I try to check the tire pressure’s on my cars regularly to prevent any weird behavior on the road. At times I need to adjust the pressure or need to pump my summer or winter tires after having changed them. In the past I tried to use an electrical air compressor to do this. But you need electricity (duh) for that, and it’s not always available. So I started using a bicycle pump. Works ok, but when trying to add 0.5bar to a tire (after winter storage) it take quite a while.

So I decided to buy a foot pump, they should be able to move more air. Have tried a few, all died within a few times of use. The construction is mostly pretty poor. After reading other people’s experience, it seems like nobody makes any real usable foot pump anymore. But in the end I found a reference to this website:

http://www.vintagepumps.co.uk/

That looked pretty cool! Pumps that actually survived for a long time and are being restored!

So I sent a email to inquire for a “workhorse” pump for the car tires. Gordon quickly sent me a mail back with lots of info and options. He really seems to know the pumps! He gave me very good advice based on the information I had given him and even sent me pictures of the pumps he had available. After exchanging a couple of mails I decided on the pump I would like to have. The new workhorse would be a Kismet Duplex Master, which should basically be one of the best pumps around :)

So after a bit the courier finally showed up with the package! :)

Included with the pump was some documentation, including a copy of one of the original 1920 adverts.

Unpacking showed this very nice bit of engineering.

As noted on the website, the hose was replaced with a period correct looking modern hose. Not a braided one, so you can still see if there is any damage to the rubber.

And of course the pump has the official shield.

And looking at the foot pedal you can’t miss the brand or type ;)

The Kismet Duplex Master is quite a special pump. On modern pumps you sometime see the dual action foot pumps. This one is also dual action, but in a much more ingenious way. Impressive if you take into account that this pump was produced from 1930’s till 1950’s. A bit of background information on the workings of the pump was also included.

The pump has a latch in place so it can be stored a bit more compact.

The stroke on the pump is quite big and with the dual action mechanism it can move quite a bit of air.

According to the information on the website, the pump should be able to produce over 300 psi (20 bar), which is quite impressive. The overall quality and specifications of the pump explains why even the military used it in World War 2.

Of course I had to test the pump on the car. Only 10 strokes needed to add 0.2bar to the tire I was testing. It took me more time to take the valvecover off and put it back on :) Very pleased with the pump, and based on the feel of the construction, this one should last for quite some time :)

Just a few more pictures to give more of an idea how the pump looks.