Forum Replies Created
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My first useful contribution here: I designed a 3d-printed adapter for the Flextail tiny pump 2x to the boston valve that can open up the check valve part and let air flow through freely. Print it with the narrow part down and the wide part up (upside down). If the flextail pumps have the same diameter output (which I suspect is true) it should work for all of them.
It needs some post work. You have to drill out the holes in the nozzle – they go 10mm deep – with a 1mm bit and then glue insert thin paperclips or pins and cut them to extend 4-5mm above the surface. Alternatively, you can heat up either the pins or the holes with a hot air gun and press them into the holes (preferred if you can manage it). I used stapler pins folded empty, which is just about the right thickness on my print.
Add a small dab of plastic/epoxy/hot glue to the ends if you’re worried about sharpness. Finally, remove the valve from its seat, insert the adapter, line up the pins with the holes (look under the check valve on the other side to confirm), and push through. Mark off matching points on the adapter and the valve with a notch so that you can line up the pins and the holes easily from then on.
The pins could be a little flimsy, so you might have to carry the adapter in a pill case or something.
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@UncleFred, I did print out a prototype and test it – it fits perfectly into the pump and is a tight fit on the valve as well. I messed up on the pins by heating the whole adapter at once with a hair dryer, which caused a couple of the holes to close up. This messed up the insertion of the rest of the pins. See photos.
I fixed the design to have larger holes. Additionally, I’ll be heating the pins with a soldering iron and inserting them one by one.
I don’t have a 3d printer myself – I’m using a friend’s. These things are inexpensive to print. If you look around in your closest city you’re almost certain to find a 3d print shop – some universities also have them, so if you have contacts with people and ask around you should be able to do this.
That’s the reason the design is public – I’d like anyone to have access. Printing it locally definitely beats all other methods. In the worst case, I think there are online 3d print services that allow you to do the same thing anyway – you just have to submit this file to them I think.
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Placed the order for the Atlin! Thanks @BobDep for your help!
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Thanks! Two more questions for you (I don’t know if you’ve tried the Skeena, but you said you’ve used other kayaks, so…) – which of these would you say is better playing the “as a” role?
a. The Atlin as a general-purpose packraft (mostly lake paddling and possibly occasional class 1-2 WW in the future, <50% bikerafting)
b. The Skeena as a bikeraft, same conditions as above.
Also, nice on the dog partnership 🙂 – that’s a thought on my mind too. How big is the dog, and can you get both a bike and the dog on the packraft at the same time?
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I see this, but the tightness of the fit should already work for hands free operation. I based the dimensions off the flextail adapter for Boston valves, which is the one with the the little rubber attachment – if you pull that off you’ll find that the little plastic piece left over fits perfectly onto the valve.
I’m still building my packraft – if I find that the pump doesn’t hold on I’ll add the screw top.
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The windows aren’t the real problem – you can close them with your fingers in a pinch.
The problem is that the pins on the end don’t allow for a mating with the other valve. The location of the holes in the Boston valve determine the inner and outer diameter of the adapter. It’s too big to fit inside the other valve and too small to fit outside.
The solution would be to have the adapter split into two pieces, one with the pins and one without, but that comes back to the original problem of having multiple pieces. If push came to shove I’d rather be blowing up the seats than the packraft.
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Are you talking about the backrest/seat tube-style valves or the little red tab-open valves that you see on camping pillows?
This doesn’t work with the tube-style valves because the pins get in the way; I haven’t tried the other ones, but I suspect it might work if you don’t mind where the pins end up on the other side. The one caveat is that the little air windows on the side of the valve (theoretically designed to increase airflow and not create a backward flow in the boston valve) might stick outside and let air escape that way. That’s also what happens with the tube style valves anyway.
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