Customer Reviews

Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I picked one of these the other day at the big bricks and mortar store. Mainly for my car. The guy in the 'car and tires' department looked like he was about to have a heart attack - "get a FOOT pump" he kept repeating, "these are for BIKES, not cars". When challenged, he wasn't able to actually find and show me the foot pump so the Bell Floor Pump with Gauge it was.

To make the short story short, I got all 4 tires inflated from 28 psi to the recommended 33 psi in about 10 minutes. It was about 25-30 pumps per tire to raise the pressure by 5 psi and I didn't break a sweat - cold winter, cold garage.

The good things this pump has going for are:

- comfortable grip
- pretty good pumping volume - sending a lot of air into the tire with each press
- air does not escape once it's mounted on the tire
- inexpensive

The not so good things:

- air hose is pretty short and on an SUV or truck you may have to roll it a little if the spout happens to be too high for the short hose
- the foot rests seem to be relatively easy to break plastic so you handle it with care
- the gauge readings are not reliable - they really show you the pressure in the pump not in the tire - used the Accutire MS-4350B Programmable Digital Tire Gauge for precise measurements

Briefly: this is a perfect pump for bikes and a good one for small cars, maybe not so convenient but still usable with trucks and really big SUVs.

Bought this at a big box retailer to use on my hybrid bike. It's easy to use up to 60psi but after that it gets really hard (almost impossible over 80psi.) I run about 70-80psi which means it's too hard to use for regular "topping off" of tire pressure.

Easy to pump and gets them full quickly! Mainly plastic construction except for the plunger and the plunger tube. Although it is mainly plastic it still feels pretty sturdy. Hopefully it holds up for a long time.

OK, this thing is darn inexpensive. It MAY be a good value because of how inexpensive it is. But ...

First, the good parts.
The chuck seems well designed and holds pressure up to at least 100#.
The barrel is metal and seems quite durable.
The unusually large diameter barrel means lots of air is injected on each stroke. It also means that you should be able to get your tire up to pressure with fewer strokes.

Now the bad parts.
The T-handle, plastic, seems ready to break off.
If you don't attach the chuck precisely properly, it doesn't depress the stem valve and you end up pumping against a "dead head" (i.e., the pressure rapidly goes up to "pegged high" on the gauge).
The unit seemed unusually difficult to pump (i.e., requiring abnormally high force). This is probably the result of having a larger-than-typical diameter barrel. This means that, particularly at higher pressures, unusually high amounts of force are required just to complete the stroke.
The gauge seemed easy enough to read. However, even on the very first time the pump was used, the needle got stuck for several strokes, then suddenly jumped 15 psi!

Overall, this very inexpensive pump may get the job done well, especially if your pumping needs are for very low pressures. But if you have a high pressure tire you want to pump up, you will quickly become upset with this pump.

Sometimes this pump doesn't work, especially when I need it. I attach it to the tube stem but no air is exchanged. I tried pushing it deeply down the stem or position it higher, makes no difference. I just wanted something to put 50lbs of pressure, nothing fancy. Why do people sell junk?

Seemed fine otherwise, but the nozzle broke clean in half after only a few uses. For what it's worth. The Bell name obviously doesn't mean very much.

The pump itself moves a lot or air, but the valve unit (whatever the real name is) split into several sections and fell apart. "You gotta be kidding me!" I yelled. It looks like that piece just screws onto the hose, but I can't find a replacement. Don't buy.

The way the pump head is designed, the core depressor is too far in to reach the core when you have the presta adapter inserted. Which is particularly dumb, since it actually comes with the adapter, you'd think they would have tested it.

Maybe this is a good pump for a mountain bike or something, but it's completely useless for a road bike.

Do not waste your time with this pump if you are going to use it with a presta valved rim. Blows off of valve as pressure nears 90lbs. Uses a plastic fitting to convert to presta from schrader. Total Junk. Was not able to even fill one tire. Bought this pump new.

Bought this for my son at college in March. He used it infrequently, then brought it home. I used it on my bikes, neither of which requires more than 70 - 80 psi. Last week the diaphragm -- the gizmo which keeps the air in, creates the pressure to pump up the tires -- broke, or split, so that the pump audibly leaks air and will not under any circumstances get a tire above 60 lbs. It must be split. This is about three months, with light use, AND THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE. I DON'T CARE HOW CHEAP THIS THING IS, IT SHOULD NOT BREAK IN THAT TIME PERIOD.

And just try to find a way to communicate with Amazon (the direct seller)about this, so as to secure a replacement diaphragm! No way. Or try to find an address and phone number for Bell.

I like Amazon, in general, and would much rather be writing a positive review.