How to inflate loons with huge necks

[SirSquishy]

I swear there was another thread about this on this forum somewhere, but I can't find it.

I bought my second ever 72" loon recently. A giant red Tilco. The problem is, I haven't been able to inflate it. The neck is so huge that I don't know how to inflate it. The obvious answer is use a leaf blower, but I don't have one and am not about to go out and buy one because I have nowhere to keep it when I'm not using it. Friends coming over might wonder why I have it, hard to explain that one since I don't have a need for it.

So what are some creative ways to inflate a giant 72" loon with a big neck? Not only that, how do I seal it when I'm done inflating? The latex is so thick it's hard to knot.

Any help appreciated. Can't wait to play with her!

[7balloon]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

I'm sorry I don't ahve a solution, but I'm jealous of the fun you are going to have once you do get it perfect.

[LoonerHoax]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

Shop vac. Large volume of air output and you can usually get different sized hoses and nozzles. If people come over, it doesn't look out of place in the house. Try reusable zipties for securing the neck. I know with the cloudbuster loons, zipties are what is recommended. With the reusable ones, you can release the locking mechanism instead of trying to clip the ziptie and putting a hole in the neck of the balloon.

[Axle]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

my balloon pump has quite a small nozzle so i've gotten extremely good at folding big loon mouths and pressing them airtight around it with my fingers. maybe being a guitarist helps with that iron grip of mine.

as for tying? a simple piece of string can do the job if you don't have anything more specialised for the task. many people invest in biiiig clips which i can vouch for as well.

[Frustrated blower]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

Figure out the diameter of the neck, go to your local hardware store, and purchase the appropriate size PVC connector, and buy enough reducers to get it down to where you can use either a regular pump, or be more. Comfortable mouth inflating.

And it will be less conspicuous.
Just a quick way to do it.

[SirSquishy]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

Figure out the diameter of the neck, go to your local hardware store, and purchase the appropriate size PVC connector, and buy enough reducers to get it down to where you can use either a regular pump, or be more. Comfortable mouth inflating.

And it will be less conspicuous.
Just a quick way to do it.

If I were to use my regular pump, I would need to find a way to plug in the end of my small hose. I suppose a nice tight rubber o-ring or something similar would help the air from leaking out. I would need some way to seal between the adapter and my hose.

Shop vac. Large volume of air output and you can usually get different sized hoses and nozzles. If people come over, it doesn't look out of place in the house. Try reusable zipties for securing the neck. I know with the cloudbuster loons, zipties are what is recommended. With the reusable ones, you can release the locking mechanism instead of trying to clip the ziptie and putting a hole in the neck of the balloon.

The reusable zipties sound like they would work. I'll have to try that and let you all know how it works.

[balloonPatcher]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

You can glue a reduction tube made from pieces of other balloons onto the end of the neck. I still inflate the giants by mouth.

[SirSquishy]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

You can glue a reduction tube made from pieces of other balloons onto the end of the neck. I still inflate the giants by mouth.

This is helpful, did not think of that, thanks!

I did find a way to inflate and seal using shoelaces. It's rather difficult and certainly not perfect, but gets the job done at least. The hardest part with the shoelace method is getting the hose I use to inflate the loon with out without letting to much air out.

[geoff]

Re: How to inflate loons with huge necks

Hi I went to a car boot sale and bought a cylinder vacuum cleaner sucks one end blows the other end, I cleaned it up works great blows balloons gentle and slow.