I was pumping on Sun. after the big Dec. Blizzard and as it inevitably happens to those of us who choose to pump their kites in the winter, SNAP! I broke the manufacturers handle right off and there I was with a partially inflated kite and a pump that was half the pump it used to be. Determined to get my first ride of the season I soldiered on and finished inflating, albeit with much effort. I found my self angry at the manufacturers for building such a worthless flimsy piece of junk. Then I realized that they are intended for use on beautiful 90 deg beaches not 4 deg frozen lakes and that was likely the reason for the break. I considered for a moment just purchasing a new pump until I realized that this would not solve the problem of cold weather durability. So I set out to design a permanent solution to this problem
1.) My first attempt was to simply epoxy the Handle back on using Loctite plastic epoxy which the packaging said would hold at a strength of 3200 PSI. While the epoxy held the handle in place once it was set the handle snapped again after about 10-15 strokes on the pump while out on the lake
and I was no where near the amount of force exerted when the kite is near its suggested inflation point.2.) My second and I believe final attempt involved me constructing a post market handle from a 3/4" PVC Tee and some 3/4" PVC pipe (see pictures). The Tee contains threads on the bottom port which joined snugly with the threads already on the pumps shaft. Then I cut two 5" lengths of the 3/4" pipe and pressure fit them into the two remaining ports on the Tee. I think they will remain firmly in place without gluing them in this also allows for the option to disassemble or repair if either of the handles or Tee were to break. I also left the ends open to allow for pump to draw properly.
In total I spent $2.00 on the Tee and the pipe which I had to buy a 5' section of which is fine b/c now I have some for repair or other projects. This solution ended up cheaper than the $4.00 I spent on epoxy. I haven't tried to inflate yet but it seems sturdy and If my pump ever decides to stop working and I actually have to buy a new one then I can transfer this handle to the new one b/c I know the manufacturers will likely break.
Anybody else have Post Market Pump mods that they have found useful?