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12 V inflator


Lakenut

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Does anyone know of a good inflator for inflating tubes that works off of 12v? My daughter really started enjoying the tube last fall and I am sure it will get a work out this summer. Tubes always seem to be in the way when they are not being used (yes, they are also in the way when they are being used). I am thinking of inflating to use and then deflating when we are done. That way the tube is taking up minimal space. I picked up a cheap inflator at wally world but it doesn't have enough guts to get the tube firm enough to ride.

Any suggestions?

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The only input I have on a 12v inflater is that the one time I used one it was frustrating.

So I've got a 110v inflater from Overtones that we use on the house boat to inflate mattresses and stuff,

It works really good especially if you have a small 800w inverter($50 @ Kragen auto) on your boat mounted next to the amp's off the aux battery.

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I have a Cambell-Hausfeld inflator I picked up at Wal-Mart when we got the boat & tubes... It was pretty inexpensive.

Inflator

It fills a tube pretty quickly (3-5 mins) & has worked flawlessly on the boat. We have a Boston valve on the tubes & use the largest attachment.

Gets the tubes as firm as you could want.

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Go to the automotive dept. You can find tire inflators that have different attachments. It may not be the fastest thing in the world, but if you're looking for something that will put good pressure in your tube, that's what you'll want.

I have one that will get up to like 30 psi and it works great.

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You want a high volume inflater... not something designed for filling tires! The tire type, are usually quite slow, since they are designed for pressure, vs volume.

I'm using one pictured here, from wakeside... for $29 bucks it probalby isn't the cheapest.. but it is 29 bucks. Seriously, I have NO idea why people drag their inflated tubes all over the place. There is a guy down the street that has an inflatable hanging in his garage.

It inflates VERY fast. Fast enough, that if people weren't going to use the tube for a few hours, you'd probably just deflate it if it was at all in the way.

Have fun -

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I have used something like this for years. Works pretty fast for inflating and deflating. Small enough to fit in the glove box.

The one we use looks just like that. Does a good job and doesn't take long. I always laugh when I see people pulling there boats down the road with tubes blown up.

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I've been using one like Troys, and then tried one that a friend had and man it rocked - super fast. I gotta find out what it was. If you're using some of the 3/4 man tubes out there now they take a while to fill.

I'd like a good recommendation to a super high volume inflator as well. I agree with Troy, if we're not using it we stow it, lame to tow it around all the time.

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murf, what size inverter are you using for your shop vac? How big of a shop vac are you using? Where did you get an attachment that would fit into a 'boston valve'?

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I bought one at Target for $12 and it works fine. They sell both AC and DC pumps. Look for them in the camping section by the inflatable matresses.

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Ha Ha that is funny Pete....do you run the 15% Nitro or 30% Nitro fuel in that inflator

Yeah, Ummmm,

I'm running 50% Nitro and 50% flux capacitor.

I keep it onboard in case some skiers are messing up my tubing water (by driving a straight line while I'm trying to drive a perfect zig-zag pattern) I fire her up and rough up the water for everyone. Surprised.gif

Edited by Pistol Pete
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Ha Ha that is funny Pete....do you run the 15% Nitro or 30% Nitro fuel in that inflator

Yeah, Ummmm,

I'm running 50% Nitro and 50% flux capacitor.

I keep it onboard in case some skiers are messing up my tubing water (by driving a straight line while I'm trying to drive a perfect zig-zag pattern) I fire her up and rough up the water for everyone. Surprised.gif

What do you do with the rest of the 1.21 jigawatts?

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What do you do with the rest of the 1.21 jigawatts?

I use them to blow dry the boat once we're out of the water and then clean up the entire launch ramp parking lot.

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murf, what size inverter are you using for your shop vac? How big of a shop vac are you using? Where did you get an attachment that would fit into a 'boston valve'?

I don't use it through an inverter...plug it into 110. Saying that, I can't imagine they pull much juice. I will need to look it up. The vac is at the lake but it is a wet/dry vac. No attachment needed. Just put the end of the hose over the boston valve and fills even the largest tube in couple minutes...same for deflating.

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If you're looking for another 'Wally' way to fill, pull the bag of the back of a Dirt Devil vacuum. On ours, there is a nice round opening just a little larger than a boston valve. We have used the dirt devil to fill air matresses here and it inflates them in about 30 seconds. We haven't used it for the tubes as we don't have 110 on the boat, but I imagine it would fill a tube just about as quickly. It's not as fast as Pete's method, but is much more portable.

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We got a 2person tube recently and i was afaid the little pump (12V like pictured by others) was going to take too long, but geez that thing was filled in no time! it didnt get real firm but was plump enough for the kids to enjoy.

I loooove my new bu! Yahoo.gif

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