Got those heavy BC blues

[tparrent]

And here I thought I was getting weaker by the dive.....

No! My BC is getting heavier. A lot heavier. And bulkier. And less BOUYANT. Why, golly, it's full of WATER!

I can see a bit getting by the dump valves but I had a couple of quarts in there. Is this normal? What's the easiest way to FULLY empty it? I tried to get it all to a dump valve but there still seems to be a bit in there.

Also, should I rinse the inside out occasionally? It doesn't seem like saltwater would be good for the air bladder.

newbie, newbie, newbie

But, hey, I went (kinda) diving today! I spent an hour in the pool anyway working on my bouyancy. Kind of nice to just float around without worrying about skills tests and all that sort of thing. I even found out new reasons for the skills tests. Mask foggy from too much defog? Take it off and rub it out. Putting too much B in the BC with the inflator hose? Take the reg out and blow into it. Cool.

Of course I can't get away without some mishap. Braniac me, I decide to swim a bit after my air is gone. I take of the BC and put it on the edge of the pool. I then start surface swimming around in my 3 mil, fins and mask. Wow! Lots of bouyancy in the suit. Easy to tread water or just float there even vertical. Very confidence inspiring for the non swimmer me. So I decide to swim so laps. Face down, kicking nicely, blowing bubbles, inhaling...hack hack HACK! NO reg in the mouth now you idiot!

Tomorrow is another day. Sometimes surprisingly so.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

LOL! Welcome! I have the same problem with my BC, so what I usually do at the end of a dive, is turn my BC upside down and grab it by the lowest D-rings that I can, and then extend the inflator hose as far downward as I can get it, and then hit the air-release button. This usually ends up draining a good deal of water out of it.

After every saltwater dive, you should rinse ALL of your gear as thoroughly as you possibly can in fresh water. (i.e. don't depend on the gear wash-points outside of the dive shop so much. Usually, after 30-50 people have rinsed their gear, there's more saltwater than fresh in the tub anyway!) LOL

What I usually do after coming home, is fill the bathtub full of water and then dump all of my gear into it. Alternatively, you can just take it all outside (if it's not winter) and rinse everything with the gardenhose. I usually fill my BC up with freshwater and drain it a few times, too.

Make sure you open up your pockets and take your weights out if you're using integrated weights, and take your gloves and stuff out of your pockets, too. Last time I went to the pool, I just hung my BC up and let it dry, neglecting to take my gloves out. When I opened the pocket and took them out, they were STANKY!!! Phew! Neoprene smells horrible when it stays in a wet and dark place. *shudder*

Welcome aboard! I'm a n00b too.

 

[jeckyll]

tparrent:

Rinse the inside of the BC every time. Simply hold the deflator and let some water run into it. Swish it around for a while then orally inflate, invert, and press deflator. Voila, BC is propperly rinsed.

As for other gear: Unless attached to a tank, I would recommend against soaking Regs. Very bad if water leaks in there. Which it most likely will. Other gear I first rinse, then soak on getting home (no hoses on anymore at divesites I frequent, it's winter after all).

The regs I rinse under the sink (dustcap securly tightened), then let them dry, typically with the dust cap OFF when drying.

Good luck. You'll get less water in your BC as you dive more I'm sure.

Bjorn

Edit: sounds like you did multiple dives. Good idea to do the 'orally inflate, turn upside down and expel water' between dives.

 

[spectrum]

Your BC
It's normal for water to get into your BC and you will surely accumulate a lot if you don't empty it after every dive day. It's good practice to dump accumulated water at every tank change. While it's very important to rinse after diving in salt water to prevent salt deposits it can be argued that it's just important in fresh water to avoid stinky unhealthy gear. If you have been in the pool you can lessen the effects of chlorine by getting things rinsed in non pool water ASAP. Besides it's all a huge investment, show your gear some love.

With our BCs I start by removing and weights, lights and other significant accessories. I then sink them in a barrel of fresh rinse water and let them soak while I deal with other gear. When I get back to them I hod the dump button of the inflator in and using the hose load a quart or better of water down the hose. Pick it up and slosh it around thoroughly. Then drain it. I repeat this 2 more times. Be sure to exercise all of the dump valves as you go through this. I also press the inflate button on the third rinse when the water is the cleanest. Then hang it to dry, orally inflate it so that the bladder walls don't cling together and prop the inflator valve up on the hanger at the highpoint. Leaving it inflated will also provide a good leak check when you return to your gear. Wearing a raincoat to do this rinsing process makes it a lot easier in cool weather. When it gets downright cold find a place indoors.

Your Regulator Set
It's important to rinse your regulator after every open water dive day. There are several important points to remember. First is that keeping water out of the system is very important. Second is that you want to cleanse the system of any debris that may have gotten into exposed or semi exposed locations. Keep your eyes open, every gear cleaning session is a chance to notice cracks, abrasions and other warning signs.

You never want your first inlet to be open to the water. You never want an unpressurized second stage's purge button pressed in water since this will admit water. This water can migrate back into your system and cause regulator of pressure gauge failure.

To keep water out of the system the only sue fire method is to connect your rig to an air cylinder and pressurize it. I fill a nice clean white pail with water while I set mine up. I then place my second stages, console an QD connectors in the pail of fresh water. Next I take the hose an thoroughly spray the first stage, cylinder, hoses . flush and check strain relief's. Be sure to tip the tank up and flush the bottom and boot every which way as well. Now go tend to some other gear.

When you return, swish the QD connector(s) and remove them from the water. Next swish the console or gauge and set it aside. Now take a second stage and swish it around then do so while working the purge valve. Even if your keeping your second stages out of the sand it's surprising what you will find after some dives.

Close the cylinder valve and purge the system down. Disconnect your first stage from the cylinder. Hold the dust cap in front of the tank valve making sure the first stage inlet is out of the line of fire and crack the cylinder valve to blow the cap clean. The install the dust cap. Now just hang your regulator set to dry.

Use some tank air to dry the valve fitting cover as well. Some prefer to leave the cap of for a while to let it all thoroughly air dry. We happen to be using DIN fittings and my priority is to keep those threads clean. If possible do this cleaning before getting your cylinders refilled though it should consume no more than 100 PSI.

 

[Walter]

This should have been covered in class, you should have done it at the end of each pool session. First, dump all the water out of your BC. To do this, hold the BC up right, allowing all water to flow to the bottom. Inflate the BC. Look at the BC to determine what path the water needs to flow to get to the dump valve, this will vary from one design to another. Slowly turn the BC to allow the water to move to the dump valve. Keeping the dump valve at the lowest point of the BC, activate it allowing the water to drain. Once you've done this, flush it a couple times with fresh water. Add about quart or so of fresh water, swish it all around the inside of the BC and dump it. Repeat the process. If you don't first dump the salt water out before rinsing, you'll be wasting you time because you will not be getting a true fresh water rinse.

Anytime you dump air out of your BC, water will get in.

 

[DiveMaven]

If I have a week or more between dives, I always add a little bit of mouthwash to my final rinse of the inside of my BC. It's a good antiseptic and should keep the bacteria from growing.

 

[tparrent]

Great advice all around. Thanks!

 

[Cacia]

good post. I rinse in my pool when I get home, but I was told, by the pool guy, it is okay since it is a freshwater system, ozone (03), not chlorinated. Is this true? Is Ozone inert? Also, someone told me once not to blow gas on the dust cap because it forces moisture in, true or false?

 

[spectrum]

Ozone is a death wish for neoprene and the adhesives. I'm not sure how that plays out in your system, is it in solution?

 

[Bratface]

Once your buoyancy is better, you'll use your power inflater less and will have less water inside your BC. Also when you dump air, pull on the hose (the corrugated one) if your BC vents air that way, or use another dump valve. Holding the hose up to vent the air allows more water to come in.

And yes, rinse your gear always, every time. Salt water and chlorine can age your gear very fast.