The Best Tyre Pumps... in the World?

[GordonEDWARDS]

Nice Duplex Master. If the RENRUT needs a new rubber insert, I hope you can get the small pin out, which holds the thumb lever in place, to dismantle it. Often these are rusted in and defy WD40 etc. Sometimes only option is to drill out. Most probably you will also need some new washers and seals inside - if you are lucky they can be cleaned and re-used. But usually the top hat washer in the gland box has gone and the gland box will need re-packing. Best of luck! Gordon

[jonclancy]

Thanks!

I am soaking the recalcitrant RENRUT in Shock and Unlock for a few days. Hopefully that will help. Heat next. Drill last!

[jonclancy]

Ah, the pin is pretty well stuck. I was just wondering which part is threaded, please? Is it through the lever body? Both the screw head and other end rotate with the lever.

A 150*C heat didn’t free anyrhing. I was hoping a different coefficient of expansion might help if the pin is steel. Could play some localised heat on the pin housing. The rubber will need replacing anyway! I’ll await any suggestions before I proceed.

VMT

Edit: After a bit of persuasion today, the adjuster wheel is freed, and the connector was tested on a small inner tube. Seemed to work ok, so I think I may just leave it alone!

Edited by jonclancy on Saturday 3rd March 20:01

[Rhyolith]

Sorry for the slow reply.

The thread on the pin is the far end from the driving head, however in my expierence its usaully stuck inside the lever rather than there. They can be a total pain!

[Perd Hapley]

Since my 12v compressor broke on its second outing, I've had no method of inflating tyres. I wasn't keen on buying a new foot pump either, since I wasted £20 on one of those god-awful Michelin pieces of ste which didn't last two years.

So I jumped on this Duplex when I saw it at a car show for £25. It needs a new hose, but works wonderfully so I'll do nothing more than oil it. Thanks for the heads up about these, Rhyolith.

[Faust66]

Don't use mineral oil... I use rape seed oil on my pumps (mineral oil will damage the leather washer).

Nice looking pump - see it still has the brass Renrut connector. These are quite rare to find so make sure you look after it!

[caelite]

caelite said:

Since this thread has been revived again.

Still got my Michelin double barrel, best part of 2 and a half years of frequent use and it is fully functional.

Another year, another thread revival, Michelin double barrel still working fine almost 4 years on.

[Pica-Pica]

caelite said:

caelite said:

Since this thread has been revived again.

Still got my Michelin double barrel, best part of 2 and a half years of frequent use and it is fully functional.

Another year, another thread revival, Michelin double barrel still working fine almost 4 years on.

My Halfords double barrel is still going after decades now, it’s an old red one, Halfords branded.

[Rhyolith]

Perd Hapley said:

Since my 12v compressor broke on its second outing, I've had no method of inflating tyres. I wasn't keen on buying a new foot pump either, since I wasted £20 on one of those god-awful Michelin pieces of ste which didn't last two years.

So I jumped on this Duplex when I saw it at a car show for £25. It needs a new hose, but works wonderfully so I'll do nothing more than oil it. Thanks for the heads up about these, Rhyolith.

No problem

I use vegetable oil in my pumps, I think any cooking oil works quite well. Mineral oil will be fine, it just shortens the life of the leather washers.

[Seesure]

Pica-Pica said:

caelite said:

caelite said:

Since this thread has been revived again.

Still got my Michelin double barrel, best part of 2 and a half years of frequent use and it is fully functional.

Another year, another thread revival, Michelin double barrel still working fine almost 4 years on.

My Halfords double barrel is still going after decades now, it’s an old red one, Halfords branded.

And my Michelin double barrel foot pump is consigned to a trip to the local tip... it was about 18 months old.

Need to find something that is made with use in mind and made with appropriate materials rather than a shelf ornament seemingly made out out cardboard.

[lornemalvo]

I really miss the way things used to be properly engineered. At the rate at which we are using up resources, we should return to making things that last, and are a pleasure to use. There must be an appetite for properly engineered quality, instead of the Chinese made crap we're inundated with.Perhaps that is the future for Britain, instead of having an economy that relies 75% on service industries.

[Rhyolith]

lornemalvo said:

I really miss the way things used to be properly engineered. At the rate at which we are using up resources, we should return to making things that last, and are a pleasure to use. There must be an appetite for properly engineered quality, instead of the Chinese made crap we're inundated with.Perhaps that is the future for Britain, instead of having an economy that relies 75% on service industries.

I agree and I think its a common sentiment.

The trouble is that people of the 21st centruy set standards of what they are willing to pay for things according what it costs to make them very quickly with cheap materials while using arguably exploitive labour. It simply is not realistic to produce high quality versions of the same products for the same kind of prices, particularly in this country. For example, a kismet master would most likely cost around £120 if it was sold today... can anyone honestly say they would pay that much for a foot pump?

Of course it does end up working out cheaper, as a kismet will last a lifetime, whereas a £10 michelin seems to last only 2 years at a push... so you make your money back after 24 years.

We are lucky enough in the UK to have lots of these kind of high quality products on the second hand market at dirt cheap prices.

Edited by Rhyolith on Tuesday 11th September 12:25

[Dog Star]

lornemalvo said:

I really miss the way things used to be properly engineered. At the rate at which we are using up resources, we should return to making things that last, and are a pleasure to use. There must be an appetite for properly engineered quality, instead of the Chinese made crap we're inundated with.Perhaps that is the future for Britain, instead of having an economy that relies 75% on service industries.

My thoughts exactly - if there is something that winds me up it's this cheap Chinese crap on sale everywhere. If people want to buy stuff cheap, fair enough, but what winds me up is that most of it is so poor or useless that it just ends up in landfill - a good example of this is those solar garden lights that are on sale all over the place. It's just tat, useless crap. What a waste of finite resources.

[lufbramatt]

Recently I visited the little car museum in Llangollen, North Wales, and noticed in the corner he had two long racks full of old Dunlop and Kismet footpumps, must have had about 30 of them. Ended up having a very geeky chat with the owner about them, he shared our enthusiasm for these old things

[Seesure]

Dog Star said:

My thoughts exactly - if there is something that winds me up it's this cheap Chinese crap on sale everywhere. If people want to buy stuff cheap, fair enough, but what winds me up is that most of it is so poor or useless that it just ends up in landfill - a good example of this is those solar garden lights that are on sale all over the place. It's just tat, useless crap. What a waste of finite resources.

+1

But for many people we now have a culture of having to have the latest version of something regardless of how much life is left in something...

Anything with a screen seems to be at the top of many folks "want" list followed closely by games consoles of one sort or another...

The "Primarni" generation buy, use and dump... without any thought of longevity...

[GordonEDWARDS]

Glad to see this thread has come alive again!

On the oiling of washers - one has to be a bit careful. Vegetable oil is to be used instead of mineral oil - but some vegetables oils 'freeze' (i.e. solidify) at temperatures around zero degrees centigrade. So its best to avoid these since the pump could get a bit stiff and gunged up after a cold night in the garage or in the boot! Sunflower and rapeseed oil are the best as they dont freeze until well below zero. Blended neatsfoot oil is also suitable - the blending ( not sure with what) keeps it liquid at well below zero. Can be obtained off ebay.

Gordon

[Pica-Pica]

As said earlier, I have had a double-barrelled from Halfords for decades. I remember now, it replaced a single-barrelled one, because single ones are too unstable on sloping or weak ground. It was too easy for your foot to flip it sideways, and the pedal spring back and bang against the ankle. Also a double barrel one is quicker to add air.

[Rhyolith]

Pica-Pica said:

As said earlier, I have had a double-barrelled from Halfords for decades. I remember now, it replaced a single-barrelled one, because single ones are too unstable on sloping or weak ground. It was too easy for your foot to flip it sideways, and the pedal spring back and bang against the ankle. Also a double barrel one is quicker to add air.

If yours is decades old its probably from the end of the era when there were still some well made foot pumps around. Look after it, I doubt you’d be able to replace it now.

I am still somewhat of the opinion seperated double barrelled pumps aren't a great design and exist mainly as a sales pitch. While stability on awkward ground is a pretty solid case for them, the same thing can be acheived with re-designing the base to be more stable (look at Kismet Master and Garage), or putting them on a plywoode board like they did with the WW2 K. Masters.

Further there is no reason (I can think of) why two cylinders would be more efficent than one, indeed one big cylinder is almost certainly more efficent (in terms of energy in, compressed air out) if you going for just volume of air moved.

Lastly having a lot of air volume per stroke is not necessarly going to speed up the process, as in increases the effort you need to put in (your moving more air after all)... just try using one of the giant kismet or dunlop pumps with their huge double cylinders (one inside the other), bloody hell its hard work! This means more brakes during pumping unless your very strong, making it take longer. So I suppose foot pumps are a bit like axes, you need to get the one suited to your physke for maxium speed.

Edited by Rhyolith on Friday 12th October 07:10

[Rhyolith]

Finally found a model of Kismet I have wanted for a while, the smallest (to my knowledge) in there range, the "Scooterflator". It is insanely tiny, makes even the K. Baby look big!

Kismet Scooterflator by Rhyolith, on Flickr
Kismet Scooterflator by Rhyolith, on Flickr

To give you more of an idea, here is the Baby next to some other pumps. For those who don't have one of these for reference, i would consider the K. Popular (second from left) to be a 'normal' sized foot pump.

4 Foot Pumps by Rhyolith, on Flickr

[Perd Hapley]

The Scooterflator is adorable.

Here's an ACTION SHOT of mine. I oiled it with vegetable oil as advised and fitted an ugly but functional new hose. It works beautifully, and is one of the quickest foot pumps I've ever used. The lack of a built in gauge wasn't an issue as I just deliberately overshot a bit and then let the excess air out with the pressure gauge.



Does anyone know what the thread is (in the pump body) for this valve? I want to replace it, it leaks.