The AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump with hose attached and carrying/storage case.

Our air pumps are the right tools for the job.

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We carry these air pumps in our RV to keep all our toys (including our RV) running correctly at the correct air pressures. Right now we are camping at a remote location in Idaho. We can’t run down to the local mechanic or call someone to help us because, for example, we have low air pressure in one of our tires. Not long ago, we added a new tool to our kit to keep our new inflatable kayaks at full pressure.

Starting with the oldest tool and ending with our new kayak pump, here is the list of air pumps, how they work, and why we carry them.

Bicycle air pump

As I promised, I am starting with the oldest tool. My bicycle frame pump is more than 30 years old. It is old enough that the bicycle company has gone out of business (and been absorbed into another company).

This is my old portable bicycle pump. The part at the bottom can attach it to my bike behind the water bottle holder.
This is my old portable bicycle frame-style air pump. The part at the bottom can attach it to my bike behind the water bottle holder. I used to carry this on my bike before people started putting green slime in bicycle tires to stop leaks. It has served me well to inflate many flat tires over the last few decades. It isn’t the first one I have owned, and it is much harder to use, even on the smallest, low-pressure tires. I am not sure why I still have it other than it still works, is very small, and would be good in an emergency.

My new electric (bike) tire air pump

While my bicycle pump is a relic I no longer use, I still have it. I gave away my bicycle garage-style air pump when I got this portable electric air pump.

A good friend gave me this FANTTIK X8 Apex portable air pump. He uses his to inflate his car tires.
A good friend gave me this FANTTIK X8 Apex portable air pump. He uses his to inflate his car tires. You can see the carry bag is getting a little worn and faded.

This small air pump works great for my bicycle and has a built-in battery with USB-C charging. The claim is that it can create up to 150psi. I only use it to about half that pressure. The biggest limitation isn’t pressure but rather volume. There is no way this tiny air pump could ever inflate my RV tires without almost certainly self-destructing and running out of battery power multiple times. If you want to top off a car tire (I tried it a few times), it will do that. I am going to keep it in the car.

A great thing about this air pump is that you can set it to pump up to but not exceed a specific pressure. Once you select the pressure and turn it on, it will then turn itself off when it is done pumping.

FANTTIK X8 Apex Schrader chuck
The FANTTIK X8 Apex Schrader twist-on-to-thread chuck isn’t my favorite. It may have come with a Presta valve adapter, but if it did, I lost it long ago.

It is a great air pump for inflating my bicycle tires, thanks to its built-in chuck. The chuck is for Schrader valves and is perfect for me. I no longer use tubes with Presta inflation valves. All car tires have Schrader valve stems. As for this pump and car tires, I only use it to top off the pressure.

The one complaint is about the Schrader air chuck. I have to lubricate it frequently to keep it spinning enough to thread onto my bicycle tires. I use silicone spray lubricant, but honestly, it shouldn’t require it, especially not every time I use it.

RV compressed air supply

Our first RV did not have a built-in air compressor. Our current RV can’t drive without its air compressor. The onboard air compressor inflates the air suspension and provides air pressure to release the brakes. The only thing required to inflate a tire is an air hose with a Schrader chuck. Overall, it is quite overkill to use the RV air compressor to inflate a tire, so I have never used it for that purpose. It seems wasteful to run my (big) engine just to create enough air for such a minor task.

This part of our RV is connected to the pneumatic system and is capable of filling our tires after we get the pressure on our RV up to operating pressure.
This part of our RV is connected to the pneumatic system and can fill our tires once the RV’s pressure reaches operating pressure. I have never done this, nor do I expect to. It uses the same hoses and adapters as my portable air compressor. If my portable air compressor quits working, I have options.

My portable air compressor

My portable air compressor is a tire inflator designed for large RV tires.

Instead of waiting for our RV air pressure to fully inflate the captured air tank we use our VIAIR 400 Automatic portable air compressor is to inflate both RV and car tires.
Instead of waiting for our RV air pressure to fully inflate the captured air tank, we use our VIAIR 400 Automatic portable air compressor to inflate both RV and car tires. This is the one I grab if I want to inflate a large tire, and I use it frequently to make sure my tires are at the correct pressure. Depending on your perspective, I have had bad luck, or perhaps I have had great luck with our RV tires. If you haven’t seen it, here is a link to our ongoing story about our RV tires. RV Tire Failure

The VIAIR 400 automatic air compressor

Unlike my bicycle-sized electric air compressor, this one gets the job done even on my big RV tires. Instead of relying on an internal battery, you hook this one directly to your car battery or, on my RV, to either the chassis battery or the 12-volt house battery. It is good for higher-volume tires and able to pump our large RV tires to their maximum operating pressures.

VIAIR calls this air compressor “automatic,” but I am not sure why. The only automatic thing it does is turn itself off when you are not inflating. Compared to the FANTTIC tire air pump above, which lets you set a desired pressure and runs until it reaches it, the VIAIR air pump is very manual.

The enclosed air hose is 30 feet long, so I added a second hose to the VIAIR air pump to reach the tire in the far corner while using it.

The duty cycle for the VIAIR air pump is 33% at 100 psi. I take this to mean that, if inflating at 100 psi, you inflate for 1 minute on, then 2 minutes off, to allow the pump to cool. It goes a little slowly, giving the pump time to cool between tire uses, and typically, at 100 psi, the inflation rate is slow enough that you only get 1-2 psi per minute.

I guess I am doing it right. My pump is eight years old and still works fine.

VIAIR Schrader chuck
VIAIR Schrader air pump chuck. Overall, I am satisfied, although I would be more satisfied if this pump too had a better air chuck. Instead of having a screw-on air chuck like my bicycle pump, it has a lever-activated chuck that is supposed to hold it to the valve stem. It works, but only after fighting with it for a while.

Our manual pump for our kayaks

Pro Marine included this manual pump in our kayak kits. It is similar to the pumps, both in operation and to the manual inflatable boat pumps I have used for the last thirty years, with one improvement. It has a gauge on the top so you can tell how much air pressure you have put in the boat.

Pro Marine kayak pump that came with our kayaks.
Pro Marine kayak pump that came with our kayaks. If you want a workout, use this pump. I am glad it was included in the kit, but I knew how much work inflating my kayak would be, so I almost never used it. As for my kayaks, I will make a review article later, but it won’t include this exercise device.

AIRBANK PUFFER Pro for our kayaks

I knew the above air pumps would be completely unsuitable for inflating our kayaks. They don’t need high pressure on the tires; rather, they need quick volume, then convert to high pressure to top off the inflation. I used to carry two pumps to accomplish this goal. I have also used the exhaust from my vacuum to do the first part, then finished the process with a hand pump. (photo of the AIRBANK PUFFER Pro at the top).

Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump with the box (long discarded) and protective clam shell semi soft zipper case.
Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump with the box (long discarded) and protective clamshell semi-soft zipper case. The box says it is a SUP Air Pump. SUP is an abbreviation for Stand-Up Paddle-Board. Unlike older kayaks and inflatable boats, SUPs require lots of air pressure. The floor of our kayak also requires lots of pressure, which is why I chose this pump.

Our kayaks came with hand pumps, which, if you have any experience with the subject, are leagues better than foot pumps. But the hand pumps were not strong enough to fill the kayaks completely. Only eight years ago, hand pumps were the best you could expect to use. That was all before my AIRBANK PUFFER Pro arrived and I gave my manual pumps to charity.

Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump comes in a very handy semi-soft zipper case.
Our AIRBANK Puffer Pro pump comes in a very handy, semi-soft, zippered protective case. Perhaps one improvement would be to make the case waterproof; after all, most of the time this pump will be used near water. Perhaps the case is waterproof; I don’t think I will test it. This would be a great pump for inflating an airbed or inflatable camping mattress. Be careful, though; it can produce way more pressure than an air mattress could tolerate. Even 1 psi is too much for an air mattress.

The AIRBANK PUFFER Pro could never fill a car or a bicycle tire. It isn’t designed to do that, just like the pumps above would never be able to fill my kayaks. Like the above air pumps, the AIRBANK PUFFER Pro has a built-in piston-style air pump that takes over after the built-in fan finishes the bulk inflation stage. The sound completely changes when you use it, and what I had to do with two pumps is done automatically to a preset pressure. This two-stage inflation process is exactly what I did in the past, except I had to use two pumps.

Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump sitting on our kayak ready to be inflated.
Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump sitting on our kayak ready to be inflated. I love the fact that it has a built-in battery. I used to connect my old pumps to the car battery to inflate my kayaks. This is way better.

After charging the pump battery with a USB-C cable, it is ready to return to its case. In the last two months, the charge level has not changed even though I have used it several times. The battery is supposed to deliver enough pressure to inflate several paddle boards (much higher pressure than our kayaks) before needing to be recharged. An additional feature is that you can plug in a cell phone to the USB-C port and use the pump as a power bank. I haven’t tried this feature yet, but it seems like a great idea.

If, for some reason, you have a dead battery, you could run it while it’s plugged into a 12-volt power source. I have not tried this because once I inflated it, it always had plenty of charge to fully inflate my kayaks. I don’t see the need for this function, but it is nice to have. My air pump did not come with a 12-volt charging cable, but I am sure I have one somewhere if I ever needed that function.

Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump with hose attached and orange carrying handle.
Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable air pump with hose attached and orange carrying strap. (It really doesn’t need the carry strap; half the time I just hold it by the hose). After attaching the hose to the kayak (or SUP), you turn the pump on using the center button just below the pressure display. On either side of the on button are the plus and minus symbols for adjusting the desired pressure. After adjusting the pressure, you press the on button again to start pumping. The button to the far left changes the pump display from psi to bar. The button on the far right turns on the light.

Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable air ump with hose stored in a separate pouch inside the carrying case.
Our AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable air pump with hose is stored in a separate pouch inside the carrying case.
At this side of the AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump you can see that the pump can be set to inflate or deflate.
On this side of the AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump, you can see that the pump can be set to inflate or deflate. This feature is very important. I mentioned using my vacuum to inflate my kayaks; for years, I have used vacuums to deflate kayaks and inflatable beds before packing them for storage. This allows you to get as much air as possible out of the kayak before you roll it up for storage. Between the two screw-on inflation tube ports is a small flashlight. Also, between the ports is a rubber cover that lets you access the charging port.
The AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump standard fitting that we use to inflate our kayaks. There are several other adapters to fit other devices you may want to inflate.
The AIRBANK PUFFER Pro Rechargeable Pump standard fitting that we use to inflate our kayaks. There are several other adapters to fit other devices you may want to inflate. I haven’t needed them because this adapter fits our kayaks perfectly.
A Halkey-Roberts valve on our kayaks. We have four of these on each boat, one for each air chamber.
The Halkey-Roberts valve on our kayaks. We have four of these on each boat, one for each air chamber.

Best practices when using air pumps.

Any air pump used to create high pressure generates heat. A thoughtful inflation technique prevents heat buildup, or at least limits it, when using the pumps. My VIAIR tire pump inflating my RV tires gets very hot. I try to limit heat buildup and maximize battery life, giving the air pump time to cool down between tires.

How I inflate my kayaks

I first lay out the kayak and set the pump to 0.5 psi to inflate the floor and side tubes. I always stop inflating the side tubes well before they reach 0.5 psi, so I can adjust the kayak’s shape while it’s still partially inflated.

Our new inflatable kayaks with the floor partially inflated and the side tubes not inflated.
Our inflatable kayaks with the floor partially inflated and the side tubes not inflated.
Our kayaks look pretty sad when they are not fully inflated. I am making adjustments to make sure everything is in the right place during the inflation.
Our kayaks look pretty sad when they are not fully inflated. While it is way underinflated, I make adjustments to ensure everything is in the right place as it inflates.

With the side tubes very soft, I switch to the floor, bring it up to a firm but still partially inflated state, and make another adjustment if needed. After everything is partially inflated and adjusted, I switch back to the side tubes and bring them up to a firm state before switching back to the floor. The limit for the side tubes is 2.9 psi, and the floor is 8 psi. I never inflate them to maximum, but I assure you they are extremely firm.

I am at the stage where the air chambers are getting firm but it is a long way from fully inflated.
I am at the step where the air chamber on the left is firm, and the one on the right of the photo is ready to firm up. But the kayak is a long way from fully inflated. You might notice the manual air pump in the photo. This is the last time I used that pump.
Our kayak, still partially inflated with the skegs attached upside down. If you are going to use a skeg, you better install them before the kayaks are fully inflated.
Our kayak, still partially inflated with the skegs attached upside down. If you are going to use skegs, you’d better install them before the kayaks are fully inflated. A little silicone spray on the slot makes the skegs easy to install.
While the shape is correct the kayaks are still way below maximum pressure. I did this to test fit the seat.
While the shape is correct, the kayaks are still way below maximum pressure. I did this to test fit the seat. As for the seat, it will change in the near future as well. Sitting on the high-pressure floor, even with the seat installed, will require a different answer. At full pressure, the floor has about the same amount of cushion as concrete.

Conclusion:

I have always heard the saying, the right tool for the right job. I am pretty satisfied that I have the right tools to inflate and, in the case of the AIRBANK PUFFER Pro, deflate all our toys and tires.

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FANTTIK X8 Apex portable air pump

VIAIR 400 automatic portable air compressor

AIRBANK PUFFER Pro high-pressure inflator

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