Halcyon SS Inflator...

[GreenDiverDown]

The only inflators I saw on the DRE website were the outside inflate ones (like Oxycheq uses).

The inflator on the Oxycheq Mach V has the inflate button on the inside.

 

[Cacia]

I tried to take mine apart last night, (not just unscrewed off, but the part you do with the screwdiver.) It is too rusty and corroded so the threads are not turning. I lubed the rings with silicone...???

wish me luck.

I have replaced both the hose and the inflator. I dont mind diving disconnected and inflating orally, but the camera makes it a pain to free up my hands.

If the inside is stainless, why is it corroding? It is orange with rust.

 

[daniel f aleman]

A piece of scuba equipment that rusts.... hmmmm

 

[PerroneFord]

Ok, so now I'm a liar... ok, riiiight.

Timeline for ya:

Purhase Pioneer 27 system Oct. 05. Perform 8 dives at Ginnie springs / Morrison Springs. Take Nitrox/Adv Nitrox. Move to doubles, purchase DR Classic. Dive doubles until May 06. Tear down doubles for Vis / o2 cleaning. Dive 4 dives on single tanks while doubles are out of vis. On 3rd dive of May, notice bubbling from inflator topside and under water. Switch back to doubles, order DSS Torus 45. Put Pioneer back in closet.

So, From Oct - May, diving in 3 freshwater springs, my inflator developed enough corrosion to cause leaking. Sorry, that sucks. As far as low vis dives, Ginnie has about 200ft vis in the winter, Morrison about 150, and troy about 75-100. None have mud bottoms, and I wasn't in the bottom anyway.

Dan, whether you believe these things are solid or not really doesn't matter to me. That's Halcyon's problem, not mine. However, I don't take kindly to being called a liar. :shakehead

I seriously doubt inflators are going bad at the end of one month doing only fresh water dives. I'm speaking of corrosion. The important thing is to lube these things appropriately. Meaning don't skimp on the lube. If dirt and debris are accumulating inside the inflator, you must be doing some seriously low viz dives or dragging the thing through the mud

 

[Cacia]

I am over the whole inflator. I don't need it anymore. This way, I don't have to bother disconnect it to inflate my marker. If you need to rescue me, please just blow it up.

I don't think he is calling you a lier, I think he thinks we are nuts for being in love with a bcd that doesn't work. (I still love it)

 

[LG Diver]

Halcyon service responded to me the same day with a link to the service manual and a part number for the lubricant. I responded back to them indicating I would like to replace it. They have the Plastic OEM in stock and the brass nickel plated units will be several months until they are available. They offered me a swap out of the SS unit I have at no charge. I opted for the plastic OEM one they have in stock and Corey even offered to ship it to me right away and upon receipt I ship him the problem inflator.

I'm happy!! I consider this good service. Further, they will get the problem inflator for failure analysis.

Ah, so you pay through the nose for an overdesigned, overpriced inflator. They offer to replace it for free with a much less expensive and more reliable industry standard that should have been on there to begin with, and you consider this good service? You really believe they're going to do "failure analysis" on the returned one? As if they don't already know exactly what's wrong with it? This is not a new failure mode. Offers of replacement aside, I'd be pissed. I don't get why there are so many H apologists over this issue. I can walk into my LDS today and see a 40# Eclipse with a "post recall" SS inflator hanging on the wall for sale, despite the many well-known and well-documented problems with post-recall inflators. To me it's unacceptable that Halcyon would still be offering these for sale.

 

[PerroneFord]

I don't think he is calling you a lier, I think he thinks we are nuts for being in love with a bcd that doesn't work. (I still love it)

I'm not in love with any piece of gear I own. I'd toss any of it over the gunwhale if it broke on me. I like my Pioneer wing, but the inflator is a POS.

 

[bradshsi]

If the inside is stainless, why is it corroding? It is orange with rust.

The short answer is that not all grades of stainless steel are resistant to corrosion in water especially warm seawater.

The longer more technical answer is that the most common commercially available grades of austenitic stainless steel (304 and 316) have only limited resistance to seawater (lowish PRE numbers).

In addition stainless steel is further prone to crevice corrosion. In this instance, exposure to stagnent seawater causes breakdown of the passivating layer on the surface of the steel due to lack of oxygen in the water. Rubbing of stainless surfaces against each other will also cause damage of this layer and cause subsequent corrosion. Good design can alleviate this problem to an extent (equally a poor design can lead to rapid failure).


Now I don't know what grade of stainless steel Halcyon used, nor am I able to determine the quality of the inflator design. However IMO inflator design is not rocket science. There is little justification for an inflator that is unreliable and/or maintenance intensive especially on a piece of safety related equipment.

The others have posted good alternative inflators, which are a reliable (if not so pretty) replacement. Personally I wouldn't have any sentiment about changing.

 

[Dan Gibson]

I didn't call you a liar. Apparently you also didn't see the wink emoticon when I mentioned low viz and mud. btw, I have done a few cave dives in Florida, so I know what the conditions are like.

I just pointed out that if you take care of them properly on a regular basis, they do not rust. I have four ss inflators (all from around July 2004) and not a single one shows rust. I also don't rinse after each dive. My gear sees plenty of salt and fresh water as well as a lot of pool action.

Why is it that some of us are not having problems? Does anyone notice the people who don't have the problem seem to know the secret to maintaining them. I just service three tonight in less than 10 minutes. I did one and had my GF do two so she would learn how to do it herself.

You can use any inflator you want, but I can assure you that even the cheap plastic ones can have problems. I had one of the original plastic inflators Halcyon used to put on their wings years ago and had a massive self inflation incident (full wing in under three seconds just before jumping off the boat while in Ft. Lauderdale. I didn't have another one on board, so Sonya actually loaned her wing to me to do the dive. I just found it a better solution to have an inflator that is more easily fixed on the spot should a problem develop. You can work on the plastic ones, but they are more of a PITA to open.

Ok, so now I'm a liar... ok, riiiight.

Timeline for ya:

Purhase Pioneer 27 system Oct. 05. Perform 8 dives at Ginnie springs / Morrison Springs. Take Nitrox/Adv Nitrox. Move to doubles, purchase DR Classic. Dive doubles until May 06. Tear down doubles for Vis / o2 cleaning. Dive 4 dives on single tanks while doubles are out of vis. On 3rd dive of May, notice bubbling from inflator topside and under water. Switch back to doubles, order DSS Torus 45. Put Pioneer back in closet.

So, From Oct - May, diving in 3 freshwater springs, my inflator developed enough corrosion to cause leaking. Sorry, that sucks. As far as low vis dives, Ginnie has about 200ft vis in the winter, Morrison about 150, and troy about 75-100. None have mud bottoms, and I wasn't in the bottom anyway.

Dan, whether you believe these things are solid or not really doesn't matter to me. That's Halcyon's problem, not mine. However, I don't take kindly to being called a liar. :shakehead

 

[Dan Gibson]

No clue since I have no idea which plastic inflator Halcyon is shipping these days. It seems to have varied over the years and probably will in the future. I only had one inflator on a Pioneer wing that came with the backwards configuration.

Any suggestions where one can purchase a replacement with the inside configuration? I just used my spare, and would like to get a couple more for my save-a-dive kit ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)