Children Party Plans - Users Guide to Operating a Bouncy Castle

How to set up your bouncy castle.

Firstly look for a suitable place in the areas you have available, try to find the flattest place possible without a gradient of more than 5%. If there are lumps and bumps throughout your area or you are on a hard surface such as concrete or gravel, a good quality ground sheet is needed to protect the base of the castle. If there is a muddy or oily area, try to use sand or more sheeting to cover this so it does not spoil the inflatable and users clothing.

Check the area for possible hazards.

Once you have found a suitable area a ground sweep is advised, look for items such as broken glass, hard plastic, sharp stones and branches as these will damage the base of the castle. Another aspect is to look up as there can be over hanging trees, bushes, washing lines and buildings, these can cause damage to the inflatable with constant friction from movement and contact.

Unpack the bouncy castles.

Take the ground sheet and place this in the identified area, if it is windy place your bouncy castle anchors or sand bags at each corner of the ground sheet to hold it in place. Position your inflatable on top of the ground sheet and unfold, when positioning the castle remember not to pull it with the anchor points as this can damage them. Tie off any air escape tubes and leave one open for your blower. Fasten any zips and stick the Velcro flaps down to secure the zip. Zips are usually found at the side or back of an inflatable at the base.

Attach the inflatable blower.

At this point you should have the inflatable laid out on the ground with the one inflation tube at the back. Insert the blower into the inflation tube, on some bouncy castles there is a strap attached to the inflation tube; fasten the strap with the tie strap at the base of the blower funnel. If the inflatable does not have a strap attached you need to use a small cargo buckle lash strap to secure the inflation tube.

Extension Cables -- Residual-Current Device plugs and petrol blowers.

With extension cables they must be fully unrolled, the wiring should be laid down tree, bush or wall lines as far away from users of the bouncy castle, to avoid trips and damage to the wire. Always try to use a water-resistant extension cable, or cover the junction box with a plastic covering to prevent a sudden shower from wetting the plugs. When the extension cable enters the house, run it through open windows this will prevent people tripping over it or a door closing on the cable and damaging it. Use Residual-current devices (Residual-Current Device) plugs in the house to plug the extension cable into. Press the button on the Residual-Current Device circuit breaker to inflate the bouncy castle. When using petrol driven blowers these must be regulated so you are not over powering the engine but there is enough air being blown into the inflatable to give a good bounce?

Securing a bouncy castle.

On each bouncer there should be anchor points and attached to the anchor point is a section of rope, drive the anchors (large steel pegs) through the rope and into the ground, you may need a 3 pound hammer for this. Make sure they do not protrude above the ground as people will trip over them. If you are on a hard surface you will need sand bags to stabilize the inflatable, another good idea is to get very bright coloured sand bags as people see these better.

Safety.

Do not allow children or adults on the bouncy castle while it is being inflated and deflated; keep children away from the back of the inflatable, power cables, Residual-Current Device circuit breakers and petrol blowers. Do not use the bouncy castle on very windy days or in wet conditions, if there are the odd few showers a rain cover is to be fitted. To do this fully deflate the bouncy castle before attaching the cover. Safety mats should be used at the entrance of a bouncy castle. If the bouncy castle stops working during use, immediately get everybody off the inflatable and retrace your tracks from step 4, and always check the fuse box at your power source.