BCD annual inspection

[DvrRick]

My BC is a year old and the manufacturer warranty say I must have an inspection or the warranty is void. My local dive shop said that as long as I clean the BC after using it with fresh water that I don't need to have it serviced. There have been no problems with it in the past other than a loose zip tie that the same dive shop mentioned above replaced. looking strictly from a safety point of view, do I really need to take it in? It is an Aqua Lung Malibu. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Knight1989]

Manufactures dont just put things on there for the hell of it. If they are recomending that it get checked yearly I would do it. Its a simple check and dosent take very long at all, I used to do them all the time. Never done an Aqua Lung so I dont know all the little brand specific things, but there are a lot of things that need to be checked out. Make sure theres no leaks, or bad seals. Check o rings, that kind of stuff. Sure your LDS dosent want to do it, they dont make much money for the time spent, but I would still have it done. Depending on thier work load it should take only about an hour or so.

 

[DvrRick]

Manufactures dont just put things on there for the hell of it. If they are recomending that it get checked yearly I would do it. Its a simple check and dosent take very long at all, I used to do them all the time. Never done an Aqua Lung so I dont know all the little brand specific things, but there are a lot of things that need to be checked out. Make sure theres no leaks, or bad seals. Check o rings, that kind of stuff. Sure your LDS dosent want to do it, they dont make much money for the time spent, but I would still have it done. Depending on thier work load it should take only about an hour or so.

I am now a little concerned about the dive shop because I was told they would have to send it to the manufacturer for the inspection and it would take about 1 1/2 weeks to get it back. The guy I talked to that said not to worry about it has been diving for over a decade with lots of tech diving experience. Something is not right here. I really appreciate the feedback Knight1989, maybe I'll take it in somewhere else. I guess it comes down to the question: Is my life worth a couple of bucks?

 

[Meng_Tze]

So let me put this out:

1: How many of the rental BCD's do you think are serviced annually?

2: What happens after two/three years........the warranty has run out, the manufacturer doesn't care anymore...there is no 'annual service dependent warranty' anymore. Warranty is covered in itself by our payment for service......... we in effect pay to ensure that the manufacturer's workmanship/materials used stays and performs as indicated in the manual......

Just some food for thought

 

[Knight1989]

I am now a little concerned about the dive shop because I was told they would have to send it to the manufacturer for the inspection and it would take about 1 1/2 weeks to get it back. The guy I talked to that said not to worry about it has been diving for over a decade with lots of tech diving experience. Something is not right here. I really appreciate the feedback Knight1989, maybe I'll take it in somewhere else. I guess it comes down to the question: Is my life worth a couple of bucks?

Before you get too against your shop, they may just not have anyone working there trained to do that kind of work. Its not hard, but you do need to be trained. Maybe I should reword what I said, for a trained and properly equiped person it should only take about an hour or so. Ask around at some other diveshops, there might be someone that has a trained person on staff to work on your BCD. The shop I worked at was slow so we had plenty of time to sit down and do nothing but the repair work, no interuptions, thats why we were able to do them so fast. We had a preatty fast turnaround. You could usually pick your stuff up the next day, unless we had to order parts or if we got swamped when a cruise ship would dock. Then it would take a few days. The guy that told you not to worry about it is partially right. Sure, more than likley nothing will happen. Its probably fine as long as youve taken care of it since you bought it. More than likely you could never service it and it will last a long time. But on the other hand it might not, for an expensive investment, in both money and in terms of saving your life, I would do the servicing. Its up to you ulitimatly if you want to spend the money and deal with the hassle that may ultimitly come from it.

 

[Knight1989]

1: How many of the rental BCD's do you think are serviced annually?

I cant speak for everyone, but I know ours were serviced AT LEAST once a year, sometimes more depending on how old they were and if they were having problems. Typically, if we had problems with one part of a BCD, we tore the whole thing apart and just checked everything over, just to be on the safe side.

 

[miketsp]

I think the word "serviced" is a fancy word for "inspection".
Unless you're going to strip down the inflator mechanism I don't accept that my BC is being "serviced".
I think most divers are quite capable of looking after a BC.
At the end of every dive trip I leave my BCs to soak in a tub of fresh clean water for 24 hours with all the quick dumps open and operate the fill and dump valves several times.
I then fill, shake and flush the inside at least twice, normally 3 times, and then I pass my finger on the inside to make sure that I can't taste any salt. Dry everything thoroughly (inside & out), inspect all webbing & quick release clips, inspect & test all the rubber seals & inflator hose, check all the seams for stitches coming open, lube all the zippers, check the dump springs for corrosion, leave inflated for 24 hours to check for pin-hole leaks, and finally store with a little air inside.
On the first dive of each trip I pay special attention to the inflator mechanism, operating the button with both light and firm presses looking for any tendency to stick & then test all the dump valves, not forgetting the upper one on the inflator hose.
On my 4 familys BCs over the last 4 years, I've just had to resew a couple of seams that came unthreaded, change one rubber disc in a quick dump valve and clear one sticking inflator valve. This last was cleared immediately ( & permanently) by the simple application of a silicone spray - procedure recommended by the technician at the factory. The replacement rubber disc was cut from a bicycle inner tube - I found one with the same Shore hardness, very close to the value recommended by the factory, and has worked fine for the last 60+ dives.

 

[Kim]

I can't imagine having to get my DiveRite Transpac serviced. I strip it right down for a good soaking after every dive so what more could anyone else do? Maybe other BCD's are different but I am quite surprised by this recommendation.

 

[The Kraken]

DvrRick,

I have to agree with Mike.

You can probably do as good, or better job of "servicing" your BC than your LDS.

Chances are they'll probably hand it to the current gofer and tell him to see if it's frayed anywhere, make sure the inflator/deflator works, blow it up and see if it leaks down.

You can inspect for frayed areas yourself. You can also take the BC, inflate it, this lets you know if your inflator button is working, put in a tub full of water and determine, immediately, if the bladder is leaking.

And, besides, who is more intimately familiar with the operational functionality of your BC, you or the kid at the LDS who may have never seen that brand of BC?

The inflator button would be the only critical aspect of the BC that you may not be able to repair, but you can certainly determine if its operative.

Having to send the BC back to the manufacturer seems just a wee bit on the edge to me.

 

[padiscubapro]

rick,
I can't believe the timing of this thread.. As of this year we started strongly encouraging our dealers to suggest annual inspections/servicing of bcds (we even have vinyl tags that they can affix to the bcs to remnd the diver when it was last serviced/inspected).
If you look at the Statistics from DAN many more fatalaties are attributed to BC failure than failure of the regulators.
A good inspection/service should include checking the power inflator for ease of operation, no sticking, no leaks, bladder leaks, checking/replacing the tie wraps on the inflators (many people replace these with normal "home depot" type ty-wraps which are not UV stabilized and become brittle.), inspect all the buckles (wais, quick disconnects, tank bands)..

This should be a relatively easy inspecition and should be reasonably priced for the consumer. (basically to cover the technicians time) or priced as part of an entire maintanence program (tanks/regs.bcs ect).

Many divers neglect their inflators and depending on the type some can be serviced other have to be replaced. A power inflator that sticks can cause some very serious consequences, just as bad as not being able to add gas when necessary.