Hydro pump / Minispares/ eBay

[swifty]

Look at the price difference? Got one from eBay , works a treat . Nearly 3 times the price from Minispares…. Shirley

[Catmint]

I guess the price difference is helped by the low loss valve fitted to the minispares one - they are about £70 on their own

[swifty]

Good point Gordon. Was wondering why there was such a mark up . Will have a look at my one tomorrow and report back …. Shirley

[Peter Laidler]

Ah, but does that machine evacuate the system as well? If it only pumps up a failing system, then you might as buy a cheaper 'grease gun' hand held type

Forgot to add...... The little hand held will take longer. My hydro system has been up and down mire often than a whores drawers. It takes about 50 or so pumps on the grease gun type pump to set the height correct - with the drive shafts parallel to the ground.

I have heard about the 'low-loss' valve. What is it and what does it do......, apart from preventing ;low-loss'

[swifty]

Well I am reporting back and the pump I have has indeed got this low loss valve thingy……. Shirley

[cockney21]

They charge that because they can. If you get yourself to the top of the pile and become the "Go to" for anything then people will buy all they need for a job and not bother to shop around.

[Peter Laidler]

What does the low-loss valve achieve.......

It's baffled me for years. Never felt the need for one on my 40 year old grease gun type pressuriser or on my home made £20 full evacuation and pressurise system

Help.......... I am - or am I - missing sumfink!

And here's another problem with one of those box of tricks gadgets. Do you lower and pressurise the system with the same old gungy shite that you have just drained down from the car?

[Jack of all trades]

It's a "No-loss" valve, not a low loss.

It allows opening and closing of a Schrader valve inner core while under constant pressure via the small "T" handle on the no-loss adapter.

So there's no loss the pressure when you remove the adapter form the valve body. Unlike with a "normal" pump adapter where there's always some loss.

Jack

[Peter Laidler]

Got that Jack, got that and thanks.

But at the risk of sounding like a total dickhead - again - how much pressure does the hydro system loose when you undo the normal female threaded adaptor from the schrader valve? Just been into my garage to test.....
I've used my home made 'dalek and a little hand-pump thinggy on my hydro system and if I take the female screw-on thinggy off the pressurised hydro schrader valve and look VERY carefully...... like I did to test my theory about 10 minutes ago, i might get the slightest bleed-off of fluid. And that fluid is the dregs of what's left in the pump line!

Just like if I listen very carefully I get the smallest 'hiss' when I do the same to my high pressure bike tyres.

Low-loss or No loss, being a tight arse, I'd say keep your money in your pocket. I'd be more than happy for someone to debunk my schoolboy practical test that's puzzled me for years.

[111Robin]

Peter for want of a better term it's just a "better engineered" solution. It enables you to make up the fitting without releasing pressure from the Schrader valve, it then enables you to pump fluid through the hose out of the bleeder then close the bleeder and pressurise the hose before you screw in the stinger to open the system such that there is no pressure loss as the system pressure enters the pump. I dare say you can achieve the same end point with a simpler setup but this is just..... better and a little bit safer possibly given you're not threading a union onto a "live" pressurised system. There is always more than one way to skin a cat and some are a little better than others but not absolutely necessary.

[Aussie Bill B]

... how much pressure does the hydro system loose when you undo the normal female threaded adaptor from the schrader valve? Just been into my garage to test..... i might get the slightest bleed-off of fluid. And that fluid is the dregs of what's left in the pump line!

Just like if I listen very carefully I get the smallest 'hiss' when I do the same to my high pressure bike tyres.........

The main benefit of a no-loss valve comes from pumping the suspension to the desired height, then removing the coupling, knowing that there won't be any fluid loss - and therefore no change in the pressure and ride height from where you set it.

Unlike pumping car tyres with compressed air, where most people will inflate slightly over the desired pressure, then use the coupling to drop the pressure back to the required level. This is easy with a tyre inflator but much more tedious with suspension settings.