04-21-2010, 03:37 PM
Archives have some discussion on this. I prefer to use a pressure guage like FG does. Basically you have to overinflate right BEFORE entering the water from 1.8 to say 2.5 psi, especially in very cold water.PVC bodies can take up to 4 psi without a problem, but don't go that high with nylon bodies. You lost pressure because of the cold water shrinking the air pressure, there was no leak. The downside is you have to bleed out some air when you get out of the water especially if the tube will be sitting in the sun. The easiest way is to get a low cost, fast, high pressure electric pump that maxes out at about 2.5psi so you know you haven't gone above that. After a few uses you can pick a section near the pointed tips and by pressing down with your finger and noting the deflection amount, can tell if the pressure is right. Some real die hards have gone to carrying a K pump and adding air AFTER they are already on the water- to get to full pressure.
Pon
[quote wagdog]My last trip on the water in my newly pimped (thanks TubeDude) fat cat was a fun and successful crappie adventure. I realized that once I had my tube in the water for about 10 minutes, it felt like it could use more air. I checked for leaks and such but didn't hear anything to indicate a leak or see any "magic" bubbles. Since I'm a newbie at this, I figured I hadn't aired it up properly in the first place. I continued to fish for a few more hours and nothing changed so I figure it is still leak free. The downside was that my transducer was up and at a funky angle (still need to warm up that PVC and put a bend in it) more so than usual because of how I had inflated the dang thing.
The manual states that you should air it up to approximately 1.8 psi. Is there a good way to gauge that you have put enough air in your tube? I was worried that too much might cause a catastrophic failure. How do you know when "enough is enough"?[/quote]
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Pon
[quote wagdog]My last trip on the water in my newly pimped (thanks TubeDude) fat cat was a fun and successful crappie adventure. I realized that once I had my tube in the water for about 10 minutes, it felt like it could use more air. I checked for leaks and such but didn't hear anything to indicate a leak or see any "magic" bubbles. Since I'm a newbie at this, I figured I hadn't aired it up properly in the first place. I continued to fish for a few more hours and nothing changed so I figure it is still leak free. The downside was that my transducer was up and at a funky angle (still need to warm up that PVC and put a bend in it) more so than usual because of how I had inflated the dang thing.
The manual states that you should air it up to approximately 1.8 psi. Is there a good way to gauge that you have put enough air in your tube? I was worried that too much might cause a catastrophic failure. How do you know when "enough is enough"?[/quote]
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