Cheap hydragas pump?

[Lankytim]

Does anybody know anything about the hydragas pumps advertised in practical classics for £90?

The pumps ive seen go for £250 odd so I'm not sure this cheap item is worth buying- its got to be curse word at that money, hasnt it?

[Kyle67]

Easy to make yourself TBH, I made mine from a grease gun, metal valve cap and a grease nipple.
Less than a tenner.

[herald948]

Back in the day we made one from a brake master cylinder. The only thing we had to source specific to hydragas was the nozzle for the end of the pipe. Dial-a-ride-height made easy!

Allegro hydragas pipes were notorious for rusting. We found that Acorn plastic plumbing made an acceptable and rustproof replacement.

[somegeezer]

The real ones have a vacuum function to evacuate the system prior to presurizing, it makes a big difference.

[dollywobbler]

I've used a grease-gun style one with good effect. Very simple and effective.

[herald948]

Nov 28, 2008 22:16:44 GMT somegeezer said:

The real ones have a vacuum function to evacuate the system prior to presurizing, it makes a big difference.

If you are just adjusting the height you shouldn't need it though, we never did.

On the occasions we had to replace pipes we found that with a lot of hard work and getting extremely wet we could assemble the system under water pressure from a hose pipe and then bleed it and replace the fluid successfully. I remember expelling the air from a hydragas cylinder by compressing and releasing it fully submerged in a tank of water. Having the vacuum pump would have made our lives much easier though.

Happy days. I will always retain a soft spot for Allegros.

[xbo11ox]

I'm almost certain the £90 ones are a greasegun with a flexi hose and a 'proper' low loss connector on. I made and sold a couple of those a few months ago. The proper connector costs about £35 on its own even if you buy it direct from the manufacturer. The grease-gun type is ideal for doing top-ups but if you need to reflate a car from empty after changing a displacer or something, you'll be pumping away for weeks and weeks with one of those. I have bought a hydraulic hand pump to try and make a better job of it. Alternative if you watch eBay theres always either official BL pumps or the liquid levers equivalent going for £60-120 or so. The bit about having a vacuum facillity is unnecessary, you can manage perfectly well without it.

[Lankytim]

I may give the £90 ones a miss then, I'm going to be replacing pipes e.t.c!

I borrowed a pump from rowley classics and it was a class piece of kit, really nice to use. Ive seen similiar ones on ebay but they sell very quickly, often outside the auction.

[rowleyclassics]

lankytim you are welcome to borrow it as much and as often as you need, no need to buy one

[Lankytim]

I might be sorted with a cheap "proper one" now, thanks for the very kind offer though.

If I'm going to break anybodys stuff it may as well be my own, lol!