The Best Tyre Pumps... in the World?

[Rhyolith]

Hello! I am new to this forum

I don't know much about cars (though I have owned a classic mini cooper recently ), however I like to do up old tools and machines as a casual hobby which often leads me into the car world

Was drawn here by an old post (http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=849746) which I think I can answer and may just be of interest.

To my knowledge there are no modern foot pumps made to a decent standard, least not compared to the likes this:

Duplex Kismet Master (Air Ministry 1944) by Rhyolith, on Flickr

Its an Kismet double stroke foot pump (one cylinder inside the other, so compresses the air twice) made for the air ministry in 1944 by William Turner and Bro. Ltd of Sheffield to pressurise pneumatic systems on aircraft such as Spitfires and Hurricanes. It can pump up to 300psi and is built like a tank, so will never ever brake if looked after (kept oiled).

I promise, once you have owned a working one of these you will not even be able to look at the offerings in halfords without cringing.

And if you don't feel like lugging round a heavy Kismet master, William Turner made many many more pumps, all of high quality, such as this cute thing:

Kismet Baby by Rhyolith, on Flickr

Hope thats of interest to someone

Edited by Rhyolith on Tuesday 25th October 17:04

[Jacobyte]

Best first post ever. Welcome

[jet_noise]

Jacobyte said:

Best first post ever. Welcome

Yes, you'll fit right in.

(and it's leads not leeds)
<runs & hides>

[ging84]

why would i want these when i get an electric pump with a digital readout, that runs off a 12v socket on the car and requires no maintenance for it's life time all for less than £20?

[HustleRussell]

ging84 said:

why would i want these when i get an electric pump with a digital readout, that runs off a 12v socket on the car and requires no maintenance for it's life time all for less than £20?

Wires are a faff, the readout is next to useless, 12v power source is not always available, a £20 electric pump will not work in 70 years, don't be so damn lazy and don't be so damn cheap

Love it OP, was looking at these a couple of years ago. The only thing that put me off was I can't deal with yet another restoration project

[The Wookie]

HustleRussell said:

a £20 electric pump will not work in 70 years

Neither will my leg

[Rhyolith]

The Wookie said:

Neither will my leg

Lol But in all seriousness an 86 year old with bad knees had no problem using the Kismet Master. The modern crap is giving foot pumps a bad name as leg & ankle killers.

Now why would you have one of these brass pumps over a £20 (which is about what I payed for that WW2 Kismet master, so good comparison!) 12v electric pump? As well as the reasons above:

- It will last longer, much longer! An electric pump may last 5 years or 20+ maybe... The Kismet will last 100 years or 300+ probably
- Its faster (than a £20 electric pump)
- Can achieve higher pressure
- Works in the numerous situations where you have no electricity
- Can be used in the rain without risk of braking
- It better for the planet (not just because your not using electricity, but mainly becasue your not buying something that has been made in a dirty great factory in China and shipped across the world!)
- Its pretteir... duh!

You hit the only real disadvantage on the head... these things are typically between 70 - 100 years old, so you will be lucky to find one that does not need some love to bring into working condition. It typically takes me a couple of hours to take apart, clean, re-assemlbe and oil. Which 2 out 3 times is all that needs doing

If anyone wants to restore one this is agreat site: http://www.vintagepumps.co.uk/index.html

Edited by Rhyolith on Tuesday 25th October 17:06

Edited by Rhyolith on Tuesday 25th October 17:12

Edited by Rhyolith on Tuesday 25th October 22:26

[caelite]

I paid £20 on a Michelin branded double barrel footpump, yes it may not work as well in 70 years but is a fantastic piece of kit when compared to a lot of the bargain basement single barrel ones.

[loose cannon]

Great post op, was only thinking about this yesterday as my 6 month old twin cylinder Halfords Jobbie is dying already

[Rhyolith]

caelite said:

I paid £20 on a Michelin branded double barrel footpump, yes it may not work as well in 70 years but is a fantastic piece of kit when compared to a lot of the bargain basement single barrel ones.

Come back to me in 2 years, tell me if its still working perfectly... that frame looks so thin.

Personally I don't think its really fair to compare to 300psi Kismet master... maybe compare it to the Kismet Baby, which cost me £3:50

btw, Thanks for poestive reaction to the post everyone

[Deisel Weisel]

caelite said:

I paid £20 on a Michelin branded double barrel footpump, yes it may not work as well in 70 years but is a fantastic piece of kit when compared to a lot of the bargain basement single barrel ones.

Mine fell apart in under 6 months with light use. If you check out Amazon reviews, you’ll find mine wasn’t the only one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michelin-Double-Barrel-Fo...

[swisstoni]

ging84 said:

why would i want these when i get an electric pump with a digital readout, that runs off a 12v socket on the car and requires no maintenance for it's life time all for less than £20?

I have had no luck with these whatsoever. Either crap out completely or just sit there making a ton of noise but no discernible air movement!

That pump at the top of the thread looks like a proper piece of gear. Won't try and dig itself into the ground either like most modern designs.

[cptsideways]

Pretty sure my Grandad's one which is my mums garage still works fine & it got used lots by four boys all with lots of cars in the 70's 80's & 90's.

Might have to dig it out & give it a polish

[Rhyolith]

swisstoni said:

That pump at the top of the thread looks like a proper piece of gear. Won't try and dig itself into the ground either like most modern designs.

It really is proper! This is the main reason I bought it (the WW2 one was my first, first of many now (see below) ) was because it was sick of the modern crud being so... cruddy! Even purely from a "get the job done" point of view I would choose any of my brass pumps over a modern option... they are just better.

The Kismet Master at the top is actually meant to be mounted on a wooden board, apparently they were hung on their boards on the wall of airplane maintenance buildings (or wherever the tools were kept) during WW2. Your right though, even without the board it don't move anywhere you don't want it too.

cptsideways said:

Pretty sure my Grandad's one which is my mums garage still works fine & it got used lots by four boys all with lots of cars in the 70's 80's & 90's.

Might have to dig it out & give it a polish

Do it! The website I linked above has a lot of useful info on old pumps, particularly how to maintain them properly (vegetable really makes a difference to the performance!).

[foxsasha]

I got tired of modern pumps failing after a short while so bought this:

[Iva Barchetta]

Deisel Weisel said:

caelite said:

I paid £20 on a Michelin branded double barrel footpump, yes it may not work as well in 70 years but is a fantastic piece of kit when compared to a lot of the bargain basement single barrel ones.

Mine fell apart in under 6 months with light use. If you check out Amazon reviews, you’ll find mine wasn’t the only one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michelin-Double-Barrel-Fo...

I have the single barrel version of that, a few years old ,doesn't get much use as my tyres

retain good pressure, mostly.

Used it at the Dover dockside 10 days ago when my O/S/R looked a bit deflated just before a 1200 mile road trip.....

[CS Garth]

Another vendor coming on here promoting his products. It's Welsh dressers and kitchens one minute, kismet foot pumps the next.

I jest - good share

[ChasW]

That's Xmas sorted!

[David87]

I've broken pretty much all of the common foot pumps that are available. This one, however, is a cut above and is very well made. I have yet to destroy it.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00TG7Q9VM/ref...

[Rhyolith]

foxsasha]I got tired of modern pumps failing after a short while so bought this: said:

Thats in good shape! I can never get enough of how good they look when they are clean.

David87 said:

I've broken pretty much all of the common foot pumps that are available. This one, however, is a cut above and is very well made. I have yet to destroy it.

Thats easily the best quality modern example I have seen (judging from the picture). The frame looks a decent thickness and are those double stroke cylinders (one inside the other)? 140psi is cute

The main thing is it looks like its not made to be taken apart so repair would be difficult, which is typical sales ploy to get you to buy another when it brakes. This is basically standard practice now and drive me nuts!

Something that I think is just another sales ploy two is this notion that 2 cylinder pumps are somehow better, I don't think they are. Two small cylinders are less efficient than one big one (double the friction), so it is not good for pumping capacity/speed. It is possible to use 2 cylinders for double compression, literally doubling the pressure (William Turner called this "Duplex" and it is what allows the Kismet Master to reach 300 PSI), however for this to work the cylinders should be one inside the other (see below) not separate... so again two separate cylinders are pointless.

---

You can see the "Duplex" Design here. Its the pump at the top taken apart.

The First cylinder is the big brass thing on the right, its compressed by the leather washer on the base of the next large brass part left. That second largest brass part is the second cylinder, it screws onto that part in the middle of the brass pipe on the next part left. The second cylinder is compressed by the leather washer in top of the same pipe. Hope that kinda makes sense, its hard to explain in words.

Kismet Master Duplex Air Ministry (dismantled) by Rhyolith, on Flickr

Edited by Rhyolith on Wednesday 26th October 11:57

Edited by Rhyolith on Wednesday 26th October 11:58

Edited by Rhyolith on Wednesday 26th October 11:59

Edited by Rhyolith on Wednesday 26th October 12:00