Inflation guide for your semi-rigid inflatable boat
Properly inflating your tubes inflatable floats is crucial for the performance, safety, and longevity of your RIB (rigid inflatable boat).
Indeed, a well-inflated inflatable boat will be slightly faster than a less inflated model and will also consume less fuel, hence the importance of doing it right!
How to proceed? What guidelines to follow? What method to use? Orca Retail answers all your questions about inflating your inflatables!
What inflation pressure for a RIB?
To know the optimal pressure for inflating your floats, it is best to stick to the manufacturer's instructions! Indeed, RIB manufacturers will not fail to indicate this information at the time of purchase or in their user manuals.
In general, a fairly low pressure of 0.2 bar is recommended once in the water. However, depending on the fabric used (PVC or Hypalon), the ideal pressure will not be the same. Indeed, PVC (often used for small tenders) will withstand overpressure less well than Hypalon (used for larger models), which is more resistant to temperature differences.
If in doubt, do not hesitate to contact the after-sales services of the manufacturers:
- Zodiac: By phone at 118 707 (0.80 €/min) or from their website zodiac-nautic.fr
- Zar Formenti: after-sales service form.
- Highfield: By phone at 02 98 36 68 47 or contact form.
What impact does the outside temperature have on inflation?
Temperature and sun exposure are your first enemies regarding the longevity of your RIB and its tubes. The hotter it gets, the more the internal pressure increases.
It is estimated that there is a difference of about 3 millibars per degree. If you inflate your tubes around 0.20 bars (200 millibars), this means that on days when you have significant temperature variations of 15°C, you will notice a significant difference!
Thus, depending on the season, your region, or the time of day, the optimal will not be the same.
For example, it is recommended that on a particularly hot day when your inflatable boat remains exposed to the sun for a long time, you slightly release the pressure (even if it means reinflating a little later when the heat subsides).
During the hot months of summer, you should always under-inflate The floats to create a slight depressurization, compared to other times of the year.
This is also why it is important to cover and protect your semi-rigid vessel when it is stored outdoors.
What impact does water temperature have on inflation?
If the outside temperature impacts the pressure of your tubes, the same goes for the water temperature! At the contact with water, the pressure will drop with the temperature difference. This is why you can slightly overinflate on land compared to your target.
How to check the inflation of tubes pneumatic?
If you have no tool at your disposal, to check the pressure of the tube and be sure not to make a mistake, you must ensure that it should be slightly flexible when you place your foot on it (and make small folds in the fabric). It is also said that a tube should be "hard to the thumb and flexible to the knee".
For more precision, the ideal is to acquire a pressure gauge, available for around ten euros. By placing the pressure gauge on the valve, you will get an immediate reading of the float's pressure.
What are the risks of overinflating?
Usually, semi-rigid boats are equipped with overpressure valves, which generally prevents serious problems.
But if that's not the case for you, or simply if you want to be careful, know that under pressure, the adhesives and seams of your tubes might give way. This will irreparably damage your boat, not to mention the risk of explosion. Also, tubes that are too inflated and lack flexibility will absorb shocks less well (for example: when docking), and will be damaged more easily.
So keep an eye on the pressure used when inflating your semi-rigid floats, and take into account the environmental factors at a minimum.
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