Bladder repair?

[texdiveguy]

.............. I agree with texdiveguy that a BCD is in many ways your closest buddy; that's why I asked the question. .............. It's clean inside and out and appeared to be well-maintained when I bought it. I had it inspected by the LDS at time of purchase and serviced regularly, the last time the week before vacation. I hope that they would have told me if it were dangerous to use...........

This thread has brought a question to mind, though. From a safety perspective--when is a piece of equipment "too old" to dive with? If I were the original owner of this BCD, would Zeagle tell me that it was time to let go and get a new one for my own safety? Should you get a new rig every 10 years whether you maintain it properly or not?

Why am I not asking the LDS these questions? Because all that has ever been mentioned to me when I bring it in for service is that the new ones are much nicer, and I have the sense that they're looking for the sale first. I want to go in armed with information.

Lisa.... you are a sharp gal,,,,,great questions and its good to see you are safety concerned about your gear!!!

There is no magic answer as to when a piece of gear is 'to old' and should be replaced. Much scuba gear if well maintained and used regularly last for YEARS!! Zeagle will not notify you when its time to replace with a newer model. WE as divers are 100% reaspossible for our own gear and it is our reaspossibility to make educated choices from exspc.,,,,any LDS 'worth its salt' will not try to force sell a new piece of gear just for the sale. A lot has changed in BC design in 20 years!!

You had mentioned up front in this post that the BC was purchased by you used and in good servicable condition....that you had it checked out by your LDS and it was OK...and you have used it for diving till recent when it had a 'blowout' of sorts. The cost to replace the bladder//install a dump and safety inspect and clean might be a bit high for a 20 year old BC..??

See if you can barrow a few for some test runs....I bet with all the options there is a BC out there that you will find comfortable. I hope you can find a good replacement...its out there.

But remember to keep up the good work in being pro-active in the maintaining of your gear,,,it could be the diff. between a great dive and your last one.

Happy and safe diving to you......let us know what you come up with.

 

[Chad Carney]

I'm not saying that using degraded or poorly maintained equipment is in any way okay. I agree with texdiveguy that a BCD is in many ways your closest buddy; that's why I asked the question. This BCD fits me and my dive style perfectly, better than anything else I've ever dived with, including some of the newer Zeagle rigs. It's clean inside and out and appeared to be well-maintained when I bought it. I had it inspected by the LDS at time of purchase and serviced regularly, the last time the week before vacation. I hope that they would have told me if it were dangerous to use.

I'm looking for options. It looks like the seal has simply come uncrimped from the hose elbow to my untrained eye, but I don't think I'll be self-repairing with a waterbed patch kit, even though I own one. If the bladder is degraded, can I replace the internal pieces with identical and keep the external frame that I'm comfortable diving with? Can I get a more modern shoulder dump installed on it? Where do I find information about this?

This thread has brought a question to mind, though. From a safety perspective--when is a piece of equipment "too old" to dive with? If I were the original owner of this BCD, would Zeagle tell me that it was time to let go and get a new one for my own safety? Should you get a new rig every 10 years whether you maintain it properly or not?

Why am I not asking the LDS these questions? Because all that has ever been mentioned to me when I bring it in for service is that the new ones are much nicer, and I have the sense that they're looking for the sale first. I want to go in armed with information.

Lisa,

I'm a former Zeagle dealer (since they started in business, and up to a 22 year dealer for just about every company that is older than 2000), and currently Zeagle's FL rep.

First of all, I'd be willing to guess that almost no other BC company could give you any repair options.

Scott's #1 option has not always been available. I called to verify that we actually had these bladders, and he's right. Getting these old style bladders made is not easy to do anymore. However IMHO it's about the only option that makes any sense for you with a BC that old.

It's really tough to answer your question about durability and safety of a BC, especially when it's not in hand. The condition of the airway, the bladder cover and the enitire harness should be closely analyzed. It's not easy for dealer to make an evaluation as to their condition at this age.

Then if determined to still be safe, there is the question of value. To put money into the BC now, some estimate of it's remaining usefull life needs to be determined, and that's tough, even for an experienced dealer. That said, obviously option #1, even with freight and labor, is likely not to be out of line.

The flip side:

Old style laminated elbow bladders, even new, are not the same quality of today's bladder designs with screw on compression fittings.

There have been many other changes in BC designs since those days besides adding RE systems.

I know that especially for women, the Zeagle Zena and Lazer harnesses, fit much better than the old BCs did in that era.

Many of the bladderless designs are more streamlined now, and some are more rugged.

New features include rear weight systems, lumbar pads, pockets and more.

Only you can make the decision, but I hope this helps.

Chad

 

[pupdiver]

Old = Old.

You are more than welcome to search out and dive used 'cheap' BC's....go for it.....I fully understand that dive eqpt. is servicable....I maintain all my gear on a reg. schd. of service. But a 20 year old BC with a degraded bladder is subject to future failure.....but its a personnal choice,,,,not one I would want to use.

Yet again you insert an assumption not mentioned by anyone. This is why you inspect a BC. I think a degraded bladder is not difficult to detect. It is also not difficult (or expensive) to replace. I think the OP is right to question the need to buy a new BC based purely upon age. She may end up buying a new one anyway, but wouldn't it be better to have examined a variety of alternatives? She was asking for ideas. I just thought "buy a new one" was an alternative she could probably come up with on her own.

 

[texdiveguy]

Yet again you insert an assumption not mentioned by anyone. This is why you inspect a BC. I think a degraded bladder is not difficult to detect. It is also not difficult (or expensive) to replace. I think the OP is right to question the need to buy a new BC based purely upon age. She may end up buying a new one anyway, but wouldn't it be better to have examined a variety of alternatives? She was asking for ideas. I just thought "buy a new one" was an alternative she could probably come up with on her own.

Gee .... whatever. :14:

 

[pupdiver]

Gee .... whatever. :14:

Cool. We are back in junior high again!

Seriously though. I gather that sarcasm is your form of striking back. If that is the case, I want to assure you that I didn't intend in any of this to be offensive to you. It is my opinion that people can buy used gear responsibly and that there is a place for it as long as it is inspected and safe before use. If you are against used gear, that's fine with me.

The thing I like about Scubaboard is that discussions on here get a high degree of participation and it is relatively free from the personal attacks that are common on other internet boards. I was trying to be constructive. I apologize if it was taken as a personal attack.