Kite surf pumps ...... :-(

Has anyone had any experience with this 'superior' hand pump ?? aka -Bravo 4 Alu RED Kitesurfing Double Action Pump??

http://www.bravopumps.com.au/bravo-4-alu-r.e.d.-kite-hand-pump#.VJ_GYdDDA

Are they better than the standard 2015 pumps provided by North / F-one / Cabrinha etc ??

I don't want to go electric pump but would just like one that kind of half works!! My current Cabrinha and North pumps have been looked after but are now 5 yrs old - should I expect better from a newer hand pump ??

Cheers Lambie !

Haha I was just about to ask the same question and was uploading this image, royally stuffed my back at work leading up to the Christmas mayhem, i can push the pump down but when I pull up it's not good

Hey Lambie

I can only compare to the cheap yellow pump from Kmart and other stores, but when I got the Bravo pump, it was obvious that it was twice as efficient. Good buy for me.

The north pump is the bravo pump
Yes it is much better than a standard pump

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/Pumps/?SearchTerms=Bravo,red,kite,pump

I did a gear review about a year ago on this pump. It was great out of the box, and pumped well and quickly. It was faster on both the oversize nozzle (cabrinha ozone etc) and the old fashioned ball / valve. It is a full size hand pump. I hate the shorter ones. Comes with a decent attachment leash unlike some others that are too short. Like all pumps it required a service. My pet hate is when someone 'borrows it' changes your nozzle and then leaves it with handle extended laying over in the sand. Anyway it ended up with sand infiltration. Didn't seem any less prone to this despite the blurb that came with it. The two stage inflation worked. I serviced it and used silicon spray and it went like a new one again. Anyway about a month ago it didn't seem to be pumping my kites as hard. Took it apart and the internal plastic white disc at the bottom of the shaft was beginning to deteorate. I fixed with epoxy, but it is the weak point on the pump. It was going brittle with age. So it's lasted one year, and has had decent use. I think its a good pump but no more durable than any other pump on the market. I use a liquid force one atm.

Any recommendations on the best lube/spray to use (on your pump) after cleaning your pump?

My original Bandit 1 pump failed today 5 years old. Opened it up to see if I could repair it, no chance just graphite inside me thinks.
Surf sail will see me tomorrow 4 the new F-ONE blue 1. Need it now

Lambie,

It sounds like you want one of these. www.aeoliankitesurfing.com

I was reading about it the other day when someone posted over on KF..

Available for preorder now - an interesting concept at least. Probably the best compromise I've seen


toppleover,

Silicone grease will do the job. Don't use oil based products, they will attack and degrade the seals.

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toppleover said..
Any recommendations on the best lube/spray to use (on your pump) after cleaning your pump?

To service unscrew cap. If it's tight hold cap and screw base. I take apart and spray internal pump body and shaft set up with degreaser. Leave a few minutes then hose off. (Not over your good lawn). This removes the bulk of the sand grease build up. Then get some old rags and clean thoroughly. I use silicon grease (the one in a jar) on the seal and silicon spray on the handle shaft and internal pump body. Most hardware or auto shops stock it. If you did it often enough you could keep a pump going for a long time. If you are starting to feel resistance on your pump, you are already doing it damage.

If you got to your local hobby shop and get some silicon shock oil works a treat

Thanks guys for the feedback ! the Aeolian pump does sound good but I suspect its $99 US ?? dollars and shipping will be a bitch cost wise :-( but great to see some innovation in kitesurfing pumps !

For the money the bravo pump sounds like it will be a cost effective step up from my old worn out pump !

Cheers :-)

Here's the response from Aeolian re price and shipping :

Thanks for the enthusiasm and encouraging words! We made this pump because we also felt the pump market was stale and uninspired.

The Triple Action Pump will be launched in the US and Europe first but we would not deny other kiters access to it.
Please allow us to quote a shipment to Australia and we will get back to you with a shipping price.

$99 US is the price without shipping. Pump will launch Summer 2015.

So it seems its a fair way off being available in Oz - summer in the States is of course the middle of the year (not our summer!) :-)

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pearl said.. . I serviced it and used silicon spray and it went like a new one again. Anyway about a month ago it didn't seem to be pumping my kites as hard. Took it apart and the internal plastic white disc at the bottom of the shaft was beginning to deteorate.

I have noticed that silicon spray deteriorates the rubber inside the pump, works wonderfully for a little while then goes downhill fast. While some keep recommending it, some strongly recommend against it.

Best thing I have used - a good clean out and some bicycle chain grease!!

I just use some cheap lithium grease, works fine for me.

Graphite works for me. Any wet lubricate seems to dry fast and is an arse pain to clean.

Just puff in and work your shaft to blow out excess before inserting hose into valve (dont know why, just what i do.. manners).

You will find pumping becomes smoother, cooler, quieter and quicker. Short but effective prep time allows for longer stronger wet time

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HighzaKite said..

pearl said.. . I serviced it and used silicon spray and it went like a new one again. Anyway about a month ago it didn't seem to be pumping my kites as hard. Took it apart and the internal plastic white disc at the bottom of the shaft was beginning to deteorate.

I have noticed that silicon spray deteriorates the rubber inside the pump, works wonderfully for a little while then goes downhill fast. While some keep recommending it, some strongly recommend against it.

Best thing I have used - a good clean out and some bicycle chain grease!!

Silicon grease is made to not deteriorate rubber. Below is a quote straight from Wikipedia.


Silicone grease is commonly used for lubricating and preserving rubber parts, such as O-rings. Additionally, silicone grease does not swell or soften the rubber, which can be a problem with hydrocarbon based greases. It functions well as a corrosion-inhibitor and lubricant for purposes that require a thicker lubricant.

Petroleum based greases will do what you are saying. What is the chain grease made from? You may be right, I'm no chemical expert. I think sometimes those o rings are just at the end of their life and when you start pumping again with a newly lubricated pump, they just can't handle it. There could be a lot of condoms in trouble if silicon does damage rubber.

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The yellow camper pump for $10 is the best option - as others have mentioned he seals detoriorate anyway (don't like the heat either of you leave it in the car in WA), so save yourself the bother of maintenance and instead contribute to wastage of hydrocarbons by replacing regularly.

We made this pump because we also felt the pump market was stale and uninspired.

<div>
I'm always saying that at parties, so few people are passionate about the problem.

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diginoz said..
My original Bandit 1 pump failed today 5 years old. Opened it up to see if I could repair it, no chance just graphite inside me thinks.
Surf sail will see me tomorrow 4 the new F-ONE blue 1. Need it now

Picked up the new pump this morning, 40 pumps ( up and down ) later kite is full compared to 50 with the old pump.
Bandits like 10 PSI & CHEAP PUMPS DONT ALL HAVE FIXED VALVES

I was given a ****ty second hand pump when I first started kiting four years ago

Had it for almost 3 years then gave it away because I got 3 new kites with 3 new pumps

I kept 1 of the 3 new pumps and gave the other 2 away

Tomorrow morning I will get my 6th pump,yes you read right, 6TH pump in just over a 15 months

Moral of the story is,if your given a ****ty second hand pump NEVER GIVE A IT AWAY

Otherwise you may just get the................. CURSE of the PUMPS

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pearl said..

HighzaKite said..

pearl said.. . I serviced it and used silicon spray and it went like a new one again. Anyway about a month ago it didn't seem to be pumping my kites as hard. Took it apart and the internal plastic white disc at the bottom of the shaft was beginning to deteorate.

I have noticed that silicon spray deteriorates the rubber inside the pump, works wonderfully for a little while then goes downhill fast. While some keep recommending it, some strongly recommend against it.

Best thing I have used - a good clean out and some bicycle chain grease!!

Silicon grease is made to not deteriorate rubber. Below is a quote straight from Wikipedia.


Silicone grease is commonly used for lubricating and preserving rubber parts, such as O-rings. Additionally, silicone grease does not swell or soften the rubber, which can be a problem with hydrocarbon based greases. It functions well as a corrosion-inhibitor and lubricant for purposes that require a thicker lubricant.

Petroleum based greases will do what you are saying. What is the chain grease made from? You may be right, I'm no chemical expert. I think sometimes those o rings are just at the end of their life and when you start pumping again with a newly lubricated pump, they just can't handle it. There could be a lot of condoms in trouble if silicon does damage rubber.

it may be other chemical solvents within the can of silicon spray damaging the rubber, I too would have thought that silicon is inert (hey it was used for implants!) and would not damage rubber. bike chain lube is usually synthetic with teflon or graphite and not petroleum, but thats a whole other story and 1 million opinions

Well the old pump problem is solved - no need for silicon or bike grease etc - some low life scum bags stole both my mates and my pump that were sitting on our kite bags on the beach this arvo - wtf?? We were kitesurfing at Loch Sport on the Gippsland Lakes this arvo and having a hoot on 6m kites - not bad for a couple of old 90 kg farts on surfboards - the stock of the session kind of mellowed when we realised both our pumps had been stolen :-(

At least mine was crap and needed replacing - karma to you dropkicks , but my mates pump was virtually brand new .......

Sigh ...... bring on 2015!!

Oh and so now that Im looking forward to a new pump Im keen to see what the suppliers recommendations are for on going maintenance (pig fat / silicon / crude oil etc LOL) - Ill post what they recommend :-)

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Lambie said..
Well the old pump problem is solved - no need for silicon or bike grease etc - some low life scum bags stole both my mates and my pump that were sitting on our kite bags on the beach this arvo - wtf?? We were kitesurfing at Loch Sport on the Gippsland Lakes this arvo and having a hoot on 6m kites - not bad for a couple of old 90 kg farts on surfboards - the stock of the session kind of mellowed when we realised both our pumps had been stolen :-(

At least mine was crap and needed replacing - karma to you dropkicks , but my mates pump was virtually brand new .......

Sigh ...... bring on 2015!!

Oh and so now that Im looking forward to a new pump Im keen to see what the suppliers recommendations are for on going maintenance (pig fat / silicon / crude oil etc LOL) - Ill post what they recommend :-)

Bad luck - but maybe a blessing in disguise in your case anyway. Pity about your mate though. Yeah, some ****s will steal anything not nailed down..

Laughed at the pig fat and crude oil.. There's a couple that have not been mentioned before!

As I stated above, Silicon grease is supposed to be the thing (or one of the 'things' lol) for the pumps. A pump I bought a few years ago, came with a tube of Silicon grease with it..

As HighzaKite mentioned above, there may be other gremlins at work within the spray cans of Silicon that are doing harm to seals. Anyway, this debate will go on forever so I think the pig fat sounds a good option.. Don't you get that in a cone from McD's..? Disclaimer: I heard it's just an old urban legend

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Lambie said..
Well the old pump problem is solved - no need for silicon or bike grease etc - some low life scum bags stole both my mates and my pump that were sitting on our kite bags on the beach this arvo - wtf?? We were kitesurfing at Loch Sport on the Gippsland Lakes this arvo and having a hoot on 6m kites - not bad for a couple of old 90 kg farts on surfboards - the stock of the session kind of mellowed when we realised both our pumps had been stolen :-(

At least mine was crap and needed replacing - karma to you dropkicks , but my mates pump was virtually brand new .......

Sigh ...... bring on 2015!!

Oh and so now that Im looking forward to a new pump Im keen to see what the suppliers recommendations are for on going maintenance (pig fat / silicon / crude oil etc LOL) - Ill post what they recommend :-)

can you get away with telling the missus you can't buy a pump by itself, they only come with new kites?

I think these are better...

I do like that pump attachment !!! ;-)

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toppleover said..
Any recommendations on the best lube/spray to use (on your pump) after cleaning your pump?

Found this thread in search as I was asking the same question, this stuff works excellent, got recommended by lubricants guy at bunnings. Local kite shop pro and the lube man said you could also use normal cheaper wd40 as both are water based (caveat: I have only used above stuff) Aswell it knocked off 15 pumps off inflating my 12m.

Well Im confused as !!

^^^^ Silicon works ok apparently but for how long ?? My new 'Bravo 4 Alu RED' pump turned up today and the maintenance instructions clearly state to have it fully lubricated :-) but here's the interesting thing - its says by oil or grease !!So I gather they mean a petroleum based grease - not silicon ??

So do we have any chemists out there (no not the druggie type!) that can shed some light on the difference between petroleum oils and silicon and the effect on the seals of our common kitesurfing pump ??

I also wonder if I should be using air tool oil - I suspect its not quite thick enough based on a visual and sniff test of the current lubricant !! looks like light iol like bike chain or sewing machine oil will be the go

BTW - I got a response back from the Aeolian pump mob - freight cost for one pump to Australia is quoted as $75 per unit but if I wanted to buy 10 or more the freight price would drop to $35 each ! So for around $140 (BUT - the Aus dollar has recently crashed :-( )it may be OK if someone starts importing in bulk - on its own I'll use the Bravo and consider it a warm up for the main event :-) LOL

Matt at Bravo pumps chased up the manufacturers recommendations for lubrication of kite pumps (hand and electric) and here is the response he got back :

Hi Matt, hand pump: silicon GREASE (better than spray) electric pump: spray is better Francesco

So it looks like I will be chasing up some silicon GREASE !!!

www.blackwoods.com.au/lubricants-lubrication-equipment/grease-open-gear-and-cables/seal-and-o-ring-grease-molykote/grease-silicone-molykote-55m-100gm/p/06295615

Or you could get silicon shock oil or 200k diff oil (thick)
From you local hobby shop
I prefer the shock oil