DSS (Deep Sea Supply)---Warning

[Wookie]

Desperately searching for some high ground here: what are the most common causes of air bladder leaks and what are best practices to avoid those leaks?

Holes in the bladder. Don't poke holes in your bladder.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Frank.

It is my unstudied opinion that the vast majority of bladder holes are caused by "Pinch Flats", or pinching the bladder between the backplate and something on the boat that causes the pinch, often the tank rack. Although I have a DSS bladder, I most often use a Oxychek because the bladder is replaceable (and easily repaired) and I prefer the placement of the inflator.

So a pinch flat can be caused by stacking gear on other gear, or by rough handling by the boat staff, or by sitting back in the tank rack and pushing back to set the tank in the holder. Some boats set the base of the tank in a piece of 8" pvc pipe as a tank rack, and that, by far, is the cause of most pinch flats if the PVC pipe is tall enough to pinch the bladder between the backplate and the PVC pipe.

 

[jgttrey]

Most common cause of serious leak is pinching the wing between the edge of the BP and a hard object. Remove the wing from the BP when travelling and take care not to let the bottom get trapped under the BP, cylinder or rebreather can.

You can also get smaller leaks from abrasion if you get sand or grit inside the wing and it rubs o the bladder. Just make sure to rinse well.

 

[Couv]

Re the question about zippers.

Do a search. I've answered this dozens and dozens of times.

I did a search, but only uncovered a similar thread to this one. Could you post a link or a quick answer please?

I've never had a problem with any of my wings (BCDs yes) but access to the bladder was one of the features I looked for.

 

[The Chairman]

what are the most common causes of air bladder leaks and what are best practices to avoid those leaks?

Tanks and plates. Lean it wrong, assemble it wrong, someone lay gear on top and lots of other things that can cause a pinch between the hard bits with the wing caught in the middle. That's one of the big reasons I went to a hybrid (fiber backplate) like the Zeagle Express Tech. All the advantages of a BP&Wing and no worries about getting a flat due to poor handling by others.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Re the question about zippers.

I did a search, but only uncovered a similar thread to this one. Could you post a link or a quick answer please?

What I believe he has said--and I take no position on whether he's right or wrong--is that most wings WITH zippers end up being returned for service anyway, for reasons including that the owner didn't want to bother or didn't have the tools, or the owner botched the repair (and then is doubly annoyed by the second delay of having the manufacturer repair his repair), and then even in instances when the owner repairs it apparently successfully, if he didn't do it correctly it's an accident waiting to happen.

Of course the question that @eelnoraa asked is why NOT include a zipper, just in case someone wants to give it a go? A zipper wouldn't add THAT much to the price. My guess would be that a zipper not just allows a user to attempt a repair but invites a user to attempt a repair. If something is implicitly user-repairable, there's an argument that a botched user repair should still be covered by warranty, and it's possible (again, just my guess) that a botched user repair is harder for a manufacturer to repair than if the user had not attempted a repair in the first place.

 

[The Chairman]

or the owner botched the repair

It's a bladder, not rocket science. I replaced the bladder in my DSS wing with absolutely no problems or drama. A whole seam seperated: no pinch flat. It's not nearly as complicated as rebuilding a regulator and divers do their own all the time. Hell, I teach the class, so it can't be that hard.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's a bladder, not rocket science. I replaced the bladder in my DSS wing with absolutely no problems or drama. A whole seam seperated: no pinch flat. It's not nearly as complicated as rebuilding a regulator and divers do their own all the time. Hell, I teach the class, so it can't be that hard.

Just to be clear, you're referring to one of the DSS wings WITH a zipper?

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's not nearly as complicated as rebuilding a regulator and divers do their own all the time. Hell, I teach the class, so it can't be that hard.

I dunno about "all the time." Some do. Probably a small minority of all divers. Regulator manufacturers have gone out of their way to keep end users from attempting to repair their own regulators. Only recently have a few, like HOG and Deep6, softened on this approach. What would happen if instead of needing exotic hook spanner tools and such to open them, regulators had some sort of opening mechanism analogous to a zipper, that invited the user to just pop it open and attempt to service it?

 

[The Chairman]

Just to be clear, you're referring to one of the DSS wings WITH a zipper?

Yes, but I know how to sew as well. Again, it's not rocket science.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Yes, but I know how to sew as well. Again, it's not rocket science.

Okay, then why are people here implying that DSS wings--at least the sewn ones without zippers--are less user-serviceable than other gear, notably regulators? If you know how to sew, then a DIYer can find someone who knows how to sew. In other words, why are people seemingly more up in arms about the serviceability of wings than regulators if repairing a wing is "not nearly as complicated as rebuilding a regulator and divers do their own all the time"?