Hissing sound from wing

[Marie13]

I worked on some skills in the pool yesterday, piggybacking on an OW class. I had issues staying close to the bottom, even in the shallow end. I seemed to be good on weight (6 lb BP, 5 lb STA insert, 10 lbs on waist). I add an additional 4-6 lbs with my DS. I am very floaty.

BP/W is a Halcyon Infinity 40 (won this several months ago at an event and much prefer the harness to what I had). I'd have preferred a 30, but this is what I won, so I've been trying to work with it.

I kept hearing a hissing sound coming from behind my head. Instructor and DM confirmed I didn't have any unusual bubbles. Pulled everything off and started really looking it over. Heard hissing coming from top of wing. Mind you, it had a lot of air in it (top of wing). DM heard hissing, too.

I squeezed top of wing to help get air out and put everything back on and went back down. I know the 40 will respond more slowly to the inflator than the 27 lb wing I had been using before, but this was crazy. I was dumping air via inflator hose and butt dump. I could feel the bottom part of the wing had little if any air in it, but the top had a bunch of air. I would finally get the air out and hit the bottom, but when I added a wee bit of air back in to keep me off the bottom, I would go back up!

I was in the pool 3 weeks ago and didn't have this issue with wing. Any idea? I've not put the 27 lb wing on the Halcyon BP because everything wouldn't match, but I'm going to try that in the pool next Saturday to see how it works.

I've got a trip to Mermet the last weekend of the month and this is just damned inconvenient timing.

 

[tbone1004]

leave the wing hooked up to a regulator and see if it auto-inflates, sounds like the inflator could be leaking a bit of air into the top of the wing

 

[Midwesterndvr]

Fill it rub some soapy water on it That should lead you to the source.

 

[Marie13]

Another question: how the heck do I get all of the water out of it? I've taken the wing off the BP, held it upside down over the bathtub and shook it while pressing the deflate button on the inflator hose. Still some sloshing around inside.

 

[Marie13]

leave the wing hooked up to a regulator and see if it auto-inflates, sounds like the inflator could be leaking a bit of air into the top of the wing

Hooked up to reg on a tank? I can try that with my pony.

 

[Scuba Scott]

Another question: how the heck do I get all of the water out of it? I've taken the wing off the BP, held it upside down over the bathtub and shook it while pressing the deflate button on the inflator hose. Still some sloshing around inside.

If I want to dry mine out I remove the inflator hose and dump valve and hang up after I dump out all I can.

 

[tbone1004]

to get the water out:
orally inflate the wing fully so it is somewhat pressurized
rotate the wing so it is "flat" similar to diving position, but with the dump valve at the lowest point of the wing. Will be slightly head up and left side down.
pinch the string right at the dump valve and barely crack it open. The water will be on top of the dump valve and the air pressure will push the water out.
repeat until there is no more water in there. Should only take 2-3 inflations if you have a lot of water in there. Store fully inflated

correct, just put a reg on a tank and pressurize. Fully deflate the wing, and connect the inflator hose. Let it sit for half an hour or hour or however long and come back and check it out. If it is bigger than when you left it, the inflator needs to be rebuilt. Probably just needs to be lubed.

 

[elgoog]

For drying, you can do something similar to what @tbone1004 said with the hose as well - personally, I found this a little easier than through the butt dump. I inflate it just enough to give the wing some shape and hold it upside down. Then fold the wing to create a funnel effect to get the water into the hose. Then just hit the deflate button. Couple of times of doing this should get almost all the water out.

For inflator issues, it's super easy to take them apart and clean them out yourself using this kit - Inflator Service Tool w/O-Ring Kit Honestly, it's easier to just put a new one on - 45-degree Oral Power Inflator I've started carrying a spare inflator with me on trips to avoid any hassles.

Another thing I would recommend for sticky inflators is this tool - Valve Flusher for Power inflators and Dry Suit Inflators It attaches to a hose and I use it to clean the inflator. Is it absolutely necessary? Probably not but I've not had any sticky inflator issues once I added this to my post dive rinse regimen.

 

[Marie13]

I fully inflated wing and pushed it under the water in my very full bathtub. The only bubbles were from right around the inflator valve and dump value right when I pushed the wing under. Other than that, no bubbles.

 

[Marie13]

How common are issues on fairly new wings? I've got 2 quarry dives on it and then 3 pool dives. That's it.