Air Awning Pumps

[Eddiewin88]

Just had our new Vango air awning delivered. Only unrolled it in the living room a bit, and removed one of the bracing beams to test the pump.

 

Not very impressed with the pump, I have to say.

 

The connections are bayonet type - but they're all very loose. Also, if you view any of the You Tube vids on air awnings you'll see them being pumped up rapidly - 'pump, pump. pump. pump, pump' seems to be the speed.

 

The Vango pump, however, seems to have quite a lot of resistance - 'pump. ...pump. ...pump. ...pump. ...pump' is more the pace

 

Either the You Tube video clip run at an increased speed during the inflation sequences , or they have better pumps (or the pump operators have tremendous strength)

 

I can see that pumping up an entire 420 awning isn't going to be much fun. I suppose the obvious answer is an electric pump, but the £80 model sold by Cross is out of stock until next year (I can see why they sold so fast!) and the alternatives seem to be around £120.

 

Anyone know of an alternative? - or do I just need a bettr manual pump?

[Easy T]

What pressure does it need?? No idea now what I paid for mine 5 years ago but doubt if it was more than 30 quid. However car and van tyres are low volume and hi pressure ('van tyres 65 psi). I notice that Halfords do a high volume lower pressure one for inflating paddling pools, air beds etc for £15.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Easy T

[Steve Drew]

I have a Vango Air awning the bayonet fixing needs to be pushed home quite firmly then it pumps up quite quickly, the pump is the same one Sunncamp and Kampa use, are you sure you have the hose on the right side of the pump to pump it up, not deflate?

[sleepyfolk]

The first kampa ones had a gauge on that caused a problem, it was taken off the 2014 model. Advice was to remove the gauge and it pumped easier, reason I mention it is I just googled vango air pump and the one shown had a gauge on.

[Steve Drew]

The first kampa ones had a gauge on that caused a problem, it was taken off the 2014 model. Advice was to remove the gauge and it pumped easier, reason I mention it is I just googled vango air pump and the one shown had a gauge on.

The gauge has a built in pressure relief valve set to the maximum recommended 7PSI pressure pumping up one of the cross beams it reaches this in about 3-4 pumps.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Steve Drew

[Lee21]

We use an electric pump we bought from Argos years ago for inflating airbeds the same as this one below


http://www. argos. co. uk/static/Product/partNumber/3664120. htm

 

 

It is not quite man enough to get the tubes on our Kampa hard enough but it is not far off. It only takes about half a dozen pumps with the hand pump after that. It does only work on 230V though

[gumdrop]

I used a Vango pump, and thought how quick it was,

I thought it was a double action it was so fast.

Have another read of the instructions, perhaps you

missed something in your eagerness, I know I often do

[sleepyfolk]

The gauge has a built in pressure relief valve set to the maximum recommended 7PSI pressure pumping up one of the cross beams it reaches this in about 3-4 pumps.

Oh I forgot they have more than one inflation point don't they, you can't over inflate the kampa ones by hand, I'm glad I bought the electric pump a couple of months back!

[Eddiewin88]

I have a Vango Air awning the bayonet fixing needs to be pushed home quite firmly then it pumps up quite quickly, the pump is the same one Sunncamp and Kampa use, are you sure you have the hose on the right side of the pump to pump it up, not deflate?

 

 

Hi - I checked that the hose was on the 'inflate' side (it was) - but those bayonet fittings are still very loose, and no amount of pushing makes any difference. It fits into the bayonet - but just not tightly, if you see what I mean?

 

In fact, all the bayonets are loose - the valve to the pump, and the hose to the valve.

 

I asume that the gauge it doesn't hold the pressure indication? ours will display the pressure on the down stroke, then the needle will draw back as the pump is pulled upwards.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Eddiewin88

[gumdrop]

The RAC 600 for around £30 allows a preset pressure to

be achieved then cuts out automatically

http://www. autoexpress. co. uk/accessories-tyres/42981/ring-rac600-automatic-digital-air-compressor

[purplemadboy]

Only a proper 2 stage electric pump will work on air awnings . . The same pump is used to inflate rubber dinghies. As others have said to the gauge off, there is no way you can over inflate the awning .

[Steve Drew]

 

 

Hi - I checked that the hose was on the 'inflate' side (it was) - but those bayonet fittings are still very loose, and no amount of pushing makes any difference. It fits into the bayonet - but just not tightly, if you see what I mean?

 

In fact, all the bayonets are loose - the valve to the pump, and the hose to the valve.

 

I asume that the gauge it doesn't hold the pressure indication? ours will display the pressure on the down stroke, then the needle will draw back as the pump is pulled upwards.

Got you now the fittings at the pump end what I did on mine was I had some large o-rings sitting around so I put one in each of the female ends they now have to be slightly compressed to lock the connectors this stopped them flopping around.

[Eddiewin88]

I used a Vango pump, and thought how quick it was,

I thought it was a double action it was so fast.

Have another read of the instructions, perhaps you

missed something in your eagerness, I know I often do

 

Well, yes - I'm a real man and (as we all know) real men don't read manuals

 

However, I decided to become a wimp, and did read the manual (,pdf version, as no instruction manual has yet surfaced with the actual awning) - but it has virtually nothing to say on the subject of the pump, other than 'connect it'

 

It rather reminded me of those old Haynes car manuals - 'Remove nut 'A' - but which always failed to mention that you could only access nut 'A' if you happened to be born with a quadruple jointed arm that was at least four feet long)

 

I can see this air awning mullarky becoming more trouble than I bargained for.

Got you now the fittings at the pump end what I did on mine was I had some large o-rings sitting around so I put one in each of the female ends they now have to be slightly compressed to lock the connectors this stopped them flopping around.

 

 

Great idea (which I should have thought of myself, but didn't!)

 

Many thanks

 

What about the pressure indication? - does yours only give a reading on the inflation stroke?

[Steve Drew]

Yes the gauge is pretty useless because of the one way valve in the awning tube it will only indicate on the inflation stroke I just pump it until the pressure release valve works.

 

On mine there are some basic instructions sewn in the carry bag on a square of material.

Edited August 13, 2014 by Steve Drew

[Eddiewin88]

Yes the gauge is pretty useless because of the one way valve in the awning tube it will only indicate on the inflation stroke I just pump it until the pressure release valve works.

 

On mine there are some basic instructions sewn in the carry bag on a square of material.

 

 

 

Thanks for the 'O' ring tip - it worked perfectly on one connection - the other required some PTFE tape in addition to the 'O' ring.

 

I don't really mind - but for 700 quid you'd think that Vango could have ensured tight connections on the pump assembly!

 

Anyway, I've upset the dog - I inflated one of the roof beams, and then waved it around like one of those blow up wacker things they use on 'It's a knock out'

 

The dog was very unimpressed - and now slopes off whenever I produce the pump or any of the awning bits. ......my hope is that he doesn't try to get his revenge on the awning by biting on the poles when it's up on site;)

 

Thanks again for the 'O' ring tip.

[Kampa Max]

Just to clarify;

 

I have a Vango Air awning the bayonet fixing needs to be pushed home quite firmly then it pumps up quite quickly, the pump is the same one Sunncamp and Kampa use, are you sure you have the hose on the right side of the pump to pump it up, not deflate?

Whilst similar, the Kampa pump features a aluminium shaft, rather than plastic, to support the high pressure that our awnings inflate to.

 

The first kampa ones had a gauge on that caused a problem, it was taken off the 2014 model. Advice was to remove the gauge and it pumped easier, reason I mention it is I just googled vango air pump and the one shown had a gauge on.

The gauge was removed in ours for 2014 AIR awnings, and since very early on in 2013 we recommended removing the gauge. As Kampa awnings can not be physically over inflated without the pressure gauge, it is safe to do so.

[sleepyfolk]

Just to clarify; Whilst similar, the Kampa pump features a aluminium shaft, rather than plastic, to support the high pressure that our awnings inflate to. The gauge was removed in ours for 2014 AIR awnings, and since very early on in 2013 we recommended removing the gauge. As Kampa awnings can not be physically over inflated without the pressure gauge, it is safe to do so.

Hey kampa max, is there going to be anything new to inflate in 2015?

[coolrunner]

just read your posts with intrest,i pump up my kampa air 390 by hand and it only takes me on average 90 seconds with no effort

Edited September 12, 2014 by coolrunner

[Realwood]

This is_what I'm going to use.

Pumps my inflatable no probs.

IBRAVO BP12 12V PUMP 14. 5 PSI (1 BAR)

Bravo BP12 12v Pump 14. 5 Psi (1 Bar)

£82. 95 £76. 95

ADD TO BASKET

Bravo BP12 12v electric inflator - easy to use - reliable and powerful. Maximum pressure of 1 bar (14. 5 psi), which is enough to inflate all types of Inflatables including high pressure air floor inflatables and small Ribs up to 3. 00 metres long on the market today.

 

This is the pump we recommend for Honda Honwave dinghies.

 

Voltage 12 V DC

Max pressure 1 bar/14,5 psi

Piston flow rate 160 l/min

Consumption 20 A max

Automatic stop when selected pressure is reached.

Complete with connectors for dinghies and kites.

Complete with shoulder bag.

With 1. 70 m tube and 3 m power cord.

Can inflate and deflate.

[almeria]

This is_what I'm going to use.

Pumps my inflatable no probs.

IBRAVO BP12 12V PUMP 14. 5 PSI (1 BAR)

Bravo BP12 12v Pump 14. 5 Psi (1 Bar)

£82. 95 £76. 95

ADD TO BASKET

Bravo BP12 12v electric inflator - easy to use - reliable and powerful. Maximum pressure of 1 bar (14. 5 psi), which is enough to inflate all types of Inflatables including high pressure air floor inflatables and small Ribs up to 3. 00 metres long on the market today.

 

This is the pump we recommend for Honda Honwave dinghies.

 

Voltage 12 V DC

Max pressure 1 bar/14,5 psi

Piston flow rate 160 l/min

Consumption 20 A max

Automatic stop when selected pressure is reached.

Complete with connectors for dinghies and kites.

Complete with shoulder bag.

With 1. 70 m tube and 3 m power cord.

Can inflate and deflate.

[almeria]

The first time we used the pump I had the pressure gauge at the valve end, and the connectons were loose and sometimes separated. Had difficulty reaching the right pressure. Next time, we removed the pressure relief valve, and had the pressure gauge at the pump end. Now all connections are tight and we can pump up easily to the 7 or 8 psi. Vango Sanna 420. Very pleaded with it, too.

[Wildlife lover]

We are first time campers and have just used our Kampa Rally Pro Plus 2017 awning for the first time and found it extremely hard to deflate it and fold it up at the end of our 3 day break. Does anybody have any tips on how to make this easier for ourselves and does anybody know of a pump that would help deflate it. Thank you.

[Seaman]

There is a YouTube video showing how to deflate and pack away an air awning. Worth a look.

[ReggiePerrin]

We are first time campers and have just used our Kampa Rally Pro Plus 2017 awning for the first time and found it extremely hard to deflate it and fold it up at the end of our 3 day break. Does anybody have any tips on how to make this easier for ourselves and does anybody know of a pump that would help deflate it. Thank you.

We have just used our Rally Pro 390 for the very first time. It went up really easily. .. took longer to put the pegs in the ground than to put the awning up.

 

Packing away was likewise very easy. I opened all three (external) valves and with a whoosh of escaping air, it simply collapsed. The rolling up for packing in the bag finished the deflation job nicely.

 

I am very impressed with it after one trip. Next time though, I'll probably be swearing and cursing vigorously as I pump the thing endlessly to no effect before I remember I have left all of the valves open from this time

 

Edited to add. .. OP, just a thought, but did you have all of the internal air beam isolator valves fully open? Presumably, if any beams are isolated, they'll never deflate and partially closed valves would slow the whole process down.

Edited April 11, 2017 by happynomad