Hey,

Nice!

My system is:
Park the car
Add tanning butter to face
Grab gear
Walk to beach
Pump Kite up about halfway
Beads of sweat from last nights beer show up on forehead
Start to pump again
Tanning butter and leftover beer from sweat glands burn eyeballs
Head out and rinse eyes with salt water
Enjoy the rest of the day if the wind is blowing

Clew In

if you live in colder areas, the pumping is really good to warm up. Even big kites!

Pumping up my kite is a good warm up and a good fitness assessment.

I count the pump strokes for each size:
13m 90-100
10m 60-70
7m 35-40

I usually get to the lower figure then ping and squeeze the LE to check how hard it is.

Pumping at full speed on the 13 I can get to 50 strokes before needing a breather. If I pace myself I can pump all the way to 90.

If I have not been kiting or cycling much then I can only get to 30 pumps before resting.

A powered pump would be good when I am tired or in a hurry. In general I think it is not really an option for me.

- I don't want to put more bulky gear into my car.
- I would need to carry a normal pump in case of gear failure. (which is more likely with a powered pump).
- I am not so lazy or unfit that pumping is a problem.
- There is a shared cycle/pedestrian path between the car park and my rigging area. Running a hose across the path would create a tripping hazard. We get hassled enough by grumpy cyclists as it is without running a hose across the path.
- I cannot always get a parking space next to the rigging area.

And I thought I was OCD....LOL that shit is just funny!

similar thing happen to me!
i need to work out urgently!

I agree it is funny ... but it works. Counting is easier than thinking. Number of pumps to inflate is a reliable estimate of pressure.

7 strut clips to close. 6 pulleys to check. 4 lines to attach. 2 rear lines clear to the tips. If I get the count wrong then there's something wrong. If not, go kiting.

It works for foreplay too. One neck to nuzzle. Two ears to nibble. Two boobies to ...

Nice. As a man for fluid systems I see a potential issue and possible solution.

Looks like you could over pressurise your kite if you got disctracted oggling at the eye candy walking past.

Find yourself a pressure relief valve and set at 10% over your kites inflation pressure. That way the valve will releive before the kite explodes. Leaving you more oggling time.

is the air coming out of your compressor colder or hotter then ambient?

filling a kite with cold air then letting it sit on a hot sandy beach might not be smart. thermal expansion.

unfortunately air heats when it compresses. With a compressor you are likely getting a tank that is pressurized to at least 60psi or more. With an electric compressor this means your tank gets hot as it pressurizes but as the air comes out the rapid drop in pressure causes cooling (this is how a refrigerator works if you didn't know). That cold air in a hot kite can be a bad combo. Point being, be careful if you're using a compressor to fill your kites, you might find they are at pressure when you fill them and over pressure a few minutes later after they have a chance to warm up.

Also if you refuse to pump your kite before you ride, make sure you spend a little time warming up your body (stretching maybe mow the lawn for a few minutes before you jump right into tricks). I understand the automatic pump for people with bad backs but if you're just being lazy you may find yourself with pulled muscles and exploded kites.

Good winds,
CJ