If you’ve ever pumped a paddleboard with a SUP pump, you may have wondered if it is reasonable to use a regular tire pump to achieve the same purpose.
Sadly, this might have disastrous consequences as the design of the tire pump is not to inflate a SUP paddleboard.
What’s more? Inflating a paddleboard is more than just plugging in a pump nozzle from any pump into your paddleboard. It is always helpful if you consider some factors to ensure the suitability of the pump. These factors are the reasons a tire pump is not suitable for inflating a SUP pump.
Here are the demerits of using a tire pump to inflate a SUP paddleboard. These disadvantages arise from the practical experiences of using specific adaptable devices with a tire pump and the consequent implications.
The first reason why we couldn’t inflate paddleboards with tire pumps
The first case to study involves converting a tire pump using a paddleboard nozzle converter. The problem with this method is in two phases which involve the output pressure and the flow rate.
The flow rate of a tire pump is often slower than what is delivered when using an electric SUP pump for a paddleboard. Electric SUP pump usually takes between 8 and 12 minutes to be fully inflated.
Using a single-cylinder tire pump takes up to 30 minutes to fully inflate a paddleboard, while a double cylinder tire pump takes half the time of 15 minutes to inflate the paddleboards. These durations are still longer than the average electric SUP pump and are not suitable for a paddleboard.
Also, the portability of a double-cylinder tire pump is very low since the weight and dimensions are more than twice of a single-cylinder tire pump, and carrying it about can be pretty challenging.
The other factor that makes the tire pump unsuitable for a paddleboard is its designed output pressure, which can be 100Psi. The paddleboard only requires about 15Psi, which is way below what the tire pumps generate.
What’s more, a variation of 3% more than the required pressure can result in the bursting of the paddleboard, which can lead to hazards or even injury.
The second reason why we couldn’t inflate paddleboards with tire pumps
A second case study involves the combination of a wireless tire pump and a conversion nozzle for paddleboard. This combination is also a disaster as the paddleboard is prone to burst due to the high pressure released from the tire pump.
But wait – that’s not all.
The wireless tire pump can be set to low flow so that it doesn’t burst the paddleboard. However, the problem with that is that the power in the tire pump is entirely used up after 30 minutes, and the paddleboard will only get 10Psi of pressure.
This pressure is not enough to fully inflate the paddleboard to its optimum pressure of 15Psi, leaving the SUP paddle boarder with a less than enjoyable experience.
Final Take
In conclusion, tire pumps can use 12V DC to power themselves. Though it produces enough pressure to inflate a tire, it still lacks the consistency to maintain a steady flow of pressure without bursting the paddleboard.
Also, a low flow of pressure will not take the pressure of the paddleboard to its optimum pressure of 15Psi, which defeats the purpose of inflating the paddleboard for use.
So, now that you know the limitations of using a tire pump to inflate your paddleboard, the ball is in your court to make the right decision of getting a suitable paddleboard pump.