Is there a good way to deflate large inflatable toys?

I bought a large inflatable water slide for use by the pool:

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This is a pretty cool slide. It appears to be very well made. The material (vinyl?) is very heavy.

But I was not prepared for the setup and, especially, the take-down time. It took me well over half an hour to inflate the slide using a small portable compressor.

I am now trying to deflate it and not having a lot of success. If anyone has a better way, I'd love to hear about it.

The large chambers (there are 4) have what the manufacturer calls a Boston Valve.

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This is a 2-part valve. The cap opens a one-way valve that lets air in but not out. There is another "nut" that removes the valve entirely leaving an unobstructed opening about 3/4" wide. I opened all 4 Boston valves. The large chambers deflated about 90% in a few minutes. That last 10% is not going well.

With an air mattress, I would just roll it up from one end and force the air out. This thing is too complicated and too heavy for that.

The small chambers (also 4) have the standard plug valve with a flap to keep most of the air from escaping. This is fine for inflating, but difficult for deflating. I have to stick something into the valve to hold the flap open.

I tried using the vacuum cleaner. It works reasonably well on the large chambers with the Boston valves, but not so well with the smaller valves. I don't have anything that I can use to prop the valve flap open that won't either block the opening or get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner.

I see that Amazon has a bunch of "inflator/deflator" gizmos. Most of them have no reviews. Doesd anyone know if any of these are any good? That is, better than the vacuum cleaner?

Here are a few:

Rave Sports Hi-Speed Inflator. Reviewers say it is fast and powerful, but runs hot and may not be able to inflate more than one large item.

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Sevylor 110 Volt Mini Inflator/Deflator. $18. I can't tell if it comes with a hose.

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Metro Vacuum 110-IDAR 110-Volt Magc Air Inflator/Deflator. $50. This looks like the right tool if it works.

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Marine inflater/deflator. $73. This is 12V only, so not convenient for backyard use.

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Black & Decker makes an inflater, which I thought about buying, but I don't think it can deflate.

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Reply to
Prof Wonmug
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Did you consider using a shop vacuum?

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

I use my shop vac to inflate and deflate these things. Make a fitting from a series of smaller hoses and some duct tape.

Leave the Boston valves in place- but make the last fitting just small enough to go inside the valve and open the flapper. [the inflator is junk- but this is what you want the end fitting to look like-

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i'm guessing 10 minutes to inflate or deflate that slide.

The nozzles are the best part of that toy. I'd wager that the worst shop vac will move 10 times as much air.

I love that they call it a "high volume air pump" but don't say what that "high volume" is.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

Okay.....mine usually pop.

od

Someone had to say it.

Reply to
olddog

Double barrel 12 gauge with #4 shot

Both barrels of course

Reply to
BRUCE

Stick a drinking straw in it.

Reply to
Thomas

Not until you suggested it. The shop vac is the right tool for the job.

Before I saw your message, I used a compressor. It works, of course, but I only have a small 2 gallon tank so it ran continuously. This is not good for the compressor and several neighbors are probably still mad. But the worst part was the deflating. I ended up using the house vacuum cleaner, but the nozzle was the wrong size.

I picked up a $30 shop vac from the Borg with a set of nozzles. It was just as fast as the compressor for inflating and much less noisy. and deflating was much easier.

Thanks. Have a virtual beer on me. ;-)

Reply to
Prof Wonmug

Yep, a shop vac is trhe way to go.

Closer to 30 minutes each way. The thing has 7-8 compartments and it's very heavy.

Reply to
Prof Wonmug

I have a couple of small shop vac's. One of them is a one gallon Shop-Vac brand. I use it when servicing refrigeration, HVAC equipment and computers. A lot of folks are surprised that I will use the vacuum to clear condensate drain lines instead of blowing them out like most techs. The shop vac is less messy in that regard, I don't have dirty liquid splattered everywhere.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

Sorry to be so cynical and mean spirited but I really hope your not a "true" professor.

This is just yet again another example of someone who has a real or supposed need and goes about filling it withour really researching what they need and need to do to satisfy their need(s) properrly. They then go to stangers with their hands our saying "help me, please!"

And we are supposed to be enlightened??

Reply to
Doug Brown

replying to Doug Brown, archi wrote: Doug sounds like a miserable person!

Reply to
archi

Give him a break.

8 years ago, when Doug authored the post that you responded to, he was going through a hard time. The kids were on drugs, the wife was a cheating bitch and the gerbils were suing him for neglect.

He's better now. He moved away, leaving the kids to hang out in the dark alleys of skid row and letting the wife ride off on the back of some biker's hog. They crashed just a few miles from the bar they had just left, leaving her crippled and disfigured. The biker walked away from the accident (and her) unhurt.

As for the gerbils, they lost the suit, had to pay Doug's attorney fees and ended up destitute and living in the NYC sewers as sex slaves to the rats.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

DerbyDad03 posted for all of us...

This is a tragic story! I think you should forward this to Salon magazine and they could report it on TV.

Reply to
Tekkie®

I speak from experience. The subset of attorneys that represent gerbils con sists of the lowest of the low in the legal system. At family of gerbils attempte d to sue me for breach of contract when I refused to repair their cage after the cat kn ocked it off the table. Their attorneys called my home, my work and even tracked me down at the Home For Recovering Pastry Chefs where I volunteer. Once a chef star ts snorting the baking powder, their bottom is not far off.

The attorneys stopped bothering me when I told the gerbils about the skelet ons in the attorney's closet. Literally, skeletons...of other gerbils. It was gross.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

DerbyDad03 posted for all of us...

ted to sue me

etons in the

Gerbils can't tell that attorneys are snakes so they get sucked in. It was good for you to inform the gerbils about the skeletons. The attorneys have a lot of closets & skeletons ( they call them files-which they bill on ).

Reply to
Tekkie®

Uncle Monster posted for all of us...

ing bitch and

he dark alleys

tempted to sue me

cat knocked it

skeletons in the

I plead guilty. How many gerbils you want to settle?

Reply to
Tekkie®

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