I'm probably a little late posting this as the weather is due to break up tomorrow...but I've just watched a video from a camping website which says not to over fill air beams when the weather is hot.
The guy said that when it's hot (above 30 degree Celsius outside) then you should only inflate the beams to around 5psi.
He said that there should still be some give when you apply pressure to the beams - they shouldn't be rock solid because the air can expand in the heat and cause them to burst.
I thought it would be helpful to share 😊
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Myths and mis-information abound about almost any subject under the sun, and Airbeams are no exception, but the maths and physics undermine many of the arguments! The pressure increases very little in the normal range of temperatures experienced. BUT, people are often quite careless about the pressure they inflate to (by perhaps using a pump not specifically intended for their Airbeams!), so unless there is a pressure limiting valve or cut off on pump, and/or a over pressure relief valve on Airbeam then they may well be overinflated in first place!
It is true that most Airbeams (there are a few smaller diameter HIGH pressure ones around though) really don't need inflating rock hard, a bit of 'squidge' in them and they generally work just fine, the manufacturers inflation figure generally allows them to be slightly 'squidgy'.
What is rarely taking into account is that the heat actually softens many of the materials used, and if they are already on their way to failing due to say bursting stitching on inner (normally hidden and unlikely to be inspected!) containment sleeves, then that can accelerate the process to failure, then the 'assumed' rise in pressure is blamed!
I’ve enjoyed both Karsten and mass market air beams and I love them both. BUT with a mass market air beam you should definitely relieve pressure if there’s a hot spell. They get very, very hot - much, much hotter than the Met Office’s prediction for temperature in the shade, and hotter than the ambient temps in the sun. It’s a bit like leaving a dog in a car.
Monty is quite correct about the damage being degradation of the plasticisers in the containing element of the tube, but the result is still a dead tent. It can happen quite quickly.
As with air beds, if it’s hot reduce pressure in the morning, and perk it up in the evening. It’s a pita but at least the weather’s nice.
Chapeau at Mucker - we have just enjoyed the current hot spell at Cropredy at 4 bar (psi just isn’t Karsten enough for me)
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Kampa released some technical data about this a few years ago. Roughly speaking every 20c rise in temperature leads to a 1psi increase in beam pressure. In France each year I pump the beams up to 7psi at 25c and forget about them for two weeks, when the temp hits 40c the beam pressure may increase a bit but it is not significant when the beams are tested to 22psi by the manufacturer.
I used to muck around reducing pressures on hot days but there really is no need, just inflate and forget.
It depends on the valve on your tent, on a Kampa you just unscrew the valve about 5 turns and it deflates, to just drop a bit of pressure undo the valve a bit until you hear hissing air and then wait for a minute while enough air escapes. Do the valve back up then put the pump back on to check the pressure and add a bit more if necessary.
The real point of my post was to say pump it up to the recommended pressure and then just leave it alone, it’s nice and easy. Our tent loses about 1-2 psi on a two week stay which is not enough to effect rigidity.
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Topic: Air beams in hot weather
via mobile 14/8/2022 at 2:37pm
