STOP overinflating your Intex Challenger K1! Do THIS to avoid seam splits!
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- This time a short presentation on how I inflate my Intex Challenger K1 so that I don't have to worry about seam splits resulting from overinflation.
For those who still don't know it, it's a (very) entry level single kayak, made of a single layer of vinyl (PVC) that is not reinforced. Therefore, it is prone to stretching from either pressure and/or heat.
Rated at only 1psi, it is meant to be used close to shore.
I hope this video proves helpful. Next week I'll show you how I fold it efficiently. 😉
Let's go paddling!
Gear used in this video:
Intex Challenger K1 inflatable kayak
intexcorp.com/...
yeah, people get into trouble when they inflate it a little too much during a cold morning and are still out in the water at around 2pm in the scorching heat - this is what kills it
air expands with heat so the air pressure inside keeps climbing with the outside temperature, if you don't compensate for this and have it already pumped at the limit during a cool morning then failure during the hottest part of the day is a possibility
Or when they just keep pumping until it's properly "firm". They end up with 2-3 psi and then it's only a matter of time... so many times I see these valve casings pushed out or the black parts on the sides expanded beyond comprehension. Facebook Marketplace is full of them too.
That 10 cm line is also meant to help you determine the right amount of inflation. This kayak comes with a plastic measuring strip specifically for that purpose :-) . But besides that, you are also right anyway so it doesn't really matter haha.
That's right but this measuring strip becomes useless once you use the kayak once or twice in the sun and the part where the line is printed expands 😉
Ahh is it normal for that to happen?? When I went to inflate mine today the first chamber was not nearly firm but the 10cm mark on the boat was way bigger than the normal measurement. The cup under the valve had also popped up at some point. I was able to invert the cup again to normal, inflate the bottom part by feel (top part still looked/functioned normally), and cautiously took it out for about two hours on the lake with no problems. Is it safe to keep using like this??
(The last time before that it was out, was a pretty hot day…like high 80s I think. Took it out and let it dry in the sun for maybe 30-40 min before uninflating at all. Wondering if that was my mistake??)
Or use a pump with pressure gauge @@LetsGoPaddling
The only issue I have doing it that way is when it's very hot outside and if feels as you describe when inflated, once it gets in the cooler water it deflates a bit depending how cold the water is.
When put in cooler water, the air compresses, the kayak doesn't deflate.
If you top it up at this point, you're one step closer to having vinyl bulge on the kayak or getting seam splits. The skin of Challenger (and other cheapest kayaks) is not reinforced so it cannot be inflated rock hard, it has to stay soft. Once it goes past its tensile strength (I think it was stretching of up to 7% for vinyl), any deformation can't be reverted and it will progress until it fails.
@@LetsGoPaddling well that's actually what I was trying to say but I used the wrong word but you are correct
How can you fix bulging out parts of kayak?
Radku, to jest niezbrojony winyl. Jak zostanie rozciągnięty "ponad stan" to jego struktura pozostaje naruszona. Niestety nie da się tego naprawić. Trzeba od nowości uważać, żeby go nie przepompować. Wybity zawór bostoński można spróbować ogrzać np. suszarką i wcisnąć z powrotem ale zawsze jest ryzyko uszkodzenia go lub podtopienia winylu.
Dziękuję za obejrzenie i zainteresowanie.
You can shrink it back when heated up with no pressure in it. Inflate it with only 50% of air volume and left it on the sun for couple minutes, or use a hairdryer carefully. (PVC shrink tubes works the same)
Do you ever wonder that you have under-inflated it?
No because I know what kind of craft I deal with. It just has to be soft. Higher grade kayaks or kayaks with DS hulls will naturally feel more rigid. This is something you'll come to be aware of once you've dealt with many different brands and models. 😉