Mastercraft Big Red 110 Volt Pump

From this point forward we won't be carrying the Big Reds. Mastercraft has not only raised their pricing steeply in the last year or two, they have also decided that NRS will become pretty much the exclusive distributor. They are simply not offering other dealers any kind of a price break now, even on pallet loads. Mastercraft has also become less dealer-friendly in general so maybe it's not the worst thing to happen.

There are a few 110 volt options to the Big Red at this point, depending on your needs. If you want an American made commercial unit that can run continuously for long periods of time, Man of Rubber makes multiple models of their Hurricane inflator (not to be confused with the 12 volt pump we sell from AIRE). Their “Mini” is now less expensive than the Big Red, and though it is not typlically used as a hand-held unit, it does have slightly higher air output and considerably higher pressure than the Big Red. The Man of Rubber pumps are sold direct hrough them, not through dealers.

Another option is the newer BlowPro, which is imported but of very high quality. This model is here in the pump section of our site and is of similar configuration to the Man of Rubber Hurricane. It can be hand-held but the folding grip doesn't make that easy, and like the Hurricane it was intended to be used free standing with the hose provided. Whether the BlowPro is a good option would depend on how long you plan to run it at a stretch. Under half and hour should be okay, but if you will be using your electric heavily for hours on end multiple times in a given week, it might be better to stick with the commercial quality of the Man of Rubber inflator.

Last, some other options include the Bravo OV-10 that we sell, though this is a private boater's pump not intended for shop use or running times over 15 minutes. Additionally, at some point when we run out of them we may not get more as the current retail pricing is likely almost the same as the BlowPro (the OV-10's we are sitting on now have been in stock for a while, and the whoelsale has gone up since then, as has the shipping from Italy). Many folks on the MountainBuzz forum also report good results with some of the hardware store rechargeable inflators, like those from Ryobi, Makita, Hart, DeWalt, Porter Cable, and other tool brands. Certain leaf blowers can also work though few will go past 1.5 p.s.i.

The Mastercraft has been a stellar product for decades, but when we had a DOA one right out of the box two seasons ago, they refused to replace it or even look at it, and this did not leave a good taste in our mouth. With NRS assuming distributorship, any problems going forward will have to be resolved by them. If you have further quesitons on this subject feel free to phone or email us.