Crack bottles and such....wtf?

[Ripley]

Yes, the cylinder is known as a crack bottle as you crack it to inflate. They are 0.1 litres, so at 200 bar you get 20l which is a full DSMB.

OC they reduce the risk of cold induced freeflows, CC they make life a bit simpler. For travel you can replace the part on the DSMB which attaches to the cylinder with one that allows filling from a drysuit hose. They are quite popular here.

Allright... so not the simple small cylinder with valve like this one.

Thank you
Another day with some new knowledge

 

[KenGordon]

Allright... so not the simple small cylinder with valve like this one.

Thank you
Another day with some new knowledge

No, that is a drysuit inflation cylinder. The idea being that if you are using trimix you need some more appropriate gas to stay warm.

The crack bottle one is this AP Self-sealing SMB with Inflation Cylinder | AP Diving

 

[AfterDark]

Why is it I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding a retailer to sell me a CO2 powered DSMB? I can find some limited info from the UK but nothing from North America, are they illegal?

I'd be grateful if someone could shed some light on this.

You'd need a VERY BIG CO2 cartridge to inflate a DSMB past 30FSW. That's why they don't use them anymore.

 

[Ripley]

No, that is a drysuit inflation cylinder. The idea being that if you are using trimix you need some more appropriate gas to stay warm.

The crack bottle one is this AP Self-sealing SMB with Inflation Cylinder | AP Diving

I've seen those for sale a short while ago!!
Can't remember the site though. I'll start looking right away and keep you posted once I found them!

 

[KenGordon]

I've seen those on sale a short while ago!!
Can't remember the site though. I'll start looking right away and keep you posted once I found them!

AP themselves are closed now. You will be lucky to find someone able to ship.

Last time I bought a replacement cylinder it turned out that I could buy both cylinder and bag from the BSAC club shop for the same price AP wanted for just the cylinder.

 

[Edward3c]

I asked AP before Christmas if I could buy a new DSMB bag only, why through away perfectly good attachments wasting the planet's resources buying new ones.

But they weren't interested, "Just buy a new one and through the rest in the bin", I was told.

 

[Ripley]

AP themselves are closed now. You will be lucky to find someone able to ship.

Last time I bought a replacement cylinder it turned out that I could buy both cylinder and bag from the BSAC club shop for the same price AP wanted for just the cylinder.

If AP are closed themselves then it'll come to find a dealer who still has some available stock.
Guess TS will need to contact those dealers and ask if...
Where there's a delivery delay of a few days to a week one can be sure they don't have a physical stock and merely act as an in-between point (get the order in, order themselves, receive the order goods and send them to the customer)

 

[The Dive Smith]

Go online (Craig’s List) and look for a vintage horse BC circa 1980. You can pull one off and remount it on a DSMB. Or you could buy a new one:
2X-Halkey Roberts 840 Manual CO2 Life Vest Inflator Valve Marine/Aircraft 1/2" • $14.99
https://picclick.com/2X-Halkey-Roberts-840-Manual-CO2-Life-Vest-Inflator-283791113782.html
Just keep in mind this is not a use it every day devise. The cartridges are expensive, figure spending $15 a pop to shoot a buoy. Another option would be use an LP inflator or buy a DSMB that can be inflated using a regulator.

Personally I'm averse to intentionally free flowing a reg at depth, especially in cold water. This is partly why I'm searching for a self inflating DSMB. Thanks.

 

[The Dive Smith]

Aquatec UK do them. They use the same threaded 16g CO2 cartridge as bicycle tyre inflators.
It isn’t really a replacement for your AP crack bottle as you need a load of cartridges and the DSMB is much smaller. They are generally used as a backup - if you are having a bad day and need a backup then the simpler the better. I have a couple but I am slightly more likely to use a similar backup which is inflated from my drysuit hose.

Thanks Ken, it was Aquatec that's out of stock.

 

[Angelo Farina]

I do not know if they fit to your system, but CO2 cartridges are quite common here in Europe for being used inflating bicycle tyres. Here for example:
BSA Cartuccia CO2 16 gr Aria Gonfiaggio Ruote Bici (1 Pezzo) - Bike Sport Adventure

Here another model on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032ALKEK?tag=picclick0f-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

If you post a photo of your old cartridge it will be easy to find the replacement, also in US...
Or simply search for it with Google or Amazon.