10/2/23 10:25 PM

My 40-year-old Silca track pump has been getting a bit dodgy - the leather washer was rather worn and leaking, ditto for the check valve, and as I don't put more than 60psi in any tyres these days, I was only ever operating in the bottom 25% of the 0-240psi gauge on the pump, with consequent inaccuracy of the readings. I unscrewed the old gauge, which required a fair bit of force as the threads were corroded, and found that it used a 1/8 NPT thread, so I ordered a compatible 50mm diameter Wika gauge with 0-600kPa range and a claimed 2.5% accuracy. The Wika dial has a secondary scale in psi (0-87psi) - I believe in the US you can order the same gauge with psi as the primary scale.

I also ordered a new check valve and washer, and the pump is now back in full working order, and considerably more useful for my purposes with the new gauge.

I probably could have bought a brand new floor pump for not much more than I spent on the replacement parts, but I prefer repairing what I have rather than replacing it with something else.

<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHd4cTNrzfyoJvMu_qLHQa8NUV38RxOCGeS6GW78RyfLm69YFqEp1_JFVLoORkOvkfxfbZwCMEn7egqzRUdGGyUX0zt2W9rpDBpGYK7iOCxIyQOTR9Yk=w2400?source=screenshot.guru"> <img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHd4cTNrzfyoJvMu_qLHQa8NUV38RxOCGeS6GW78RyfLm69YFqEp1_JFVLoORkOvkfxfbZwCMEn7egqzRUdGGyUX0zt2W9rpDBpGYK7iOCxIyQOTR9Yk=w600-h900-p-k" /> </a>

10/2/23 10:37 PM

"I prefer repairing what I have rather than replacing it with something else. "

Replacement never come near that service life, not 1/4 of that maybe. And odds are it's not reparable either.

Cool beans pretty much..

10/4/23 9:04 AM

And now, at some point in the future, you can replace the tube, the hose, the handle, and the pump rod. And then you can pass it on to your heirs. And then they can say this Silca pump has lasted 100 years :)

10/4/23 12:53 PM

The track pump of Theseus...

10/7/23 7:01 AM

Exactly!