My final opinion of the Rule ID20-
Ok, so I've received my new Rule
inflator. To backtrack a little, the way the grip switch on the Rule works is that there's two small pieces of copper plate that make contact when you press on the red plastic handle (the upper portion gets pushed down, the lower portion is riveted to the motor casing).
The problem I had with my original
inflator is that when I first received it, I hooked it up and had it lying on the ground ready for use. I accidentally bumped the grip switch with my knee, the contacts fused and it took off running. I had to whack it to make it stop. That's when I started looking closer at what was happening. I found that if you bump the switch (on/off quickly, short bursts), the switch would arc and fuse together and I'd have to give it a whack to get the switch to release. This is not how you'd normally use it. It works fine if you press and hold the grip switch, then release. You can see where the switch arced, then fused on the lower portion.
After bumping the switch a few times, it got to the point where no amount of smacking it would get it to release. I had to disconnect it from the battery. The bottom connection point was pulling up from it's original flat position. With the switch fused, I reconnected the cable lead to the battery and there was a big spark, because this
inflator can pull up to 25A.
Now for a heads up - Pay attention to the warnings on the electrical cord. Typically, the hookup battery is in the engine compartment where gasoline fumes can concentrate (my boat mfgr. has a warning sticker on the boat and in the owners manual - "Before starting engine, check engine bilge compartment for gasoline or vapors, and operate blower for four minutes, and verify blower operation"). My concern was that at some point someone uses the
inflator, the switch arcs and fuses, the person can't turn it off, so they disconnect the
inflator at the battery and forget that the switch is fused. Sometime later, someone goes to use the
inflator, hooks up the cables to the battery without first clearing the vapors, there's a huge spark from the battery connection, and an accident happens.
Again, heed the warnings that are supplied by the manufacturer. Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. I recommended to Rule that they reinforce the "flammable vapours" warning by making it stand out more, using a larger, capitalized, bold and red colored, font. Add the same warning to the instruction booklet with the same large colored font. On the technical side (my .02 cents), I recommended moving the bottom rivet more towards the contact point so the bottom connector doesn't get pulled up easily. The top connector needs some more upward tension to it, so it's not as apt to fuse. I don't know if an insulated (plastic?) spring between the two contacts is feasible. I'm guessing that they don't want to use a traditional on/off switch because of the sparking issue if the switch were left on and the cables then connected.
Rule was very receptive to my concerns and were quick in exchanging the
inflator. They're currently examining the
inflator I returned.
I'm not able to test the pressure of the raft because my raft won't work with a Boston valve.
I'm keeping the Rule
inflator, because of the pressure it supplies. I won't have to top off my Mable. One thing I didn't like is that it has that weird rectangular fitting for the adapters. If you lose it and don't have a backup, you're sunk. I wish it had a typical round fitting. I'm sure something could be rigged temporarily. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend this
inflator to others.
Rick
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