How to test if your BC is safe??

[fisherdvm]

I bought a new BC in 1993, and put it into storage for more than 10 years before taking it out about 2 years ago and diving with it. It was stored up in the attic for about 3 years in a closed containter, where the temperature got quite hot for 3 summers.

I took it to the shop, and they said it was ok before I started diving with it. I inflate it before every dive for a few minutes to make sure it held air, and have not had any problems with it.

All together, it has less than 30 dives on it, over the last 13 years. Can I assume that it is safe to dive with?? I am sure there are BC's stored under worse temperature out there, but how do you test the elasticity of the BC. Is it made out of latex rubber, or is it a reinforced fabric??

 

[Luc Dupas]

If the BCD is still air tight... there are no punctures... the overpressure valves and dump valves still work perfectly OK... the inflator is still working perfectly OK... what's the problem then? I have been diving since the late eighties till 2001 with a BCD (horse collar model) which I initially had purchased second hand and which eventually, before I bought a "new" second hand one (jacket style), maybe was 20 years old and still it was (and still is) in perfectly good shape. If everything is OK, and there are no signs of wear or damage, I shouldn't worry about it...

 

[The Kraken]

Let's cut to the chase . . .
Does it do what it was designed and intended to do without compromise?
If so, then it is safe.

the K

 

[Chad Carney]

fisher,

LD and the K are offering logical "check it and dive it if it's solid" thinking. For the next dive that is hard to argue.

I'm an equipment sales rep, so you could say I have a slanted perspective, but I also managed a dive store for over 20 years. And like many people, I like to maximize the performance of my boat and vehicle components, within reason.

However, a BC pushing 14 years could have problems soon to emerge, and you obviously have your worries.

If we knew where that attic was it might make a difference. (My ski boots fell apart after their second summer in my Tampa Bay garage.)

BCs usually have urethane inner bladders or urethane lined nylon material if they are the bladderless type. Although pretty durable compared to rubber, both are subject to breakdown due to ozone, salt and temperature. Bladders most commonly delaminate from the fittings where hoses attach, often high up on the shoulder, a relatively high point of risk.

Experienced dive shop staff members, as well as manufacturors, see the longest lived BCs and also the ones that die early deaths. It is not always use that makes the differnece. I've seen a few diver's with detached airway hoses in their hand during a dive, and many with perforated air hoses bubbling like aquarium aerators.

At some point time can not be overlooked.

Get the best evaluation advice that you can, and realize that if your diving is at all beyond very basic, it may not be worth it.

Chad

 

[spectrum]

As far as the air cell goes it structurally a fabric bag with coating to make it air tight. The fabric should be quite immune to the atic heat. Any deterioration to the coating would probably show up slowly as minor weep holes but it's not likely to put you in jeopardy. I'd take atic heat to UV exposure any day. As long as the valve operates nicely I don't see a reason not to dive it.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I would be more worried about the effect of O2 on the material's and that may not be an issue.

If you can inflate till the safety valves vent and everything works correctly, I would say it was good, unless you can tell the material is aged.

 

[fisherdvm]

Everything works fine for my last 5 dives or so. I do inflate it tight before each dive, to assure that no major leaks are noted. It is essentially a "new" BC as far as exposure to UV light or water. The only factor that scares me is the 3 summers up in the attic in a tight closed storage box. I do know that the heat kills those rubber bungie things, but I don't know how much it affects BC bladders. Thanks for the input.