Can you "fix" a perforated(little tear) BC???

[pablovi]

Hi, I'm new to this boards and relatively new to diving, i only have the open water certification...

My question is, can you "fix" a perforated BC??? Is it safe to do it? I have an almost new, only been used in a pool, Tusa Liberator sigma BC and it has a tear(cut) on the bottom back, can this be fixed or do I need to buy a new one?
According to the rental House/suba school near my house, it can be fixed without a problem, they told me they fix theirs that way, and have never had a problem with them.

But I wanted to ask the professionals

Thanks in advanced

 

[Cacia]

IF you do, may I suggest you back yourself up a bit and buy a high quality sausage? Halcyon makes a good one that can provide reliable emergency flotation. I would think as long as you had some back up flotation it would be reasonable.

 

[Mike Newman]

Hi, I'm new to this boards and relatively new to diving, i only have the open water certification...

My question is, can you "fix" a perforated BC's??? Is it safe to do it? I have an almost new, only been used in a pool, Tusa Liberator sigma BC and it has a tear(cut) on the bottom back, can this be fixed or do I need to buy a new one?
According to the rental House/suba school near my house, it can be fixed without a problem, they told me they fix theirs that way, and have never had a problem with them.

But I wanted to ask the professionals

Thanks in advanced

Yes - it's not uncommon to have BCs suffer a little nick. But you'd be best advised to have a dive technician you trust make the repair. He will have the information on appropriate adhesives and patch materials. Sticking on something that looks correct with a tube of gloop from Home Depot is not the way to go.

 

[redacted]

A patch using the same BC material should do the trick as long as no seams are involved. Aquaseal will work fine for the adhesive. A good coat of aquaseal around the edges may make it look pretty ugly but should keep anything from coming loose.

 

[pablovi]

Thanks for the quick responses!!!

Yeah, I will get a back uo emergency flotation device, a good one. And the repair will be done by a qualified and certified schoo and rental equipment house.
I just wanted to be sure this is done regularly.

Thanks again