once a year and be happy.

Philip

That's pretty sick. Nice work.

Found the design I want to copy- that's awesome pbc

12v big rig fan (truck driver) fan taped to a 5amp lead sealed battery works for me..and serves as a weight for hold-down while filling...as you unroll lines...by time get back, zip an fly!

oh yeah, and brilliant idea putting the fan deeper into the funnel part. I'd constantly whack my fingers, but mine is on the edge. That's an elegant solution. I'll post my fan specs, too to help give an idea. I thibk mine is a 4" PC cooling fan.

great job! Impressive air volume.

I have been using a 12V MVP air mattress inflator/deflator with a rechargeable 12V 9Ah battery that I carry around in a shopping bag. Double duty as a hold down weight.

It is small enough to put the inflator into the air inlets on my KiteSurfers but still fills a 13m VII in 2-3 min.

Quote: Originally posted by Proletariat

oh yeah, and brilliant idea putting the fan deeper into the funnel part. I'd constantly whack my fingers, but mine is on the edge. ...

Exactly. The tube is just long enough to keep the fingers out of harm's way. I used to have the same problem.

Do send your specs. I'll have mine up in a bit.

Philip

I got the specs for my fan. It's a Dell D8794. It's a 12 Volt, 1.2 Amp, variable speed fan. To run it at full speed provide power on the red and black wires. Polarity matters, so if you go this route try both. Don't give up.

Philip

Yeah pbc, I was going to mention that fan is meant for 12v, not 16.8. You might have to replace that fan sooner than later, but a $10 fan will do the job until it won't!

What did you use for the funnel..?

Quote: Originally posted by Demoknight

Yeah pbc, I was going to mention that fan is meant for 12v, not 16.8. You might have to replace that fan sooner than later, but a $10 fan will do the job until it won't!

I feared this, but I decided to be brave. I've run it for as much as 15 minutes at a time without incident. As my duty cycle is low in normal operation I doubt I'll ever discover how much I can handle. I fear the sand and salt far more than the voltage.

Cheezy, the tube is the straight section from a 1 gallon bottle of windshield washer fluid. A 6" diameter bottle gives you the 19" girth you need to have a tight fit over the fan.

I think any 1 gallon HDPE bottle with a smooth wall would work. HDPE or High Density PolyEthylene is the stuff with the #2 recycle logo. You need the smooth wall because the fit is very tight. It's hard enough to get the fan in without adding more lumps to push past.

Philip

Quote: Originally posted by pbc

That was the original plan but it has the added bonus of being able to hand the inflator to anyone and knowing they can figure it out, not dork their kite or break the inflator.

Your inflators should come with a not to be used by kiteballoon warning. Finger 0, fan 1.

I'll be finding a source for a similar fan and I'll share with others who want to clone the setup. Just be sure and leave the protective grills on the fan. Ouch!

EDIT: A couple good choices besides the usual ebay. Allied seemed to be the most inexpensive.

http://www.alliedelec.com/
https://www.jameco.com/
http://www.mouser.com/

You'll want a fan with high cfm. A typical pc fan is around 50-60. Shoot for something >100 and I think you'll see success.

I have two 110 cfm fans in my computer case(plus several others but I'm a computer nerd) although it is a 200mm fan so much larger. It would still fit just fine in the inlet of an arc.

hardrock made one couple yrs back very much like this had top cover and closed up real nice, very tidy. nice one P !

here we go , go rocky!



http://youtu.be/PALpQyj_rcQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALpQyj_rcQ

That does work faster than my Ryobi, but the lazy side of me likes that I got the blower for $35 on Amazon, and it uses my drill batteries I already have. It is reasonably compact with the tube removed, and not at all fragile.

Quote: Originally posted by PHREERIDER

hardrock made one couple yrs back very much like this had top cover and closed up real nice, very tidy. nice one P ! here we go , go rocky! http://youtu.be/PALpQyj_rcQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PALpQyj_rcQ

Awesome link, thanks Chad.

For science, I *think* this is the fan he is using:

http://www.staples.com/Antec-TriCool-120mm-Double-Ball-Beari...

$8, 2200 rpm, 79 cpm. I wonder how well it worked out. Low cpm fans are certainly cheaper and easier to obtain. I like the 9v battery idea he used, staying cheap. 9 v plus 2 aa's could get you exact voltage but these fans tolerate overvoltage fairly well (plus 2 9v's fall off fast, likely only giving 14 - 16v). I was considering using some basic alkaline batteries instead of being so fancy with a battery pack.

I estimated several hours useage out of a pack of 8 aa's, giving 12 volts to a fan depending on the draw. Certainly enough to last you for a long time with < 5 mins runtime per use.

you don't need much power just steady movement, like pbc said the load is small even back pressured. i dig the lights and handle and cover. you could cut it down about half the container and still be tidy with same flow.

Here's my arc inflator. Still have some finishing touches but its very functional.
Push button power. 6" PVC intake duct. High volume 24 volt heat sink cooling fan out of a industrial battery charger.

Got everything fastened up. Crude, but very functional. Inflated the 13 m tonight in about 30 seconds. The 16m in about 45 seconds :D

Small enough to toss in the diddy bag too.

Impressive!

Mine doesn't need inflating though

Nice work, but fear your jealous friends who would stick their fingers into the blades to ruin the marvel you created. Saboteurs are everywhere. If you put a guard on the exposed end of the fan it might thwart their nefarious activities.

Philip

Quote: Originally posted by pbc

Nice work, but fear your jealous friends who would stick their fingers into the blades to ruin the marvel you created. Saboteurs are everywhere. If you put a guard on the exposed end of the fan it might thwart their nefarious activities. Philip

You'll note Philip his button to power on and off the fan is well away from the fan itself. Plus, indeed there is a guard

My fingers thank him.

For those of you who may be as encumbered as myself and unable to use "power tools", you can still inflate an arc using another manual method in low winds. I use this often for the aforementioned reasons :-)

1. Open the leeward vent, let it fill the cell or two that it can, then close it
2. Open the windward vent, let it fill the cell or two that it can, then close it
3. Starting at the windward spar, roll the kite, pushing the inflated cells all the way to the leeward edge
4. Unroll the kite. You'll note the cells you inflated are deflated again.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until full

Not as fast or direct as the fan option, but requires nothing but you to make it work.. And a little more time...

Yes. There is a cross guard over the blades. That is the vent end. Air is sucked in the pipe, and out through the fan. The duct is 6" long. Hope nobody would stick there fingers that far inside.
Of course a bee or fly is gonna have a bad day.