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small wave kite = storm kite?

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blazeheli
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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby blazeheli » Wed Apr 23, 2014 12:58 am

If you already fly Lithiums - just get a smaller lithium. I love my 6 meter lithium in high winds. Here is a photo on super bowl Sunday - Rooster Rock - 30-40 mph winds with some gusts up to 50. Lithiums have a huge range. Just make sure to pump it up rock hard and you are good to go.
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nicor
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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby nicor » Wed Apr 23, 2014 4:03 am

blazeheli wrote:If you already fly Lithiums - just get a smaller lithium. I love my 6 meter lithium in high winds. Here is a photo on super bowl Sunday - Rooster Rock - 30-40 mph winds with some gusts up to 50. Lithiums have a huge range. Just make sure to pump it up rock hard and you are good to go.

My 5M is a lithium 2013.

Don't know why I'm having so much trouble with it! It just has a tendency to buckle when it's gusty and I depower in reaction. I find it totally bizarre as my 7M Lithium is so stable and even at the high end (into the 30 KTS) its never folding in. Maybe I'm just not pumping it hard enough, I will try that. Also will try shorter lines, who knows that might help too.

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blazeheli
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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby blazeheli » Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:03 am

nicor wrote:
blazeheli wrote:If you already fly Lithiums - just get a smaller lithium. I love my 6 meter lithium in high winds. Here is a photo on super bowl Sunday - Rooster Rock - 30-40 mph winds with some gusts up to 50. Lithiums have a huge range. Just make sure to pump it up rock hard and you are good to go.

My 5M is a lithium 2013.

Don't know why I'm having so much trouble with it! It just has a tendency to buckle when it's gusty and I depower in reaction. I find it totally bizarre as my 7M Lithium is so stable and even at the high end (into the 30 KTS) its never folding in. Maybe I'm just not pumping it hard enough, I will try that. Also will try shorter lines, who knows that might help too.
I had the exact same problem with my 6 meter until I got a new pump with a new gauge. I pumped it to 9 PSI according to the gauge. After getting the new pump - I realized that the seals were bad on my old pump - so no matter how much I pumped - it would never get to the PSI it needed. The diameter of the leading edge on the smaller kites is smaller, and it needs lots of PSI to resist bending. My 12 meter Lithium - I don't have to worry so much about getting it super pumped. Ever since I got the new pump - my 6 meter has not buckled once. Get a good gauge if you don't have one. I have also popped my lithiums before from pumping too much when my gauge went bad. Now I know what the 6 meter is supposed to feel like at the right pressure. Now I rely on how the kite feels because I know the gauge will eventually go bad.

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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby plummet » Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:55 am

yeah I pump my reo well past its recommendation. I pump until its physically hard to pump the pump. I stopped using those cheap cheesy gauges ages ago. They are just too cheap to give an accurate measurement.

I do like the look of the storm chasing kites by ocean rodeo and flexi. Little 5 strut beasts wait for insane conditions.

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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby nicor » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:04 pm

blazeheli wrote:
nicor wrote:
blazeheli wrote:If you already fly Lithiums - just get a smaller lithium. I love my 6 meter lithium in high winds. Here is a photo on super bowl Sunday - Rooster Rock - 30-40 mph winds with some gusts up to 50. Lithiums have a huge range. Just make sure to pump it up rock hard and you are good to go.

My 5M is a lithium 2013.

Don't know why I'm having so much trouble with it! It just has a tendency to buckle when it's gusty and I depower in reaction. I find it totally bizarre as my 7M Lithium is so stable and even at the high end (into the 30 KTS) its never folding in. Maybe I'm just not pumping it hard enough, I will try that. Also will try shorter lines, who knows that might help too.
I had the exact same problem with my 6 meter until I got a new pump with a new gauge. I pumped it to 9 PSI according to the gauge. After getting the new pump - I realized that the seals were bad on my old pump - so no matter how much I pumped - it would never get to the PSI it needed. The diameter of the leading edge on the smaller kites is smaller, and it needs lots of PSI to resist bending. My 12 meter Lithium - I don't have to worry so much about getting it super pumped. Ever since I got the new pump - my 6 meter has not buckled once. Get a good gauge if you don't have one. I have also popped my lithiums before from pumping too much when my gauge went bad. Now I know what the 6 meter is supposed to feel like at the right pressure. Now I rely on how the kite feels because I know the gauge will eventually go bad.

Wow wow, I hope you're right! would love to make my current kite work, Lithiums are fantastic, which is why I opted for it as my high wind kite, but obviously not having a good experience to date.

In terms of a good kite pump, which one would you consider high quality? (I'm still using my 2011 ozone which seems to work great). stopped using gauges years ago, but what do you consider a good gauge too.

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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby SonnyRider » Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:22 am

nicor wrote:In terms of a good kite pump, which one would you consider high quality? (I'm still using my 2011 ozone which seems to work great). stopped using gauges years ago, but what do you consider a good gauge too.
Have you serviced your 2011 pump?

A good pump is a well maintained \ serviced pump.

Every few months, take it apart, clean out the crud and re grease with some nice fresh silicone grease.
I've tried the red rubber grease for the rubber seals, but have found the lighter silicone grease is much better.
The same grease they use for 4" UPVC, Push-Fit Soil, Waste drainage and underground discharge systems :thumb:

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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby Westozzy » Thu Apr 24, 2014 12:06 pm

Yeh you notice how inaccurate the pump guages are when you use an electronic pump ( a good one) and you see how much more 9 psi is!!

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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby boardjockey » Thu Apr 24, 2014 12:44 pm

anyone needing electric pumps and gauges is a bit of a kook IMO

SonnyRider
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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby SonnyRider » Thu Apr 24, 2014 1:59 pm

boardjockey wrote:anyone needing electric pumps and gauges is a bit of a kook IMO
Yeah, because we all lurve pumping up those 17m kites by hand :lol:

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Re: small wave kite = storm kite?

Postby knotwindy » Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:19 pm

boardjockey wrote:anyone needing electric pumps and gauges is a bit of a kook IMO

but forming opinions about people you have never met is brilliant….
thanks for sharing


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