Hi folks, Has anyone found a portable 12v air compressor that will inflate an iSUP to 15psi or more? I have a Surftech inflatable that needs to be inflated to at least this psi. I have an Island electric pump, which is great, but only gets the Surftech to about 11.5psi. After this it's back to the hand pump and a lot of hard work. I see many 12v compressors available that can pump tyres to 150 psi or more but do they have attachments suitable to pump up iSUPs? Haven't found one yet, but I'm sure they must be out there. Pumping by hand is ok exercise, but at the end of the day you want to get your board in the water as quick as possible.

I was working today, but I recall someone crapping on about an ALDI Car Jump Starter with an air compressor to pump your tires. So that must be good for 40psi... ?? Plus you can also jump your car...

Read the fine print though.... Knowing Aldi, it might have already sold out....

Similar products will be available from Auto stores. The trick would be getting the right attachments to suit your application...

Can I just say... You lazy bugger!! Just do the 12V job to 11 PSI, and finish it off with the supplied pump. You're there for fun and exercise right?

Hi Simondo, Give me a break mate, I'm 58 years old! Also, I'm a bit fed up with the hand pumps breaking down on me. I'm currently on my third one. The rubber seals either stretch or break after a few uses and yes I do lubricate them regularly. I've heard of someone pumping their iSUP to 25 psi (!!) using an air compressor, but have been unable to find out which type.

Micky, the smiley face means I wasn't serious. I haven't had to blow one up anyway. There's another thread with basically the same question.

Yeah there is no doubt it's tuff to pump them up , here's a couple of tips. It's a lot harder to get them hard on a hot day , partially pump them up and place them in the water to cool the air inside which lowers the compression on the pump. When we hit the white water the water is really cold and noticed the boards went soft , that's how I worked this out. Be careful when you pull the boards out as the heat makes the air expand again.

This is an old clip of my board works Shubu , still going strong today.

You can also buy cheap electric air compressors now, but they are 240V and bulky.

^ good work again Piros!

Although i have an old service station air compressor in my garage the nozzle doesn't fit on the redair boards, and anyway, who has a 1/4 ton air compressor with them when they go to the beach!

What i do is pump my board up to about 5 psi then have a rest, some water, then pump up to around 12/14 psi, again i have a rest and some water, then i pump it with my full body weight up to around the 20 psi they recommend.

Again i have a short rest and some more water, this is how i break it down to manageable levels.

As far as i know no one makes a 20psi grade portable compressor, they really need to be the big bastard compressors like the one in my garage.

The bright side of an inflatable is you just roll it up and drive off whilst the other guy struggles to get the bugger on the roof of his car and strap it down, of course hes been out there 1/4 an hour before you whilst your pumping it up, but we wont mention that will we!

What about the 12v air compressors in the auto stores that pump to 150psi at 37.5lt per min? Surely there must be one of these you can adapt to an inflatable stand up paddle board?? I didn't know the RedAir boards had to be pumped to 20psi. Maybe that's where I need to get my Surftech up to, to get the bend out of it. I really like inflatables. My partner uses an 11'6 epoxy board and it is always a lot more work to get to and into the water than my iSUP.

They look like they would do the job but the nozzle size on my board is about 20 cents across whilst they go in car tyres so they wont fit a redair (from what i can tell anyway).

They may do other types of boards though.

If i knew they worked and fitted a redair i would buy one in a heart beat.

What type of fitting is on the inflatable sup?

I'd guess if you went to your local hose retailer, pirtek or similar they will be able to find you something that will fit on a 12volt compressor you can run off your car. You can also get pumps that are mountable, try a company like VI air ? or similar.

To SP from NSW. Thanks mate. some good tips there and I will check them out. A guy called Billy D on one of these sites has suggested the Projecta Typhoon 12v electric pump. Haven't come across one yet, but I will keep searching. He also mentioned the Bravo Ezee hand pump as it apparently gets inflatables easily up to 20psi. I'd be impressed with that. I have several hand pumps and it is very hard work to get inflatables past 10-12psi.

Thanks for posting again, I'd forgotten, maybe try a yachting shop, my old man has a inflatable tender and it is inflated to 20psi, foot pump no problems at all takes 10 minutes. Also I was at a local tool shop yesterday and they had a few pumps that are suitable but they are all 240volt. You can get a 12 voltVI air, there the ones that people use to put those air suspension kits in there cars some air brakes. And these run at much higher than 20psi and even store at tank higher than these. A normal home compressor will go past 20 psi, maybe not the **** one but any chippys type sized one will.
The only thing is the fitting but as I said try Pirtek or similar but I'd go the boat route first, the fitting looked very similar and my dad is over 65 and he can do it no sweat.

Post pictures of the fitting if you can.

I await the person who puts up a youtube video with an electric pump pumping an ISUP up to 20 psi.

That would be good (to see that youtube video). Some iSUP people in NZ apparently pump their REDair boards to 25psi (!) using an air compressor. I'd like to see a video of that! You'd think those boards would become flying carpets! I've also read that ULI are warning people to be careful about using electric pumps to inflate their boards (or probably any inflatable SUP) as it can damage the valve. I have been using an electric pump on my Island inflatble and Surftech inflatable for 6 months without any problems. I still haven't found a 12v model to do the job. The Island electric pump seems to be about the best there is available at the moment.

Hi Guys,

We recently got a hold of the Island Inflator pumps. They are a sophisticated bit of two stage pump.

They pump volume until 2 psi, then switch to piston pump to go up to 11.6psi.

Although the 11.6psi isn't quite enough for all SUP's, it breaks the back of the job so all you need to do is finish it off with a few strokes of the supplied pump. The Hobie SUP's we sell recommend 12-14 psi so the Island inflator nearly gets the job done on it's own.

They are a great bit of kit.

DM

With all due respect lets be perfectly honest hear, its very easy to hand pump a board to 11.6 psi, its above 15 psi that it gets seriously difficult.

IMHO my redair doesn't feel at all great until its 18psi and above, especially when in the surf.

Its a case of ill believe it when i see it with the 20psi pump claims and above.

Technology is charging ahead every day with the race boards, i have full faith there will be a light, practical 12v 20 psi pump that works in the near future, but i don't see it as a priority for SUP manufacturers, i wish it was though.

IMO you need a pump that pumps fast low psi and then slower for the higher psi to get to 20psi or above, i would think 25psi is more than ample . The problem with most pumps must be they are one speed type pumps, as mentioned two stages is better but i think 3 or 4 stages is needed once the psi gets above 15 or so.

When i pump my board up i do it in 3 stages, each being harder to pump as the psi gets higher.

I got some emails from redair claiming also there are electric pump options but they don't show any videos to prove the claim on their site. I would be interested to see the NZ claims, i suspect they use a tyre compressor with an adaptor hose or something, but im just guessing.

Feel free to prove me wrong please.

I get a lot of flack when I'm on my Island 11' foot inflatable. For instance 'Hey I think that guy is riding a Li-Lo'. But I really like this board. For a start, I don't have to use a hand pump to inflate it. The electric pump is all I need. The board is very rigid at 10psi. It can also carry a lot of gear. I have rigged bungy cords and straps to my board so I can carry a waterproof bag for my personal gear (phone, digital camera, bottle of water, sunscreen, snacks, car keys etc) plus a life jacket and anything else I feel I need for a day out on the water. You can put a beach chair on this board and turn it into a canoe as well. But even without the beach chair, this board is a very comfortable board to sit on when you want to relax and soak in your surroundings. It's a great fun board and the people who bag it have forgotten what SUP is all about.

I think maybe we need an ISUP ultimate board test.

Due to a chronic foot/ankle problem i actually prefer my redair ISUP for surfing than a normal board, i use a 12'6" fanatic for flat water, but my foot/ankle cant cope with a hard board in waves.

Hence i really want an electric pump option that dose 20psi.

Hi All
My wife and I have been using inflatable sups for six months now we are just beginners but having great fun. I have been using a high flow air pump to pump the boards to round 4psi then use a portable gas cylinder to pump up to 20 psi. This system works well but is a lot of gear to carry round.
I have just this weekend tried a high flow (72 lt per min) car pump which pumped my ULI 12'6" from flat to 19 psi in 14 mins.
Have just ordered a 160 lt per min pump which should pump the boards up in less than 7 mins from flat. This will make the inflation quick and easy with just a small portable compressor .
Cheers
John

"a portable gas cylinder to pump up to 20 psi"

.........................I hope you are a non smoker.

Seriously though post some pics or a vid of your new pump when you get it.

Hi
the portable gas cylinder is called AIR-UP system it uses either a 2.2 kg tank or a 4.2 kg tank and was designed to be used as a potable air system for air tools it uses a high flow regulator you can see it on their website google air up systems.
It can inflate my ULI 12'6" sup in about 2 minutes however it costs $20 to refill and you only get three inflations with the 2.2 kg cylinder thats why i have been using a high flow 12 vlt pump to inflate to 4 psi and the gas to top up which only takes a few seconds.
Hope this helps
Cheers
John

Hi John, I was wondering what attachments you had to inflate your ULI's with a 12v car tyre pump. I've looked around but haven't seen anything I could adapt to fit the inflatable SUP valves.

You could just cut the hose of the one you have and get a hose clamp / joiner / adaptor and attach it to the hose or fitting on the compressor. Pirtek or similar will have a fitting that will fit.

If your looking for a pump, just go to a 4wd accessory shop, they will have something suitable.

This one is top of the line and can pretty much run anything but you could get away with smaller

www.arb.com.au/arb-air-compressors/?ex=item_1_2

You ideally want something with a long duty cycle and a working pressure above 100 psi. The cheap ones have a really short duty cycle and hence over heat before they can output the required volume of air... If my memory serves me right...


Do you know the cubic foot volume of the sup. ie how much air it takes to get it to 20 psi

Thanks 'SP' and also 'OLDSUP' (John). Both those suggestions are helpful and i will check them out. Cheers.

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mickyc54 said...

Hi John, I was wondering what attachments you had to inflate your ULI's with a 12v car tyre pump. I've looked around but haven't seen anything I could adapt to fit the inflatable SUP valves.

HI Micky54
The air compressors come with standard snap off air hose fittings . I detach the hose from the compressor and attach a hose which I have made up.
This is done by buying a length of air hose with the same inside diameter as the board fitting you have now normally round 15 mm . thake the board fitting off the hose it came with and attach with clamp to new hose and clamp the other end to the compressor . I use clamps with a wing nut screw from Bunnings.
Hope this helps
John

Thanks John, I will make up a hose that fits the job. I was wondering how long you have had your ULI's? I have heard stories of the seams popping on some brands and also the valves failing. I've got two inflatables which I've been using for 7 months without any problems. I really like using the inflatables, but I also have an epoxy board in my 'quiver'.

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mickyc54 said...

Thanks John, I will make up a hose that fits the job. I was wondering how long you have had your ULI's? I have heard stories of the seams popping on some brands and also the valves failing. I've got two inflatables which I've been using for 7 months without any problems. I really like using the inflatables, but I also have an epoxy board in my 'quiver'.

HI mickyc54
We bought an island inflatable about 7months ago a C4 xxl about 6 months ago and the ULI about five months ago. The ULI has gone back with leaks in the seem ULI Australia have been very helpfull and have said they will replace the board with a new one havn't got the replacement yet but soon I hope as the ULI is my favourite inflatable.
We did some surf lessons in Noosa when we were on holidays and were convinced to buy a hard board. My wife has a 9'6" Allwave and I have ordered a cocomat NSP 10'2".
We do mainly river crusing but have had some success wake surfing behind the ski boat as you can see we are totally addicted and loving it.
By the way the island inflatable is the only one I have been able to wake surf with to date fun board
Cheers
John

I have just tried my new compressor a BTB 150 ltr min 12 vlt.
It inflated our uli 12'6" in 6.5 mins and the c4 waterman xxl in 5 mins.Both to 17 PSI
The hose got a bit hot and the PSI dropped to 15 PSI on contact with cold water not bad for a no effort inflation just another min pumping after cooling and all is well.
The compressor comes in a hard case with multi attachments delivered for $95 this beats a hand pump unless you want the workout
Hope this helps
Cheers