Improvements!

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  • MegaInflator
    Member
    • Oct 2019
    • 91

    Improvements!

    I just finished rigging a small shelf so I can locate my airpump and electrical switch safely outside my bathroom, able to operate the switch while standing inside. While my bathroom is fairly cramped (I can't work on anything bigger than a single person airbed and even that gets tight pretty quickly) at least if affords me the opportunity to do something.

    Now why did I need this ?

    A few months ago I got interested in heatstretching/overinflating again .. and being a hoarder, I'd nicely put my crazy-powerful air pump (Bravo OV-6, 1600l/minute, up to 2.5 psi pressure) and inflatables neatly away - but the hand switch I had jury-rigged for it had ended up cannibalized for parts and in any regards, upon inspection it was a rather unsafe device to operate so I threw it away.

    I took the opportuinity to build a new switch, so I purchased a plug socket and lightswitch from a DIY store and mounted them side by side to a small board. I glued a small spring inside the lightswitch beneath the cover so it went from an on/off switch to a moment switch, giving me full control over the pump, then ran an extension cord to lightswitch, through the switch into the plug socket. This time I neatly soldered and tightened everything down rather than just screw it together, anbd I added a small strap on one end let me hang the switchboard from the wall outside the shower stall.

    It didn't work. It felt unsafe, the pump was sitting on the floor outside the stall and was a trip hazard, as was all the wiring, the switch wouldn't properly hang with the weight of the wiring .... it needed fixing.

    So today I got bored and took a small shelf I had lying around and cut it to fit on the sill of the window above of the door (this is a stock feature of all interior doors here) and fastened it to the wall with a small angle iron - 2 screws into the shelf, 2 into the wall. The pump neatly sits on this shelf, secure and supported; as does the switchboard. If I keep the shower room door slightly open, there's enough room to drape the hose inside (with an extension I've already rigged) while letting me operate the pump switch with one hand and keeping all the cabling above head level and out of the way so it doesn't entangle, fall or trip or get in the way.

    All I basically need to do is put a check valve in the inflation hose so I can work on more stuff (airbeds have builtin check valves greatly aiding my work - most inflates with normal valves do not have these and I only operate the pump in spurts (due to its power - a single person airbed goes from flat to a little too full in ~12-15 seconds with it) rather than continuously so I need something to maintain pressure)
    Last edited by MegaInflator; 06-05-2020, 18:43.
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