The Best Tyre Pumps... in the World?

[vikingaero]

swisstoni said:

vikingaero said:

Best general footpump are the Michelin ones although the hoses can be the weak point. Polco do a very similar style Michelin pump that is around £5-8 cheaper.

Otherwise the best footpump are the Lidl ones when they have them in stock. £5.99, frame is robust, nozzle locking lever locks up rather than down which works better, and the amount of air per pump is far better than the Michelins. Only downfall is the woefully inaccurate gauge, but I use a separate dial gauge.

With respect, that all sounds like the cheap modern ste complained about throughout this thread.

I do and don't agree with you Toni.

Kismet pumps may be the dogs but I wouldn't want one in each of my cars because of cost and weight. Footpumps are pretty useless at home when you really need one. I just gave examples of decent modern alternatives and said that the cheapest one was better than the Michelin or Halfords one that everyone buys. I have 2 Michelin pumps - one on its last legs, but because of the Lidl ones I have one in each car and have also equipped my parents and siblings out as they are cheap. I did get strange looks in Lidl buying a dozen footpumps!

[anonymous-user]

Compressor for me, 10 seconds and jobs done

[Rhyolith]

Orangecurry said:

... is a Sutty any good?

Yes. The Sutty "Golden Tornado" is a fairly common vintage pump that is one of the most practical I have come across (light, well made and has a gauge).It is not a pretty as the Kismets, but an excellent tool! Unfortunately mine has a nasty modern halfords brand hose and connector.
Sutty Golden Tornado by Rhyolith, on Flickr

yonex said:

A Halfords £7 job always served well, upgraded to a compressor and besides the benefit of air tools, pumping, ahem, is a thing of the past.

I have seen how fast a good compressor can inflate a tyre, no manual pump can even start to compete. However Compressors and large, heavy, expensive and require power... great for a workshop but not great to lug around or use out and about, they are different tools that both exist for a reason.

That shiny stirrup pump: O.O for the picture. However I have bought stuff with lovely images like that before and been disappointed, either in never looks like that or it does, but only for the first few years then it looks terrible (and often brakes at that point too).

Joe-2z6jw said:

Hi all,

So I'm reading through this thread and thinking that most of you think the same as me. Modern foot pumps all suck and are nasty pieces of tat.

My question is, if a pump was available, say a modern version of a Kismet, would any of you pay the premium for it? And more importantly, do you think anyone else would pay for it? I realise it's a slightly niche product though.

I don't know how much a Kismet would have sold for back in the day in todays money, but up to £100 for a fully restored one on ebay seems fair. But lets work with £70, +/- £20. Would you buy it?

I ask because I'm a design engineer and I'm fairy certain I could design one and at least get it on to KickStarter or some other crowd funding platform.

However, I'm also thinking that nowhere makes because no-one would be one.

Discuss!

PS, if there were interest, I would seriously consider making a high quality modern Kismet (or similar) equivalent and selling them.

This is an interesting point. I will try to find out come much these pumps actually cost in "the day". I imagine £100 or thereabouts (by todays money) is not a bad guess for something like the Kismet Duplex Master, however this was near the "top of the range" model. Something like the Kismet "Baby" probably cost a lot less.

Continuing on from that. One of the things I hate about the modern society is throw away consumer culture, we expect to get everything silly cheap and don't pay attention to the massive quality drop that results from this, not to mention the waste (going to wash over it here, but this is a really big deal)! People have essentially been brain washed by advertising to think that you can get good products cheaply, you can't. Everyone has forgotten that almost everything can be quite easily made to last a lifetime, being impressed by anything more than 2-3 years of service from most modern products.

Quality in these old pumps is not the only thing I am trying to advertise with this post, but also second hand things. Buying second hand has so many advantages and is one of the best things we can possibly do in terms of protecting the environment. Look at the pumps, you get a cheap, reliable and frankly beautiful product.

So would I buy a new kismet for £100... maybe in a few years if I get a bit wealthier But honestly this would mostly be out of curiosity. For functional purposes I would do "Kismet" a search on eBay but the cheapest one with all the parts and spend an afternoon doing it up Cost me £10-30 and I get something that works perfectly, in know exactly how to maintain and thus lasts me forever (not mention makes a excellent talking piece!).

vikingaero said:

I do and don't agree with you Toni.

Kismet pumps may be the dogs but I wouldn't want one in each of my cars because of cost and weight. Footpumps are pretty useless at home when you really need one. I just gave examples of decent modern alternatives and said that the cheapest one was better than the Michelin or Halfords one that everyone buys. I have 2 Michelin pumps - one on its last legs, but because of the Lidl ones I have one in each car and have also equipped my parents and siblings out as they are cheap. I did get strange looks in Lidl buying a dozen footpumps!

Cost and weight? Fair play in terms of weight with the Kismet master, which is a tank of a thing and generally costs around £20-30 second hand. But have you seen the Kismet Baby I posted at the top? It cost me £3.50 and is tiny! And why are foot pumps useless in the home?

---

I am mildly dyslexic so often need to go through a correct the mass of typos and wording errors, thats why so many edits

[Orangecurry]

Orangecurry said:

Rhyolith said:

The bigger challenge is finding decent connectors, I get the old ones where I can (the one on the Wood Milne is a "Sutty") but they are rare. If anyone knows a source of good quality modern connectors let me know please

This - I've got a very good MTB pump, but the plastic connector has worn.

Anyone?

[Bonefish Blues]

Do you mean a track pump? If so whole replacement chucks and/or hose assys are available from Wiggle et al. If it happens to be an SKS then they will send a replacement foc

[Orangecurry]

Sure - I can easily buy a replacement; but are there any of good quality? Is there a particular manufacturer? Most of them are rubbish.

[FoxtrotOscar1]

I've never seen some one with such a hard-on for foot pumps. Well done, I suppose.

[Bonefish Blues]

Orangecurry said:

Sure - I can easily buy a replacement; but are there any of good quality? Is there a particular manufacturer? Most of them are rubbish.

Replacement part or whole pump, do you mean?

[Orangecurry]

Orangecurry said:

Rhyolith said:

The bigger challenge is finding decent connectors, I get the old ones where I can (the one on the Wood Milne is a "Sutty") but they are rare. If anyone knows a source of good quality modern connectors let me know please

This - I've got a very good MTB pump, but the plastic connector has worn.

Connector.

[silentbrown]

Just stumbled on this : http://vintagepumps.co.uk/sales.html

Not you, is it, OP?

The concept of Concours condition footpumps is a new one on me!

[Bonefish Blues]

Orangecurry said:

Connector.

SKS or Leryzene, say: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/pumps/lezyne-abs2-chuc...

[Rhyolith]

silentbrown said:

Just stumbled on this : http://vintagepumps.co.uk/sales.html

Not you, is it, OP?

The concept of Concours condition footpumps is a new one on me!

No, not me. It is where I learnt a lot of what I know though, very useful site for restoring these things.

Never heard of the word "Concour" before!

[RicksAlfas]

So, in need of a new foot pump and inspired by this thread, I am now in receipt of an ex Air Ministry Kismet Master.








I've done nothing more than unpack it and wipe it over with an oily rag.
I need to do some reading up, but it's a mighty beast that's for sure!

[swisstoni]

RicksAlfas said:

So, in need of a new foot pump and inspired by this thread, I am now in receipt of an ex Air Ministry Kismet Master.








I've done nothing more than unpack it and wipe it over with an oily rag.
I need to do some reading up, but it's a mighty beast that's for sure!

Just need the Spitfire now.

[Bonefish Blues]

For pumping up Barrage Balloons?

[Balmoral]

'tis a thing of beauty, gravitas and heft! Well done!

[Rhyolith]

RicksAlfas said:

So, in need of a new foot pump and inspired by this thread, I am now in receipt of an ex Air Ministry Kismet Master.


I've done nothing more than unpack it and wipe it over with an oily rag.
I need to do some reading up, but it's a mighty beast that's for sure!

Fantastic! I am delighted the thread inspired you to do this, its exactly what I hoped it to do

It looks in good nick (think I was watching this same one on eBay!). Cool how the Air Mintry Logo is cast into the base! Not seen that before.

Take a look on the back of the cylinder, see if there is a date. Like this:

Air Ministry 1944 by Rhyolith, on Flickr

I cannot see any rust, so you should not have any problems getting the screws out hopefully... which is the most common problem I face when doing these up -_-

I would recommend giving the vintage foot pumps site a read, he basically tells you all you need to know on there: http://www.vintagepumps.co.uk/index.html

This might also be helpful:
Kismet Master Duplex Air Ministry (dismantled) by Rhyolith, on Flickr

I usually just take them apart (to the largest degree possible) clean everything (get rid of all the old oil and grease), replace any dodgy leather washers then re-assmeble. Once together I oil the cylinder with A LOT of cooking oil and the joints in the frame with generous amounts of 3 in 1. I find a rag soaked in 3 in 1 rubbed all over makes a good protective layer against future rust and looks nice without removing the "aged" look thats quite charming in these things

[RicksAlfas]

Thanks. That's a useful picture. I've squirted all the threads in penetrating fluid, but they look in good nick so I think they will come apart OK.
I'm a bit apprehensive about getting the brass cylinder undone. Did you need to use some grips to undo it? I don't want to mangle it!

I've found the date you referred to. 1944:



Yours looks to still have some Air Force blue paint on it. Can't find any on mine, just bits of black. Must be from a night squadron.

[Rhyolith]

So long as the base (the bit with the date on) was solidly attached to something, I found that could just unscrew it with my bare hands.

So if you detach the top of the cylinder from the frame, and remove the spring (make sure the pump is in the open position, or it will fly across the room at this point!). Put the base of the pump frame in a vice if you have one (or just have it fixed down to something) and twist the knurled bit of the cylinder, it undoes in the traditional direction (not a reverse thread or anything).

That part is usually fairly easy (rarely stuck), if your vice has metal jaws might be an idea to cover them over with some cloth or something to protect the pump.

[RicksAlfas]

Thanks. I'll report back!

If you get chance, please can you post a picture of your hook which holds the pump closed?
It's missing off mine.