Kite pump ideas collection

[vladi elthve]

BLDC means Brushless motor

I know, did you announce you will use BLDC? I missed that if you did.

I marked it on the picture

[vladi elthve]

So I've posted a few ideas the Airbank Puffer Pro thread. It works decently now, but I think there's great opportunities for improvement. I think there could be a few upgrades that kiters/wingers might appreciate.

For future iterations of pumps, I'd love to see the following:

1. lighter weight, even smaller form factor. I think this is possible for a kite/wing inflator pump that does NOT need to do 20 PSI and super high volume SUPs/water toys. During a full week of use only using half the battery, I think a smaller/lighter cell could be used. If this thing was half the current size and weight, I think the manual pumps days would really be numbered. Especially if the battery size was small enough to put in checked luggage.

2. hard toggle on/off switch that's recessed. Just as a precaution for potentially being able to put the pump in checked luggage.

3. removable/swappable battery. Just in case your battery takes a dump or gets submerged it's not trash and for more TSA capacity compliance. Even a pump WITHOUT a battery that connects to a USB power block would be cool.

4. sand filter for the air intake and a little more weather protection. It would be nice to not have to worry about your pump getting wet while using it for watersports activities....

Thank you for sharing your considerations. Here's a summary of your points:

Design Improvement:

Plan to design a lighter and more convenient appearance.
Considering making the battery capacity more prominent.
Currently using three 18650 standard batteries, totaling 7500mAh.
Preliminary estimate suggests sufficient power for inflating 5 to 6 nine-meter kites.
Recessed Switch:

Recognize the importance of having a recessed switch.
Removable Battery:

Acknowledge that a removable battery requires a separate partition, potentially increasing volume and cost.
Understand the need for additional protection designs.
Durability:

Emphasize the necessity of sandproofing and waterproofing for beach operations.

[vladi elthve]

In the next few days, the current modules will be spliced onto the 3D printed shell. I will use a 9m kite and a wing for testing. Test content includes:

Inflation time of the first and second stages.
Heating curve of the boost mode module.
Air pump continuous working time.

These are aspects that need to be verified in the early stage to determine whether the solution is better. Let's wait and see.

[Da Yoda]

I"m not an expert regarding pump technology, so this may not be a functional concept for kite applications.
I used to be a representative for a brand called Camp-Tek. They make a miniature pump for the inflation of "backpacking type" sleep mattresses.
It's a really unique design for its size. Perhaps this could be upscaled and modified for specifically kite and wing applications?
Here are the tech details https://camp-tek.com/technology/

[Smeagle]

Currently using three 18650 standard batteries, totaling 7500mAh.
Preliminary estimate suggests sufficient power for inflating 5 to 6 nine-meter kites.

That is 1S3P? Because 5 to 6 kites is not very many, for 7500mAh? Puffer Pro has 5200mAh and I pump up to 2 boards + several kites, did up to 4. And one large Board ist ~10 x 9 m kites, as high pressure takes long time. OK, Most of the time for a typical day, where I use kite AND Wingfoil gear, I need 1 x 90L Board to 20 PSI or 135L Board to 15PSI + 1 or 2 kites + 1 or 2 wings. 2 Boards really is not very often, but really would like if it would work, too.

[vladi elthve]

I"m not an expert regarding pump technology, so this may not be a functional concept for kite applications.
I used to be a representative for a brand called Camp-Tek. They make a miniature pump for the inflation of "backpacking type" sleep mattresses.
It's a really unique design for its size. Perhaps this could be upscaled and modified for specifically kite and wing applications?
Here are the tech details https://camp-tek.com/technology/

Thank you for the valuable information! This is also the first time I’ve seen this look.

[vladi elthve]

Currently using three 18650 standard batteries, totaling 7500mAh.
Preliminary estimate suggests sufficient power for inflating 5 to 6 nine-meter kites.

That is 1S3P? Because 5 to 6 kites is not very many, for 7500mAh? Puffer Pro has 5200mAh and I pump up to 2 boards + several kites, did up to 4. And one large Board ist ~10 x 9 m kites, as high pressure takes long time. OK, Most of the time for a typical day, where I use kite AND Wingfoil gear, I need 1 x 90L Board to 20 PSI or 135L Board to 15PSI + 1 or 2 kites + 1 or 2 wings. 2 Boards really is not very often, but really would like if it would work, too.

Yes, 7500mAh is just the current calculation, but Puffer Pro seems to give a good actual information. It has one less battery than my current module. Let’s wait for our test results.
Under normal circumstances I use up to two kites, maybe I can take some of the advantages of Puffer Pro

[Smeagle]

Currently using three 18650 standard batteries, totaling 7500mAh.
Preliminary estimate suggests sufficient power for inflating 5 to 6 nine-meter kites.

That is 1S3P? Because 5 to 6 kites is not very many, for 7500mAh? Puffer Pro has 5200mAh and I pump up to 2 boards + several kites, did up to 4. And one large Board ist ~10 x 9 m kites, as high pressure takes long time. OK, Most of the time for a typical day, where I use kite AND Wingfoil gear, I need 1 x 90L Board to 20 PSI or 135L Board to 15PSI + 1 or 2 kites + 1 or 2 wings. 2 Boards really is not very often, but really would like if it would work, too.

Yes, 7500mAh is just the current calculation, but Puffer Pro seems to give a good actual information. It has one less battery than my current module. Let’s wait for our test results.
Under normal circumstances I use up to two kites, maybe I can take some of the advantages of Puffer Pro

I am sorry, I forgot the most important part...

Puffer Pro has 5200mAh at 11,1V (nominal) So 3S3P -> 9 cells.

Your 7500mAh are at what voltage? if it is 11,1V too, so 9 cells in all, I don't understand why it would only pump 5..6 kites? If I pump Kites I guess I could do a lot more than ~10. Only pumping Boards takes quite long, kites are very quick to pump. If it is onl 1S3P, I don't think a 2500mAh cell (x3) can give enough power!? Even Puffer Pro has to use low capacity/high power cells to be able to give enough power. Even if you use BL and therefor have better efficiency, you still need about half the power of Puffer pro to do the same work, aber I don't see how a high capacity cell can be able to do this. I have a lot experience with lithium cells. If you REALLY want to use only 3 cells, it would be better to do 3S1P. BL motors and circuity get's more efficient with higher voltage/lower current. But I would go with AT LEAST 3S2P and would prefer to go 3S3P.

- Oliver

[nixmatters]

Airbank Puffer Pro has 11,1V 5200mAh
viewtopic.php?t=2416456&start=30#p1208261

Your 3,7V 7500mAh is half that capacity and should be OK for a couple of kites.
Yet, I don't think it's worth it.

[nixmatters]

...
Puffer Pro has 5200mAh at 11,1V (nominal) So 3S3P -> 9 cells.
...
- Oliver

6 cells.
Check the link to the Airbank Puffer Pro thread where I posted a photo of the battery pack.