Your Guide To Inflatable Boat Pumps and Valves

Getting your chosen inflatable up to pressure is an often overlooked aspect to boating/water sports but is essential to get right. Having the know-how and right kit for the job can make your life a lot easier, saving you time, energy and keeping you afloat! 

The aim of this blog is to give you an overview of the ways to inflate your boat including the valves and types of pumps used for inflatables, so that you can feel confident in your setup.

Inflatable Boat Valves:

Just purchased a new boat? The chances are it will have a Halkey Roberts valve on it. The Halkey-Roberts valve is a very popular one-way check valve. These are the most widely used valve types on high quality inflatable boats. We have them on all of our Boatworld inflatable boats. They are designed to ensure that the inflation and deflation process is as quick as can be, by not letting any air out while you are pumping the boat up. They can also be easily tightened or swapped out for replacements using a valve spanner.

The first time using this type of valve can be slightly confusing, so please feel free to follow along with this instructional video:

Digital Pressure Gauge:

A pressure gauge can be a seriously handy bit of kit for checking the pressure on your inflatable on the fly. They can also be useful if your pump does not come with a built-in pressure gauge. 

The Boatworld Digital Pressure Gauge is suitable for use with Halkey-Roberts valves. Measuring up to a maximum of 15 psi. This can be very useful for both small inflatable boats and for stand up paddleboards. The gauge offers a large digital display for easy viewing with accurate pressure reading to avoid over-inflation.

For more details CLICK HERE

Manual Pumps:

Manual pumps are great option when you do not have access to electricity or fancy some exercise. Don’t be deceived though these pumps are more than capable of inflating boats at a similar rate to an electric pump. It is necessary to match up a pump to your boat capable of the required psi, read on for more information.

Stirrup Pump:

Stirrup pumps are a great way to get your boat pumped up manually. They come with most air deck style boats and stand up paddleboards as they are perfect for getting them blown up to the high pressures needed.

The Boatworld double action stirrup pump is a great all-round pump perfect for blowing up your inflatable boat, SUP or any item which has a Halkey Roberts valve. Using double action technology this pump enables you to get high capacity air into the chambers whilst you are pushing or pulling on the pump which means it will cut your pumping time by half.

You can then change the switch valve to make it single action which then adds high pressure to get your item up to pressure. Such as the floor on an Air V/Air deck boat. This pump is rated up to 30 psi, so is more than capable of handling this. For more details CLICK HERE

Foot Pump:

Foot pumps need little explanation, they do what they say on the tin. Small, compact and ready to inflate.

The Boatworld bellows foot pump is ideal for inflating small to medium sized boats. It comes with a Halkey Roberts adaptor which is suitable not only for boats but can be used for inflating kayaks, life rafts and inflatable toys. This pump has both an inflate and deflate option, deflation allows any extra air in the tubes to be sucked out which can help for storage. It is also worth bearing in mind that there is no pressure gauge on this pump, so a separate digital pressure gauge might be a good idea.

This foot pump can inflate up to 7.2 psi. This is enough for most boats tubes, however you would be unable to inflate a high pressure air floor using one. For more details CLICK HERE

Electric Pumps:

High Volume Pump:

A high volume pump is a fantastic addition to your inflatable set up where you have access to electricity and do not need masses of pressure for your boat etc. These can be hooked up to a 12 V battery from your car or otherwise. This can be super useful when you need to inflate your boat quickly and get out on the water, no waiting around and no physical exertion! Perfect for say a slatted or aluminium floored boat.

NEW IN. The Boatworld 12 Volt High-Volume pump produces 3 times the pressure of other 12-volt air pumps. This being the case, it does a great job for getting towables, boats and rafts nice and firm for peak performance. It comes with 4 adapters which include all the most popular valves adaptors, including Halkey Roberts. The pump has a maximum pressure of 2.5 psi and a volume of 410litres/min.

For more details CLICK HERE

Super High Pressure Pump:

A high pressure electric pump is essential if you have an inflatable that requires high pressure such as an drop-stitch air deck on an inflatable boat. Conventional electric pumps would not be able to get up the pressures required for this.

Similar to the 12V high volume pump, you can hook this up to the battery in your car to power it. Just hook it up, connect your halkey roberts or boston valve, dial in the desired pressure you need (1-20 psi) and walk away! This pump also comes with a 12-volt 20AMP socket connection to plug straight into a 12V socket for convenience.

This pump uses 2-stage inflation so whilst inflating, the pump will switch over to high pressure mode, so do not be alarmed if it gets louder. You will need your car ignition on for this.  For more details CLICK HERE

We hope this has given you a good overview of the ways to inflate your boat. Feel free to contact us with any of your queries at: