tube pressure

[mrdrh99]

Ok... My Saturn mc365... Book says to inflate tube to 20kp and floor to 60kp...I have the digital pump so I can get it spot on. I seem to remember someone saying that that isn't enough pressure? Any suggestions on what to do?

 

[Chopperbill]

I have a bravo manual gauge and that's what I set mine at, not sure how accurate it is. Maybe a touch more the floor seems to float some at times.The keel at the recommended pressure seems a little soft to me, but being new at this I don't know a lot.

 

[Sea Rider]

Ok... My Saturn mc365... Book says to inflate tube to 20kp and floor to 60kp...I have the digital pump so I can get it spot on. I seem to remember someone saying that that isn't enough pressure? Any suggestions on what to do?

Usually it's 3.5 Psi (0.25 bar) on tubes and same on lower keel or slightly more on keel. Bear in mind that what was inflated early in the morning specially during summer, will not remain inflated at same pressure during the afternoon, so take your pump along and make a re inflation accordingly. If a gauge is precise or not while reading, it's other story, but al least will have all chambers & keel inflated to same equal pressure.

Happy Boating

 

[Lund_bC]

i just jump hard on my foot pump until i can't get any more in, not sure if that is good though.

 

[ronaldj]

i just jump hard on my foot pump until i can't get any more in, not sure if that is good though.

You really need a gauge. If you have a high pressure foot pump then it has 2 different output connectors. One for low power 3.5 pas and one for high pressure 11.5 A mistake that a lot of people make unknowingly is that they pump up the entire boat on high pressure. That does the tubes no good, effects the ride and takes forever. The other thing they do wrong is inflate air floors and some keels with low pressure instead of high pressure.

 

[mrdrh99]

My pump isn't like that.... Only one in one out.... Once it gets over about 5kp it switches over to high pressure.... But I agree.... No way would I just be guessing it

 

[Sea Rider]

i just jump hard on my foot pump until i can't get any more in, not sure if that is good though.

Will depend entirely on weight. A skinny light guy will pump less air volume on tubes than a fat heavy one. Don't jump over your pump, could end breaking it, it's plastic noy kevlar. Instead put more weight on foot while pumping hard. If having a dual foot pump you can inflate with hose set to low pressure high volume till you can't pump no longer and then switch to hight pressure low volume to top those tubes. Those pumps are intended for air floor sibs, that's why their pressure duality.

Happy Boating

 

[ssobol]

When I got my first RIB I went to get a pressure gauge. The guy at the store said "You don't need that, just pump it up 'til is it firm." For the two RIBs I had, this worked very well, and I never got a gauge. However, do remember that the pressure can change a lot during the day. Keeping the boat on the water will mitigate this a lot, but you should still check the tube pressure regularly throughout the day. Beaching the boat on a hot sunny day will allow the tube pressure to get fairly high in a short amount of time. The color of the tubes will also affect the heat accumulation of the tube and therefore the pressure. A boat with black tubes pumped up in the morning and left alone can burst if left in the strong sun too long.

Once I was towing a RIB and went through a summer thunderstorm. The boat was pumped firm for towing. In the course of about half an hour the temperature dropped about 20 deg F and then recovered. Watching in the review mirror I could see the RIB go from firm to floppy and back to firm.