Reducing inner diameter of corrugated hose

[topher10]

I'm all for keeping things running with zip ties, bubble gum and duct tape, especially as a short-term solution to get through a weekend. But your corrugated hose coming off your elbow would be unfortunate, especially if overweighted and underwater. I agree with the above poster: if an aqualung elbow worked why not go with an all aqualung hose. Or cut your losses and find the correct Apeks elbow to work with your existing hose. Might cost $100, but its the price you pay. Could call DGX or someplace similar and see if they have any advice for your setup.

Otherwise, the rubber tire tube with several tight zip ties sounds like a good temp solution.

 

[Seefa]

He has a 1” hose, standard size for most but added a 3/4” fitting for a pull dump, if I’m following properly, if so why not just go AL all the way? Making up 1/4” isn’t easy but can be done if you don’t mind pulling on a hose that is monkey rigged to utilize the pull dump, his gear he can do whatever he likes with it.

I have the AL hose but it's short and I don't like the inflator on it. The configuration I want exists in the PSD wings (they have an AL dump with a smaller diameter hose) however APEKS only sells the kit whole and for basically more than half the entire cost of my wing so not worth it.

I do single tank warm water diving and am correctly weighted so the wing failing will be an inconvenience at most.

 

[Umuntu]

I have done this conversion on an Apeks Wing last year. It should be possible using the existing hose. On the WTX-D wings the part of the hose that attaches to the elbow is narrower than the corrugated part of the hose and attaches well to the AL elbow.

However, you do need to use a thin layer of Gasgacinch sealer to make a good seal. And I also attach 2 zip ties. One in the groove on the elbow and another as close as possible to the ridge. This provides a similar clamping effect to the AL special clamp.

You will also have to replace the wire with cord and experiment with the length of the cord, otherwise the valve will leak.

 

[Seefa]

I have done this conversion on an Apeks Wing last year. It should be possible using the existing hose. On the WTX-D wings the part of the hose that attaches to the elbow is narrower than the corrugated part of the hose and attaches well to the AL elbow.

However, you do need to use a thin layer of Gasgacinch sealer to make a good seal. And I also attach 2 zip ties. One in the groove on the elbow and another as close as possible to the ridge. This provides a similar clamping effect to the AL special clamp.

You will also have to replace the wire with cord and experiment with the length of the cord, otherwise the valve will leak.

Yup I've noticed that the valve is on a hair trigger, I reckon adding an extra inch of length would be sufficient. Thank you for the information and for attaching the manual.

What type of cord did you use and how did you rig it up?

 

[Umuntu]

I didn't have the spectra cord recommended, so I used synthetic line from my dive reel. It needs to be doubled into a loop and tied with a Reef knot. Crow's foot knots around the pin at the inflator end and around the fancy paper clip thingy at the top.

The Apeks inflator buttons and valves are metal and heavy, and the hose seems very stretchy, so the cord length may need to be much longer.

An extra inch sounds like a good start. But don't expect to get it right first time. You will need to size it by trial and error, so that it's not so short that the valve leaks and not so long that you have to use too much force on the hose to open the valve.

I started with a generous length of line, much more than I thought I would need. I used a shoe lace knot to make the loop to begin with, so it was easy to untie and adjust the length. I attached the inflator end first, with the shoe lace knot near one of the ends. Thread the line through the hose and then double zip tie the inflator end. Attach the other end and double zip tie.

Inflate the Wing and hang it upright and test to see if it leaks, and whether you can vent it easily. You will likely need to open the zip ties and adjust the length of cord a few times before it's right. When you think it works properly you can make the knot a proper Reef knot and then use Gasgacinch and new double zip ties to seal each end. I didn't use the Gasgacinch until I was comfortable with the length of cord after adjusting it a few times.

 

[Luky1]

Check out north east scuba supply. They sell a 12" long 3/4" to 1" corrugated adapter hose. I was looking at it to install an AIR2 to my BCD which comes with 3/4" hose/dump elbow, but I needed 16" long hose to keep the reg in my mouth.