Can't get a seal on my axiom track pump

ruprect

I got an Axiom Kompressair Pro 260 track pump

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=13950

I am having great difficulty getting a good seal on a presta tube. When I first got it I spent about 5mins before I got it working right. I only did another 3 tyres and had difficulty with 2 of them. Now I cannot seem to get a good seal at all. It sometimes traps air in the chamber between the head and valve so it puts no air in the tube and reads a high pressure. Other times when you pump the guage swings up to 150+psi, then slowly drops down, but it is letting air out too. When working right it never swings up like that and it works very well when sealed. I have tried varying the amount the valve screw is loosened and how far the adaptor goes on etc. I thought in time it would "break in" or I would find a simple knack to doing it, but it is still not working. Have you any ideas what could be wrong? I have taken out the head part and it all seems OK. My brother is into bikes and tried it and it worked on one tube but not another.

I emailed axiom and got no reply. I also emailed CRC and they just said to send it back. I do not want to return it yet as it is so large, so post will cost a lot, and I do not want another pump the exact same if it is a simple thing I am doing wrong.

Limestone1

If it is losing pressure it could be that the bleed valve is loose. On the one I have (the name escapes me) this is a valve at the bottom of the pump that comes loose every so often and manifests itself in this problem.

Morgan

Are you pressing down the top of the presta valve (after unscrewing) before attaching the pump? Sometimes they get a bit stuck.

kona

Morgan wrote: »

Are you pressing down the top of the presta valve (after unscrewing) before attaching the pump? Sometimes they get a bit stuck.

;)
this is the problem, its quite common.:D

ruprect

Yep I am pressing down the valve bit, I have had that problem with other pumps alright. In this pump you stick the valve in and then pull the lever up to close it tight onto the valve. At the same time when you press the lever up a little brass piece pushes outwards, this is pushing the valve inside so it is actually trying to stop that problem. I have tried it many ways, valve all different depths into it, the valve screw fully out, barely loose, halfway etc.

The pump also has a bleed button on it, but it seems since. All other connections seem fine. I actually work as a mechanical engineer and test pressure valves/safety valves etc, thats why this is really pissing me off!

It has a lifetime guarantee, I think it could be faulty, but would prefer to just be able to send the head back rather than the entire thing.

kona

ruprect wrote: »

Yep I am pressing down the valve bit, I have had that problem with other pumps alright. In this pump you stick the valve in and then pull the lever up to close it tight onto the valve. At the same time when you press the lever up a little brass piece pushes outwards, this is pushing the valve inside so it is actually trying to stop that problem. I have tried it many ways, valve all different depths into it, the valve screw fully out, barely loose, halfway etc.

The pump also has a bleed button on it, but it seems since. All other connections seem fine. I actually work as a mechanical engineer and test pressure valves/safety valves etc, thats why this is really pissing me off!

It has a lifetime guarantee, I think it could be faulty, but would prefer to just be able to send the head back rather than the entire thing.

is this pump one where you have to turn around the valve to use the presta or schrader option??
may be on the schrader option.
otherwise the bleed valve as mentioned.
it could be worn but this only happens after a few thousand or so uses.
i find if you go at a angle it helps bite.

cunnins4

kona wrote: »

is this pump one where you have to turn around the valve to use the presta or schrader option??
may be on the schrader option.

That's what I was just about to say.

ruprect

No, there is no removable thing for presta/shrader. I know exactly what you mean, I have 3 pumps that have that. I thought it odd when I got it, there were no instructions with it. Thing is it DID work perfectly a few times, and has worked on a car tire (I think, they never said it didnt work). My brother did get it to work on one set of prestas and not on another too.

Tried it just now and stuck it under water, it is all coming out the back, might try and get a photo if I can.

You unscrew the metal cap housing and take it off. Now out comes a rubber bit (it cannot be inverted/switched like some). Now you are looking at a red plastic tube section, in the middle of this is a brass tube section, at the other end of this brass section it has a head, like the head of a nail, the brass bit is sprung. When you put a valve in it pushes down the brass bit. Now when the lever is in the open position the head of the brass bit goes into a catch on the lever. Now when you push the lever up into the lock position the red plastic section moves upwards, this compresses the rubber and bites/seals the valve. At the same time the brass bit is still springy, it is forceful enough to push in the presta valve bit. But it seems air is able to escape through the gap between the brass and red plastic bit.

Seems it could be missing a seal or something, but then you would think it never would have worked. And it has worked perfectly before. Very odd. Possibly the bleed button is broken or something is aligning and then going wrong sometimes leave it on or off.

kona

ruprect wrote: »

No, there is no removable thing for presta/shrader. I know exactly what you mean, I have 3 pumps that have that. I thought it odd when I got it, there were no instructions with it. Thing is it DID work perfectly a few times, and has worked on a car tire (I think, they never said it didnt work). My brother did get it to work on one set of prestas and not on another too.

Tried it just now and stuck it under water, it is all coming out the back, might try and get a photo if I can.

You unscrew the metal cap housing and take it off. Now out comes a rubber bit (it cannot be inverted/switched like some). Now you are looking at a red plastic tube section, in the middle of this is a brass tube section, at the other end of this brass section it has a head, like the head of a nail, the brass bit is sprung. When you put a valve in it pushes down the brass bit. Now when the lever is in the open position the head of the brass bit goes into a catch on the lever. Now when you push the lever up into the lock position the red plastic section moves upwards, this compresses the rubber and bites/seals the valve. At the same time the brass bit is still springy, it is forceful enough to push in the presta valve bit. But it seems air is able to escape through the gap between the brass and red plastic bit.

Seems it could be missing a seal or something, but then you would think it never would have worked. And it has worked perfectly before. Very odd. Possibly the bleed button is broken or something is aligning and then going wrong sometimes leave it on or off.

seals on track pumps go every 3 months in work, how long have you had it because you should get a few thousand locks out of it before you blow a seal.
you can buy a repair kit, topeak do one.

ruprect

The pump is only new, it has only pumped up about 6 tyres. I thought it might need to be "broken in" but it got worse over time. I was even thinking of taking it off and putting on my cheapo pump head. But it is under warranty and has a lifetime guarantee, and that will probably void it. Also a cheap head might not go up to 100+psi. I just do not want the expense and hassle of posting the whole lot back to CRC.

If I could just post the head back to axiom I would be pleased, but do not want another the exact same if it is just some simple thing I am missing. No reponse out of axiom at all.

You can see the features described here
http://www.axiomgear.com/product/pumps/floor_pumps/product.php?id=18