I started seeing ads for these portable battery operated rechargeable car/ bicycle/ motorcycle/ blow-up toy inflators, such as:
Anyone tried one of these for 12" - 16" - 18" - 24" latex balloons?
My idea is to set it to a target pressure which is between "the balloon is full" and "the balloon will pop", which from what I've seen in youtube videos seems to be around 1.2PSI.
Well, this video actually shows under 1 PSI though I think what happens here is the inflation is too fast to really catch the quick rise in pressure right before the pop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIRKbSVJrkk
Some science-y videos give a bit over 1.0PSI.
Undoubtedly some experimentation will be required.
The hope is that the pump is _slow_ enough, and accurate enough, to be able to watch the pressure as the pump inflates the balloon, and tune the expectation (that is, to what target pressure to set the pump) from our experience of how large we like our balloons to get, without popping too many in the learning process...
I've communicated with the seller of this particular product. They claim that it can be set to a specific target pressure (e.g. 1.2PSI) and that it will stop pumping at that point.
The questions include:
1. Since the initial pressure to start inflating a balloon is usually very high, we might have to pre-inflate; or, perhaps the pump has a "just on" mode to start with, and then switch it to "target pressure" mode.
2. Accuracy. If the pump's built-in pressure sensor is not both quick and accurate, then the very small difference between "well under burst pressure" and "oops" will simply make my idea fail. (Bicycle tires, car tires, etc are high pressure - 30PSI to 160PSI), and have a lot of leeway, so a pump for such tires simply doesn't need to be super-accurate; also, tires hold very large air volumes, so take minutes to inflate, so the pump's pressure sensor doesn't have to be super-fast/responsive).
3. Noise. Most balloon inflators are very loud. It would be nice for this to be a bit quieter. Some of these pumps mention dB ratings of 85 or 90 - loud. One mentioned <60, which would be good if in other ways it works (And if the advertising of the sound level is to be believed).
4. Speed. As noted above, too-fast would both be a problem for the need for the pump's sensor to react quickly enough, and inflating a balloon fast tends to allow it less stretch so the initial maximum size would be smaller. These pumps have varying liters/minute levels, I've seen as low as 12L/min and as high as 40. (I note that my typical, cheap, noisy, two-nozzle electric pump is rated at a whole lot more L/min than any of these, so that's probably not a problem here).
5. Durability/convenience. Some of these small inflators run from a 12V car cigarette lighter adapter power plug, so they can work fairly constantly (except for overheating). Others run on rechargeable batteries, and I think I've seen comments for some products which say that they either can be charging the battery or they can be inflating - not both; so the battery and the battery recharge time will significantly limit how many balloons could be inflated in a session.
So, anyone try these? Thoughts?
thanks!
Anyone tried one of these for 12" - 16" - 18" - 24" latex balloons?
My idea is to set it to a target pressure which is between "the balloon is full" and "the balloon will pop", which from what I've seen in youtube videos seems to be around 1.2PSI.
Well, this video actually shows under 1 PSI though I think what happens here is the inflation is too fast to really catch the quick rise in pressure right before the pop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIRKbSVJrkk
Some science-y videos give a bit over 1.0PSI.
Undoubtedly some experimentation will be required.
The hope is that the pump is _slow_ enough, and accurate enough, to be able to watch the pressure as the pump inflates the balloon, and tune the expectation (that is, to what target pressure to set the pump) from our experience of how large we like our balloons to get, without popping too many in the learning process...
I've communicated with the seller of this particular product. They claim that it can be set to a specific target pressure (e.g. 1.2PSI) and that it will stop pumping at that point.
The questions include:
1. Since the initial pressure to start inflating a balloon is usually very high, we might have to pre-inflate; or, perhaps the pump has a "just on" mode to start with, and then switch it to "target pressure" mode.
2. Accuracy. If the pump's built-in pressure sensor is not both quick and accurate, then the very small difference between "well under burst pressure" and "oops" will simply make my idea fail. (Bicycle tires, car tires, etc are high pressure - 30PSI to 160PSI), and have a lot of leeway, so a pump for such tires simply doesn't need to be super-accurate; also, tires hold very large air volumes, so take minutes to inflate, so the pump's pressure sensor doesn't have to be super-fast/responsive).
3. Noise. Most balloon inflators are very loud. It would be nice for this to be a bit quieter. Some of these pumps mention dB ratings of 85 or 90 - loud. One mentioned <60, which would be good if in other ways it works (And if the advertising of the sound level is to be believed).
4. Speed. As noted above, too-fast would both be a problem for the need for the pump's sensor to react quickly enough, and inflating a balloon fast tends to allow it less stretch so the initial maximum size would be smaller. These pumps have varying liters/minute levels, I've seen as low as 12L/min and as high as 40. (I note that my typical, cheap, noisy, two-nozzle electric pump is rated at a whole lot more L/min than any of these, so that's probably not a problem here).
5. Durability/convenience. Some of these small inflators run from a 12V car cigarette lighter adapter power plug, so they can work fairly constantly (except for overheating). Others run on rechargeable batteries, and I think I've seen comments for some products which say that they either can be charging the battery or they can be inflating - not both; so the battery and the battery recharge time will significantly limit how many balloons could be inflated in a session.
So, anyone try these? Thoughts?
thanks!
Comment