It Doesn't Work: The Bell Windstorm Floor Pump With Gauge Is An Absolute Failure!

The Good: ? - Inexpensive, I suppose
The Bad: Not particularly durable, Doesn't work, Cheap
The Basics: I bought a Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge when I was in a pinch for a tire pump and it completely failed to work for me!


There is a pretty common "bit" in comedy when it comes to banter, where one person says something to another person as a list of things they are expressing and the person to whom they speak responds with the same response every time. Such banter tends to work best when it is a couple of words and is more than simply a "yes" or "no" response being repeated ad nauseum. In the case of the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge, any sales pitch one could give me would be met with a reply of "It doesn't work." "Solid steel barrel . . ." "It doesn't work." "Gauge that reads up to 120 PSI. . ." "It doesn't work." "Foot pedals to stand upon while pumping . . ." "It doesn't matter; it doesn't work." You get it.

I had a soft tire that needed filling and I stopped in at the nearest local hardware store I could find for a tire pump. The only one they had was the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge and, given that I won't travel on a deflated tire whenever I don't have to and they were closing for the night, I purchased the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge with a sense of desperation and rushed out of the store to fill my tire. So, I was, understandably, upset when the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge failed to work. Like most tire pumps, the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge has a Schrader valve that one attaches to the tire, then depress a lever to allow the pump to push air into the tire's valve. There was no combination of movements that made it possible to connect the Schrader valve to my tire to push air into the tire and get a gauge reading from the pump.

So, I'm out the $26.

The Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge is a tire pump that has a 17" tall 1 1/2" in diameter steel barrel shaft that connects at the top to a plastic handle and at the base to plastic foot pedals that allow one to stand upon it while pumping . . . if it would actually pump air. The most compact this device gets is 23" tall by 3" deep by 8 1/2" wide, so it is likely to remain in one's garage, as opposed to being transported with a cyclist. The Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge features a 2 foot long rubber hose that ends in a Schrader valve.

Use of the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge is very easy. Simply connect the Schrader valve to the tire you want inflated by pressing it firmly on the tire valve and then pushing down the lever on the Schrader valve. At that point, the gauge should read the current tire pressure. Step on the foot pedals to stabilize the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge, then left the two handles atop the pump with both hands and push down.

Then, when nothing happens, save the sound of air whooshing out the valve, chuck the Bell Windstorm Floor Pump with Gauge and go and buy a floor pump that works!

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For other reviews of other, random, things, please check out my Other Product Review Index Page for a listing of all those reviews!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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