Alternate Air Source and BP/W set up

[Dryglove]

There's other perfectly great BP/Wing setups that do have shoulder dumps. DiveRite. I think Oxycheq too, though I can't locate that info on their website. You can compare them to the Halcyon rigs... the new OxyCheq Signature Series bladders seem to be quite popular.

Not sure about dive rite but oxycheq is the same set up as halcyon.

 

[RichLockyer]

So the rig has neither a right side shoulder dump, or a left side inflator dump? Eegads, what'd they do that for? What do you do if the inflator fails, flip over and use the rear dump?

Same setup as my Oxycheq, and my old DiveRite, and my Pioneer, and my buddy's old Seatec...

If the inflator fails? I'm going to be disconnecting the LPI hose... not just pulling on the corrugated hose hoping that it's going to vent faster than it fills.
Dunno why you've seen so many inflator failures. I've seen none on me, my buddies, or classmates... ever. I've seen other failures, but not inflator failures. My buddy has had his Airsource get a small leak at the rubber cover for the exhaust button... it really is a bad design that the inside of those covers is connected to the bladder... but the unit still functioned.

 

[RichLockyer]

Not sure about dive rite but oxycheq is the same set up as halcyon.

It's an option for both DR and OMS. Most DR equipment in stock in the shops has the pulldump.

Now... here's the part that gets me. On a jacket BC, the hose attaches pretty much at the top of the shoulder. On a wing, it's on the back. This means that the corrugated hose comes OVER the shoulder, making a u-turn.

That also means that the steel cable for the pull-dump is making a u-turn inside of this soft, corrugated rubber hose.

Using that pull-dump, over time, will "saw" through the ridges on the hose.
Not good.

 

[Dryglove]

archman


When you say have seen inflators that have failed, please expand on how they failed as i am curious. Did the inflator fail to dump air or leak air into the bladder, etc? One of the bad issues of the air2 is that if it does leak air into the bladder and you disconnect the LP hose you also lose your secondary air source.

Ascending horizontally allows you to basically use either dump valve should your inflator malfunction for some odd reason and not let air to vent.

Like rich i have personally never seen a inflator fail to release air but have heard of them slowly leaking air into the bladder.

 

[archman]

That also means that the steel cable for the pull-dump is making a u-turn inside of this soft, corrugated rubber hose.

Using that pull-dump, over time, will "saw" through the ridges on the hose.

Yup. Fortunately, there's no reason to be yanking on the thing all the time. The hose should last the life of the BCD. The only time it should be forcefully tugged on are those rare times the inflator sticks, or you're just testing it out. Most divers I know have used it less than a handful of times, if ever. The rest of the time they use the normally operating inflator mechanism, as they're taught by PADI and NAUI.

Hmmm... only once had the need the disconnect the LPI hose on an actual dive. We've done it in training quite a bit of course. Every slow inflation problem I've seen was resolved, either by itself or by banging/quick button pushing on the inflator mechanism. I guess they just get stuck sometimes. Had it happen with various makes and models of gear... Oceanic and Tusa come to immediate mind. Improperly tuned AIR2's have been known to do it too.

lal7176, the "failures" I've seen are minor, most either slow inflation leaks, or temporary inability to vent air. Most were fixed during the dive, by banging on the mechanism, messing with the buttons, or readjusting the hose. The majority of my dives are done with relatively inexperienced groups that use rental-type gear. The gear very often gets beat up. My summer at a remote Bahamian facility held the all-time record for inflator quirks... I must've had at least half a dozen with just my groups. Experienced divers like you guys probably wouldn't even regard them as "failures", but they can easily distress or panic my newer divers.

 

[Dryglove]

The majority of my dives are done with relatively inexperienced groups that use rental-type gear. The gear very often gets beat up. My summer at a remote Bahamian facility held the all-time record for inflator quirks... I must've had at least half a dozen with just my groups.

That would definitely explain why you see so many failures compared to some of us. Maybe you can start a new specialty "underwater gear technician" repair while you enjoy the dive.

 

[ScottyK]

Yup. Fortunately, there's no reason to be yanking on the thing all the time. The hose should last the life of the BCD. .

It shouldn't be an issue either way if you start out with good quality gear. My first BC was a back inflate model. Since I am usually always horizontal in the water, my experience was different. I "always" used the inflator pull dump rather than the one at the end of the hose. It was easier and water never got into the bladder. I put close to 1,000 dives on that thing over 7 years and never had a problem with the hose wearing out.

Interestingly enough I sold it this year, and the only thing the buyer needed to fix was a pinhole leak in the corrugated hose. I'm not sure if it was that it finally wore out after all that time, or dried out and became brittle form spending almost two years in the closet.

My lady/buddy did the same, and switched to a Halcyon wing this spring. She was a little nervous about getting used to the lack of a pull dump, but it took her all of three or four dives to get the hang of it. The many benefits of the BP setup more than made up for the minor retraining she needed to do.

I'm in the process of building my own Oxycheq rig, so I stopped using my shoulder dump last month. It also only took me a few dives to get used to the change...

 

[ND4466]

Thanks for your feedback guys, I really appreciate it.

I am a county deputy and a new diver on our dive team as well. All of our BCs have AIRII's on them, but I have never heard of any problems that we have had with them.
Hopefully we won't have problems at all, let alone in an emergency.

I guess since that is what I have dived with in training and open water, that's what I am use to. "Train as you fight, fight as you train" the saying goes.

Thanks again, and I guess I got some more time before I get a BC or a BP/W setup to figure out exactly what I want.

66

 

[Hoosier]

So, anybody actually has done this project? Besides Air2’s vulnerability, I would like to hear the successful story.

If it is not feasible to mount Air2 to the existing corrugated hose, is there any way to use a totally separate corrugate hose to hook it up? In that case, we can interchange the corrugate hose whenever we need. It might be silly question though.

Thanks,

 

[OE2X]

I think you are creating a problem to a solution.