Maintenance, Service, and Repairs of an Ordinary BC

[snoballz]

Do most BC's have to be serviced every year and if so, what are the things that must be inspected, aside from the obvious such as inflation and tears? I do not want to get into a debate of online "non-unauthorized" dealers vs. LDS since that has been covered ad nauseum in another thread, but seems to me that these types of service can be handled by the end user.

I'm specifically pointing to the BC. I can understand being careful with regulators and computers in terms of servicing and where those items are purchased since they have some very intricate parts, but a BC?

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[redacted]

With reasonable mechanical abilities, BCDs and regulators are fairly simple to inspect and maintain as long as you can find parts.

 

[Charlie99]

The only tricky part on a BCD is the inflator. Inflators are cheap enough that you should just replace it if there is any sign of sticky buttons or leaking.

Other than the inflator, the checking and maintenance of a BCD is pretty much just a matter of doing a good visual inspection and making sure it holds air.

 

[ppo2_diver]

BCs need to be maintained due to corrosion in the inflator, o-rings wearing, and cleaning the bladder. It is easy to do yourself, but many people aren't comfortable doing it themelves.

 

[RonFrank]

Inflater's do go south. I had mine serviced a year ago as it was leaking (it is an Octo+ on my Zeagle), so I'm good to go for another year. If it was just an inflator, I would replace it. The Octo Inflater's require semi-annual maintenance.

On my BP/W I just inspect it for issues, and keep the inflater clean. If it breaks, a new one is not much more than the price of service, so I would replace it.

I don't see a need to service a BC, but keep an eye on the valves as well. I disassemble them and rinse them after each diving salt water. In fresh water, not so much.

 

[herman]

I keep the valves and bladder flushed out, esp after salt water diving. I do think it's a good idea to dissamble and clean the dump valves once in a while. Not so much that they really need maintance but if they do get sand or junk in them and do need to be dissambled at a dive site, your comfortable doing so.

 

[spectrum]

BC's a pretty basic contraptions but they do need varying levels of attention.

I'm going to assume that you cleaning it properly after every salt water dive day. For fresh water an external rinse (if needed) and draining of the bladder should do it.

Next is inspection. If you trust yourself as a common sense detail oriented person then be sure to check it over frequently from time to time. Cracked plastic, frayed cords, stuff like that.

As others have mentioned the inflater valve can act up from time to time. This will vary depending on where you dive and how well you clean. Many require some combination of special tools so it's not always something you can service on the spot. Owning a back-up inflater is a reasonable idea.

The biggest risk is probably the inflater sticking in the ON position which will force an ascent if you cannot dump air and disconnect the QD, so there is some criticality to proper performance.

If you are not comfortable with any of this then bring it to the shop.

I will mention that more than a few diving fiasco stories center around mis assembled BC dump valves. Be sure to inflate the BC and leave it standing to make sure it holds air after anyone services it.

Pete

 

[snoballz]

Thanks for the replies so far. As I alluded to, part of the reason I asked was because I'm thinking of purchasing a BC online. It seems reasonable that I should not rely on a LDS to service something I bought elsewhere because of price (the other being the fact that they don't carry the brand that I'm interested in).

My other hobbies include cycling and snowboarding. I do all of the tune ups on my bikes and snowboards and perform all of the service required. I figure this will translate to scuba as well... for the non-intricate stuff (i.e. BC).

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