BP/W maintenance

[twistypencil]

Hi all,

I've been diving a couple years with my first BP/W, a Hog Single, and it has been great. Yesterday, I was out and about to shore dive in a cove to go check out a wall, all the equipment plugged in, and I turned on the air and my bladder started to fill up. Checked all my cabling and eventually found the inflation button on the hose was stuck. I tried all kinds of shenanigans to unstick it, but it just was completely locked up. I had no tools to open it on the spot and so... aborted dive. I see that I can pick up a replacement 45-degree oral power inflator over at divegearexpress for $18 and replacement looks very simple. I just need to cut the zip ties, pull it out, put the new one in and add new zip ties.

However, I think I got myself into this situation because I was not properly maintaining my gear. I probably failed to flush out the inflator and the bladder, and I'm guessing sand or salt crystals got in there. I am going to be *sure* I do this in the future, and maybe I need to consider the possibility of replacing the balloon in my bladder, in case its been accumulating salt crystals, and possibly causing abrasion inside. Is there a way I can check this?

However, it makes me wonder... every year I'm doing the regulator service, by bringing it into a trained technician, but I'm wondering if I should be doing a regular maintenance of my BP/W, like change the balloon in the bladder every x years, or something.

What does the venerable, and all knowledgeable scuba board have to say?

 

[rongoodman]

Replacement inflators are cheap. Keep a spare in your repair kit. Flush out your wing and inflator hose with fresh water at the end of every dive trip. I wouldn't bother replacing the bladder unless it actually starts to leak, though.

 

[CuzzA]

You should flush your bladder after every saltwater dive trip. Unscrew the butt dump and flood it with a garden hose or buy one of the inflator garden hose adapters to flush it.

Looking inside the butt dump should allow you to see if there's any build up inside.

A brief and mild white vinegar soaking of the metal connections will quickly dissolve any dried salt or calcium carbonate build up.

Spray down your wing and harness with silicone spray once a year to prevent dry rot.

Doing this along with your standard reg maintenance will keep your "life support" gear in good shape for many years.

 

[NaCl H2O]

What Ron said. I rinse with fresh water through the oral inflate and drain through both the bottom dump and hose. Keep rinsing until you don't taste salt on the inflator.

On most wings you can remove the inflator hose and dump from the wing. Good to break them down 1-2 times a year and have spare gaskets if needed. Check the bolts when you do this, good time to clean them too.

 

[NaCl H2O]

And i would have unhooked the lp hose from the wing and continued my dive with fond memories of horse collars.

 

[Still Kicking]

Here's the steps I take when I do a BCD annual service (Note: I always service the inflator as part of an annual -- they generally are neglected and a stuck inflator can really ruin your day):

1. Inspect BC harness/buckles/bladder cover/weight dump system etc. for excess wear and tear.

2. Unscrew corrugated inflator hose from shoulder connection on the bladder. Make sure not to lose any gasket/oring that seals the connection.

3. Fill bladder 1/2 full with warm water. Allow to soak.

4. Remove the inflator core from the power inflator (requires a special tool for the generic inflator. May require other tools (allen key) and Schrader valve tool for Aqualung/Scubapro other brands.

5. Soak the inflator parts in vinegar/water solution in ultrasonic.

6. Rinse and dry parts, spray with silicone lube and reassemble inflator. Connect to pressurized low pressure inflator hose and submerge the inflator and corrugated hose in a bucket of water. Check for external leaks at the inflator or any internal leaks coming out through corrugated hose.

7. Empty warm water from bladder. Reattach corrugated inflator hose to shoulder connection on bladder. Make sure to use the gasket/oring from step 2. Be careful with plastic threads on the connector -- cross threading can ruin the BCD.

8. Fully inflate bladder making sure the overpressure valve works and that manual dump valves work.

9. Leave bladder fully inflated for at least an hour. If bladder loses pressure in an hour or less, submerge and check for leaks. Repair appropriately if possible.

As Ron notes, carrying an extra inflator and some zip ties is an great solution for inflator troubles.

 

[lexvil]

Spend a few extra bucks and get a Zeagle inflator and a spare, easy to rebuild and if you have a spare easy to unscrew and put the spare on. I don’t spend a lot of time winding the inflator or inside of the wing.

 

[Scared Silly]

Even with rinsing BCD Inflators get sticky/stuck. The problem is that some are not easily serviceable in that under the button is a screw that needs to come out to completely disassemble it. I have pried the button off, so to that, completely cleaned, then lubed, and then glued the button back on.