BCD failure & blowout

[PfcAJ]

Sounds like a quality piece of kit.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

Sounds like a quality piece of kit.

Oh no! Now you did it!

 

[GrimSleeper]

It was worth exactly what I paid for it - someone threw it in for free when I bought a manifold and a pair of regs he was never going to use again.

Edit: In the interests of not making myself sound completely retarded, I should probably point out that I did check the wing before I used it, and actually did 20 or so deco dives with it before it failed. I didn't just throw myself at the water with twins and slings and a throwaway wing...

 

[ajduplessis]

Really? I had about a foot of the welded plastic seam of the bladder in a HOG wing just let go during a dive. Not sure anyone would have caught that in pre-dive equipment checks… Do enough dives and there are some failures that will just happen. On the plus side, do enough dives and there's a reasonable chance you'll be ready to deal with those failures.

Really? Must be the "partly" bit that confused you.

 

[GrimSleeper]

Really? Must be the "partly" bit that confused you.

Apparently my reading comprehension is not all that I might wish for… But I am easily confused.

 

[hsinhai]

I guess it depends on the configuration, but shouldn't you be able to just swim the rig up in the case of a leak/blowout? Correctly weighted I'm not sure I'd even need to ditch any weight, though there is always that option available if needed.

[edit] Ignore me.. didn't realize this was in tech.. lol

 

[ajduplessis]

Apparently my reading comprehension is not all that I might wish for… But I am easily confused.

It happens sometime when one dont dive enough

 

[GrimSleeper]

It happens sometime when one dont dive enough

I am, it's true, noticeably grumpier when I haven't been getting wet often enough. Only been in the water twice in the last week or so… Fixing it this week.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

BCDs are equipped with overpressure valves to prevent blowouts. I've inflated mine many times to the point where the OPV begins to bubble.

All my BC problems have been leaks around the fittings of the inflator or OPV, or pinch flats in the bladder. None has been catastrophic.

Occasionally testing your BCD by inflating to where the OPV begins to bubble is also a good way to stress the bladder a bit. A weak seam will give way or a slow leak with reveal itself with gradual deflation under the higher pressure.