The pump for
inflatable kites

The pump for inflatable kites

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This page gives some advices how to better use the pump delivered with most of the inflatable kites And how to avoid to break it. Some hints are specific to Cabrinha kites with their valve like the one on inflatable boats.

Pumping in the right direction

Most of the pump have a warning drawing that tells you to pump verticaly, in the axis of the pump. The handle is in plastic and can break easily.
See further of to replace broken handles.

Greasing

The pump is originaly greased, but slightly and it becomes hard to action progressively. You need then to dismount it, by unscrewing the top cap, clean all parts from the fine sand and the grease it with silicon grease. You can find it in the plumbing departement of a tool shop.

To be done before breaking the handle, and it is like magic, the pump becomes so soft after!.

A link for finishing inflating

A classical to brake the handle is to inflate using only one hand, not in the pump's axis, while you grab the kite with teh other hand.
Use a little string attached to the base of the pump. Some kites are equiped to attach this link. for th eother kites like my F-ONE Mach1, Just pass around the central batten and make a knot.
Then you can use both hands to finish inflating and set the good pressure.

Replacing broken handles

Handles are under heavy constraints and brake near the axis. Here is an easy fix:
Saw the rest of the handle and screw a tube on the top od the axis with a stainless steel bolt.
I used a piece of wooden curtain rail, but you can use PVC tube for plumbing or an used whisbone.

Fixing the base with a dismountable base

After 3 years the base finally broke. As the body of the pump is a PVC pipe of 100 mmm diameter, you can find easilly PVC plumbing parts of the same diameter. So I made a dismountable base, easier to put in the kite bag.

When removing the old base to not break the bottom of the pump. In the Cabrinha pump, the base is the bottom of the pump, so it must be cut carefully.

The Cabrinha valve

Cabrinha ships its kites with a valve similar to inflating boats ones. It is nice to deflate with the large diametre hole. To inflate the airflow is smaller than standard valves beacuse of the 6 little holes at the base. To increase the airflow I enlarged the holes by joining them 2 by 2.

A locking system for the top of the valve

Antother drawback of this valve is the top is cylindric and rigid. th eend of the pump's tube is conic. the contact between the two parts is on a very small surface and the tube does stay in place.

This problem is fixed by Cabrinha with theAirlock adapter.

For those of you who haven't the Airlock adapter, I made a very simple one with a little bottle of yoghourt. Make a hole in the bottom of the tube's diametre, then cut the bottle along one side. A ring of bike airtube as rubber band. The Actimel bottleneck has exactly the size of the top of Cabrinha valve. This keep sthe tube in place and you can inflate with two hands.