New OR Big Pump

[sixlinewrasse]

Tried it today for the first time.
Gives a big stroke!

Impressed with the quality of the build and the precision molding of the plastic parts. The plastic for the nozzles is thicker and fits in the hose more securely too. Filtered air only in my kites now. I could not believe the amount of sand in my old pump when I cleaned it out the other day. There is a plug which gives the pump two modes, high volume or high pressure.
Really makes blowing up those kites with a large inflation valve effortless.
Blowing up kites with the original style valve feels like there is a choke point in the system.
It feels like my older kites are obsolete now.

[GregK]

On an older kite with separate inflate and deflate valves, pumping the entire kite through the inflate is a lot of work from forcing the air through a smaller opening and past the 1-way valve.

Here's a hint : put the small hose nozzle into the deflate valve and pump until the kite is just starting to take shape. Close the deflate; this is also a good time to look for and massage out any small kinks or twists in the LE bladder, and clear any bridle lines snagged on a strut or over the wingtips.

Plug the pump into the inflate and finish the inflation. You'll immediately notice the back pressure and extra work required to pump through the inflate valve.

[sixlinewrasse]

Hey, thanks for the tip Greg.
I just never thought of that.
I'll try it next time I pump.
Perhaps my older kites have some life left in them after all......
James

[GregK]

Second tip : the hose on the new OR Tall Pump is a lot stiffer than the flimsy / thinner old-school pump hoses, and the flexing of this hose as you pump will often cause the nozzle to wiggle out of the valve into which it's been jammed.

To keep the nozzle in place, use the Velcro plug strap on the kite through the loop on the end of the hose holding the various hose nozzles. With the Velcro strap holding the hose nozzle in place you can pump full strokes without the nozzle wiggling out.

[sixlinewrasse]

Hey Greg
Tried your first tip today, but when I attempted to partially inflate my older 15m Flite through the deflate valve it did not work.
This is because my nozzle was too small to stay in the large deflate valve.
It just fell out.
If yours stays in it means that your nozzle is bigger than mine.
So I just plugged it in the inflate valve and it worked fine in high volume mode. It was plenty of pressure for the 15M and pumped it up in record time.
I'm going to see if I can find a bigger nozzle that would fit the deflate valve.
I'm also thinking of attaching some caps to the pump that would stop sand from getting in the air exit of the pump once I detach the hose. A cap for the hose also might help exclude the sand.
Concerning your second tip, I do find the hose stiffer, but haven't experienced any real problems with the hose falling out as long as it fits well to begin with.

[sixlinewrasse]

Made a cap for the outlet of the pump and tied it to the big pump kite retaining hook. No chance of sand getting in the pump once I take the hose off.
Also realized that the two ends of the hose will fit together, blocking any sand from getting in there without making a cap for that.
Still have to modify a nozzle for tight fit in the deflate valve, then add it to the hose for free flow inflation.

[sixlinewrasse]

Made a nozzle for use in the deflate valve from a regular inflate valve nozzle. Cut the nozzle off at 1" and added two wraps of electrical tape for tight fit in the deflate valve.
Cut out some of the inside diameter from the modified nozzle too.
It looks about twice the inside diameter of the standard inflate valve nozzle now.

Noticed, as Greg mentioned, that when I used the new stiffer hose with my older kites it tends to loosen the inflate valve from the leading edge. This sometimes results in the valve falling out of the leading edge valve grommet, before the badder has enough pressure to hold it in place.
My solution is to use the older flexible hose on the older kites, while using the new stiffer hose on the new kite with the new stye valve.
I'll just keep the new hose with the new kite!

[sixlinewrasse]

Actually tried Greg's first tip with my custom deflate valve inflate nozzle blowing up my older style 9m today in white rock. Really works! Very little resistance and inflating the kite is almost effortless. Took a few seconds to change nozzles but only needed a few pumps with the standard nozzle to finish inflation!

[GregK]

If you want to use the new stiff hose on a interference-fit older 9mm inflate or 11mm dump valve, use the Velcro valve tie-down strap through the line holding all the hose end fitting together to secure the nozzle end of the hose to the kite. Then you can pump big strokes without the hose nozzle wiggling out of the valve.

[sixlinewrasse]

I find the problem with the stiff hose and the older kite is that it pushes the kite valve into the leading edge. It "falls" inside, because the grommet is not tight enough. So I have been using the older hose with the older kites. It's OK.
However, when I blew up my new 10M the other day ,with the big pump and hose, the friction fit high flow nozzle "automatically" popped out of the valve when the desired pressure had been reached. Great design!
And I really like the cap that I made for the big pump to prevent sand from getting in when the hose is disconnected, although I ended up fastening it to the pump handle, instead of the hook, because the hook was too near the ground at times and sand could get into the cap.
I am finding that switching nozzles during pumping can be problematic with the older kites. Yesterday, upon inflating my 12m through the deflate valve with the custom high flow nozzle, I found that I could not push the deflate valve plug all the way in and properly seat it without pushing the whole valve past the grommet and into the leading edge.
Still experimenting.

[GregK]

I find the problem ... switching nozzles during pumping can be problematic with the older kites. ... could not push the deflate valve plug all the way in and properly seat it without pushing the whole valve past the grommet and into the leading edge.

Don't inflate the entire kite thru the dump valve, just use the dump to put in enough air to give the kite a bit of shape.

The leading edge won't be stiff and inserting the dump plug will be easy.

Before switching to the pump hose to the inflate valve for the pressure half of the pump-up, take a break from inflating to check over your kite for partial bladder twists & bridle wraps on struts or wingtips.