Fill rate BCD

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DiveNav

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Hi,
does anybody know how quickly a BCD fill?

More specifically, what is the flow of the inflator in liter'seconds?

Is the flow rate of the inflator compensated for depth (increases with depth) or is constant?

Thank you for any input.

I_AM
 
Well, you could do a quick experiment, and a little math to find out. I just took a Zeagle Brigade BC which has a 35 lb bladder, made sure it was empty, and hit the inflator. It took 7 seconds to inflate fully. So that means we are generating about 5 lbs of lift per second.

So now if you want that in cubic feet of air, we know that a cubic foot of air is about 62 lbs of lift (depending on salt or fresh water). So 5 / 62 = .08 cubic feet per second. Since you are using metric, .08 cubic feet = 2.26 liters.

So based on my little experiment... I'd say you are looking at about 2.26 liters per second at the surface.

Now inflator mechanisms are a non balanced design, there will be a higher intermediate pressure in the line - but you probably will not get a linear curve with the pressure at depth, so it will take a bit more time.

Anyone who has hit a power inflator at depth has probably experienced this... But I don't have the exact numbers for that...

But if you want to fly me down to Cayman next week, I'll be glad to check my watch at 100 feet for you!:D

Hope that helps!
 

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