Electric pumps

[MK]

Looking for recommendation of items to stock in my store. I own and use the yellow one Bravo BST 12, retail $279. Randy speaks well of the grey/black one Bravo BP 12, retail $119, but he modified battery option with a motorcycle battery, $??; BP12 comes with optional light green battery pack Ni/Mh boasting over 400 charge cycles as an ad-on option for $125. My buy-in to distribute is $1000 and I'm hoping to supply our market with a preferred option. I also use a Black and Decker $59. I keep loosing a connection piece on it (fits loose and falls out) and it is also a manual transition from High Volume to High Pressure whereas the Bravo is plug into inflate valve and turn on to desired psi. Both have auto-shut-off for desired psi but Bravo is a little quicker to finish. The Coleman is another great option for ~$20. I'm hoping to discover preference of Bravo BST 12 and Bravo BP 12. Thank you.

[ice_kmauve]

One option would be to buy a coleman air mattress, if it comes with an electric pump. I have one, which has a rechargeable battery inside. It fills up a td16 pretty fast. Keep your eyes peeled at yard sales, etc, and you can pick one up for 5 bucks.

[Drvermin]

I have the Black and Decker that I got about 3 years ago after watching you pump up my kite at a lesson I was taking with you. I like it a lot but I have to finish off the final few PSI with a hand pump. For winter kiting there is nothing better than screwing in an ice screw, unfolding the kite next to it and connecting the pump hook to the screw and then hooking up a pump to do the dirty work. At this point I usually go back into my vehicle and warm up. So I could really see the benefit of a pump that could do the whole fill for me automagically.

[scotty]

I'll take the BST 12 when you get the distribution.

[scotty]

Hmmm, is that the BST 12 that comes with the purchase of a 2015 SS Turbine?

[MK]

Why yes, yes it does!!

[MK]

Most of the 2015 gear is in and available, some already in stock in my store in White Bear. The Turbine isn't in yet but I have two options:
1. Pre order - I have some coming next month I've already pre-ordered, just apply your name to it.
2. 2014 in stock I have some wiggle room on price with to move now.

[Kevinousdigian]

I've had a BTP12 pump for 3.5 years and LOVE it. Here are some considerations or lessons learned.

1) I love my Bravo BTP12 digital pump and if this one breaks I will replace it because it speeds up me getting on the water and saves my back from a lot of work. I get my kite lines all ready while the kite is pumped up (2.5-4minutes).

2) Expect there to be 'issues' with the Bravo BP pumps. Barry and I bought new ones 3.5 yrs ago and have had several issues. We bought some of the first ones off the boat from Asia for this new design....
I've had issues with battery, charger, digital display, and pump unit. Some of these were because we bought the early versions. I don't think you need the digital one - I think that is all we could get when we wanted them so we bought it. I'm not sure if they pump better/faster than the BP12. There is also a BTP12 manometer (analog version of the one I got) that is $25 cheaper about.

3) Mike - Would be great to have a local dealer for them. Be sure you know and clarify your role for support. When they break are you going to fix it personally or are you sure you can get company to stand behind them and warranty them. The person Barry and I bought from has provided exceptional service and worked with the company to get us better and new parts. He also has taken them apart and fixes them and provided us broken parts at times so we could fix on our own. For example the circuit board stopped working so he mailed me a new one and I installed, much cheaper than mailing the pump back and forth (free for me, a couple bucks for him vs. $30-40 to ship it there and back). I'd love to buy my next one locally and bring in locally to avoid shipping costs when things arise. But you need to realize that if you sell some of these that some will be coming back to you within the warranty or outside warranty. When my pump had a more major breakdown (the mechanics) just outside the 2 yr warranty I ended up getting a new one for like $50 which I thought was still great support from who we bought it from and Bravo. I initially tried fixing it but couldn't get a couple screws off as they were in sooo tight.

4) The whole battery issue is important. Further cost/benefit tradeoff. This affects the weight you'll have to carry, the speed your kite will pump, the frequency you'll have to charge it and the reliability of the charge (will have charge when you want it).

If you can spend the money get what Barry has which is lithium ion batteries he tweaked for pump. They are best in all the dimensions above (faster, cheaper, hold charge longer,...).

I have and after a couple years I added a 2nd one as backup and because the first one wasn't holding many charges.

I would buy some battery as backup. You can buy a regular battery like on amazon or elsewhere. That's what I used for a couple years. It helped act as a weight to keep the kite in place on a windy day while I'm getting lines ready (ie I tether pump to kite). If cost is issue I think something like this would work as your primary and backup battery.

http://www.amazon.com/B-B-Battery-7-2-1 ... 236&sr=8-1

5) The bag it comes with is ok but zippers break,.... don't expect it to last. I cut hole in top so hose could get through.

6) The hose is very durable (unlike the cheap hoses kite manufacturers give you). The only stupid thing is they are screw on but that just takes an extra couple seconds vs. quick connector (what Barry concocted).

7) You can travel with pump. Airlines have told me to bring it through security with batteries rather than put in checked bag. I've had no issues on several flights.

My recommendation is to get one and you won't want to go back.....
Kevin Ousdigian

[Barry P]

I've had the BTP12 Digital for 4 years and am very happy with it. I have replaced the control board once so far because the on/off switch stopped working.

I started with a pair of NiMH batteries. They did OK for a couple of years. They loose charge even when they are not used.

Last year I switched to a pair of LiFe (4200mAh 4S2P 30C LiFePo4) batteries which are awesome in every respect. I swapped the original connectors for XT60 plugs too.