Sometimes people find themselves in a situation where they can't find anything to fill air in the basketball. Majority of people use an air pump with a needle to get air inside.
But what if you don't have a needle there are some hacks you can use to inflate a basketball without requiring any needle.
Basketball is just like balloons except they have a harder outer surface but they can be inflated just like a balloon does.
You can make a custom needle and use that in filling air by using methods below:
Use available resources:
There are many things around you look for something small so you can put in that basketball hole and start pumping air.
Some
things that can help:
- Use a pen ink hole
- Use a juice straw
- Use a bike tiretube pinhole
- Use a small pipe given with sprays or lubricants
All
you have to do is get this and insert it inside the basketball hole and start
pumping air.
Find an Airpump:
Inflating a basketball without a needle is possible but without an air pump, will be hard. It can be done but won't is as effective as done with the help of an air pump.
The
best is you should find yourself a pump or go to the bike repair shop and grab
one.
Make a DIY air pump:
If there is no air pump near make a DIY pump:
The simplest way to make is to use a plastic bottle. Make a small hole using a screwdriver over the cap of the bottle and then a second hole near the bottom of the bottle.
Slightly above the bottom and you got yourself a DIY air pump.
Final step:
Take the custom pin that you made using the above methods and put it in the hole made on the bottle cap make sure that hole of the cap is according to the pin available to you otherwise it won’t work.
Now just press and release the bottle and air will start filling up the basketball.
Medical syringe without a needle:
Another great way to pump air is you can use a medical syringe but without a needle just the above part. It can also help to pump some air into the basketball.
Borrow some air from the bike tires :
Vehicle tires have a lot of compressed air. You can
use that to your advantage. If you got yourself a bike or car use the to fill
the air.
Put the small hole pin you made and transfer air from the tire to basketball and make it fully inflated
Air blower to pump air:
An air blower will come in handy when trying to
inflate a basketball without a proper needle. You have made a custom needle now
use the air blower to fill the air
Temperature difference:
It is being said that fully inflated basketball bounces better than
less air. It has been proven through science. But you have to be careful about
the temperature difference.
If you are living in a hot climate you should
refrain from making the basketball fully inflated as the hot air will increase
pressure and cause leak in the basketball.
In cold places basketball should be fully inflated,
cold air release less pressure compared to hot one. Make note of that and fill
the basketball according to your appropriate climate to prevent leaks or
damage.
Become a better basketball player in dunk training and improve your dunking ability
How to tell if basketball is fully inflated?
It's quite important to know if the basketball is
inflated with air up to a point where you can play with ease. As we have said
the temperature difference will affect the inflated basketball.
Hot air will give more pressure and hence less air
can make a good bounce while colder climates have to fill a lot more air.
The general rule of thumb followed in the basketball
community is to pick the ball to your eye level with arms straight out and
release the ball without any force exerted if it bounces up to your waist is
good.
If the bounce is above the waistline then release
some air by pushing the custom pin you made in the hole if it bounces below the
waistline pump some more air.
If you have inflated ball and it bounces back to
your waistline and after some minutes bounce is low then there might be a leak.
Keep the basketball in a water bucket to see where the air leak is.
Recapping all the steps:
- Find available resources
- Find an air pump
- Keep note of temperature difference
It is still very much possible to inflate a basketball without a needle. You can find the resources to make a pin and then make a custom air pump and start filling the air.
