Foot Pump

[Andrew May]

My car foot pump is on its way out. Any recommendations for a replacement. Current one is a Michelin which although fairly solid and a dual cylinder is a pretty poor design as the tread fits between the sides and the slightest bit of twist and the two parts collide instead of allowing full travel of the cylinder.

So, looking for a new one that is well built. I have a decent hand-held pressure gauge so no to worried whether it has a dial or not. Willing to pay slightly over the odds if it is going to do the job well and last.

Andrew

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You can buy an electric one for less than a decent foot type. Lighter weight too.

[Invisible Man]

I tend to use an old footpump which twists all over the place. Just remembered that our MX5 came with an aerosol of gunge and an electric pump which is very effective. Thanks for the reminder Dave.

[Bruce]

Buy an electric pump instead. They are cheap and reliable, and much less effort than a foot pump.

But if you *must* buy a foot pump, the twin cylinder models are more stable and are easier to use, obviously with a weight/bulk penalty.

[Andrew May]

I've always thought of electric tyre pumps as a bit of a gimmick but maybe the technology has moved on. If so, then any recommendations for a good one that will stand the test of time?

Andrew

[Andy Burns]

The one that came with my Honda is just housed in an open metal frame, has worked OK so far for three years, it had a stint of use recently while I got a slow puncture repaired - no use at all when you get a blow-out on the M1 though (car has no spare tyre, mutter, grumble)

[Bruce]

Mine was bought on eBay. It is branded "Mercedes-Benz" but was made in Japan. Work that one out. ;-) It is very sturdy and has had a lot of use.

However I don't think anyone could go wrong with one from Halfords.

(dons flame proof suit and waits ...)

[Jules]

Ours, too. In cold weather it doesn't seal very well either and is really reluctant to extend to the 'open' position. Complete PITA.

I wonder if a stirrup pump would last longer? (I found one in the barn when we moved in, but it's missing the hose)

cheers

Jules

[Usenet Nutter]

The hose shouldn't be a problem and you can buy the connector for the tyre end at Halfords ( for example) .

[Usenet Nutter]

Hardly a gimmick .It's less effortless way of getting air in to the tyre while you sit in the car and wait ....no need to get a dead leg or a pair of legs doing it manually .I've had one for years ...electric pump,not a dead leg...Only downside is it's a bit noisy .If anyone can recommend a quiet one I'd like to know.

[John]

of time?

I've got something branded Bosch - made in China.

Think about 'good' old British brand names - Bush, Dyson, etc, etc. It means nothing in relation to place of manufacture - some brands are merely names that have been bought by retail outlets to brand kit in order to sound familiar. Other cases - the ownership of the Intellectual Property is with the Brand name - but the manufacture is sourced overseas.

If a design is good - and the tooling and method of manufacture is good - then what difference does the country of manufacture imply?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've got a Halfords one which is ok. But generally use the one built into my jump start pack - saves having to fiddle about connecting a pump to the car electrics. They're generally reliable devices given they don't usually get that much use.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That's what they used to supply with BMC cars - in the days they supplied a decent toolkit. But they were hard work.

[Bruce]

The 'good' old British brand names - Bush, Dyson - were never 'good', even when they were built in Britain. I would say that both brands became bywords for unreliability. So when I see a Bush TV made in Turkey or a Dyson vacuum cleaner made in the Far East, I look away.

My TV is a Toshiba, made in Japan, made by a company whose roots go back to 1899. My vacuum cleaner is a Miele, made in Germany by a family firm that has also been in business since 1899. My car is a Mercedes-Benz, made in Stuttgart by a firm that has been in business since 1901. I tend to keep to a minimum those items I buy whose brand merely conceals a manufacturer with a lack of established history and no track record of quality from earlier than 2000.

Are you beginning to get the picture?

[Jules]

Yes... I should get some tuits together and take the thing apart, just to see if it stands a chance of working (I have no idea how old it is, so it might be rotted / corroded inside) - if it looks OK, I can try to get a hose for it (unfortunately the one from our crappy foot pump is crimped onto the nozzle of the pump body, rather than being a removeable fitting)

OTOH, I should just fix my air compressor (that needs a new hose, too) - although I suppose it's still useful to have a portable pump kicking around in the back of the car...

cheers

Jules

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Sadly with things like TVs you can no longer be certain they are made where they say they are. The major parts like the display may be made elsewhere.

[Jules]

Surely that's always been the case? I'm sure CRTs were commonly bought in from elsewhere (rarely made "on site"), and that "elsewhere" would regularly be some far-flung land. Ditto with other 'complex' things. Heck, how many producers of electronic products made an attempt to source components from local manufacturers? Those manufacturers have never existed in most places...

It's nice when a company's based locally, nicer still when assembly is done locally, and even nicer when the actual manufacturing part happens locally too - but that latter one's quite rare these days (certainly for

100% of the product)

Often companies seem to say "manufactured in xyz" when what they mean is "assembled in xyz" and little actual manufacturing is done on the premises at all.

cheers

Jules

[Bruce]

That's true - there was a point several years ago where there were only two manufacturers of large screen LCD displays, but they were sold under at least two dozen different TV brand names.

However, I do know that the LCD screen in my Toshiba TV was made by Toshiba.

[John]

If an item has a good design and the tooling is well specified then from a quality (not a social / political) perspective the goods will be of good quality. Modern production methods design out the human intervention as it is this which introduces variation.

I have dealt with CNC Machining - programmes are developed alongside the part drawing and sent by internet to the manufacturing base (wherever). The quality is fine. Quality is designed and specified in nowadays.

Do you recall the Harvey Jones TV programme - it showed Morgan Cars. A guy was cutting - by hand - a plywood panel for the boot floor. The culture seemed to think that 'by hand' meant "quality". However they would be more consistent (and probably cheaper) if made using a production profile cutting machine. (Perhaps a bad example though in view of low volume - but traditional and "by hand" does not always imply good quality.

[John]

I suppose that with TVs the cost of Research and the Development of the production line is so massive that unless you can corner a very large corner of the market then you are not going to make a profit. Items like LCD panels tend to be made by a few specialist manufacturers and sold on to other brand owners for assembly. Similar to the way that Computer chips (Intel inside) are made by a few specialists and sold to other brands.

It is interesting that BMW have manufacturing plants in several countries now (probably attracted by government grants) - but the quality principles will go across all the plants.