Blackburn Air Tower 4 - old design - Can you refurb them?

daniel_b

Hi guys,

I have an aging AIr tower 4, which is now a back up pump, but solidly made, and mostly does the job.

Occasionally the pump head will pop off the valve, and it also now makes an annoying high pitch whistling noise, which must be air escaping somewhere.

I would much rather recycle stuff than buy new, but a lifeline 'professional' pump is available for the princely sum of £15, so I am wondering if it is even worth thinking about it, as I assume it will need a new head, and rubber seals somewhere within the pump - never taken it apart.

I have just worked out by finding the original e-mail that I bought it back in 2007 - but the new ones seem to have a lifetime guarantee, so not sure if I shoul just contact Wiggle, or Blackburn directly - anyone done similar?

EDIT: Just e-mailed Wiggle to see what they say.

daniel_b

If anyone is interested, Wiggle have replied to say that they have spoken to Blackburn, and it still is under warranty - which I would assume with a lifetime warranty.

But I have to send it back to them to be inspected, and only if they decide it is a genuine fault will it then be decided if it canbe replaced or repaired.
If the product is not considered to have a manufacturers defect they may only be able offer a repair service which may incur a fixing charge.

I can send it back for free using Collect+, and have a place 2 minutes from work, so that isn't an issue.

Will probably do that, and if they decided it is not covered, I'll just order one of their Lifeline pro pumps for £15, which get excellent reviews.

FYI, I had a look at this SKS pump at Decathlon yesterday, and it looks really good quality - nice long bike shop style hose, and proper sturdy.
A good buy at £22 I reckon.
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/airworx-100-floor-pump-id_8166702.html

daniel_b

Well I sent my 9 year old pump off last week for free via Collect+, and Wiggle have e-mailed me today to say that they can't unarchive my order, so do I want a voucher for the amount I paid back in 2007!

I have agreed, but also asked if when I order a new pump from them, they would mind popping the Blackburn back in the packaging, as it's still usable, especially as emergency backup, and seems a shame for a solid bit of kit to go to landfill.