Oceanic BCD possible major malfunction?

[ScooterSouthFlorida]

I just got my Oceanic BCD back from being serviced as the inflator was having an issue; as I was picking it up from my LDS, I noticed that the bladder was fully inflated (i mean really fully inflated) and that it had 'peeled' and/or broke free from the backack portion of the BCD and the only thing holding it on was the (4) snaps in each corner of the BCD.

Further inspection revealed that the sealant/plastic that Oceanic used to heat seal the bladder to the backpack has become extremely brittle and has cracked and peeled away from the backpack portion of the BCD.

Even further inspection has revealed that this sealant is cracking where the front portion of the BCD is attached to the backback and it appears the whole BCD is coming apart.

I first thought maybe some aquaseal would re-attach the bladder to the backpack, but now it appears this is a pretty sizeable malfunction as the sealant used by Oceanic is hard once cured.

Is this rendering the BCD unsafe/unuseable? It is an older weight integrated model made by Oceanic.

thanks
scooter

 

[scubafanatic]

...I'm still trying to figure out how things turned from an inflator service into the exploding/disintegrating entire BCD ??? ......did the BC get microwaved....or are we talking 'X-Files' here ?

 

[ScooterSouthFlorida]

I wish I knew...... I turned it in for a servicing on the inflator and it came back falling apart...... I did get a reply from an email I sent to Oceanic and it appears that this model BCD has plastic rings that are sealed to the bladder, then attached to the jacket portion of the BCD, and they will crack/fail and cause this problem.

I wish the person/LDS who serviced my gear would have been a little more helpful on this but I guess sometimes that is asking too much; I just got a quick 'your BC is ready, click' phone call, then went to pick it up and noticed the bladder was WAY overinflated and it had come off the jacket, the person working the store had no idea, and the other person said they had never seen that before, I guess I should have asked the 64k question and asked to speak DIRECTLY to whoever serviced my gear..... It's an older BCD and depending on Oceanics determination of cost of repair, I may just start shopping for a new BCD.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Is there an issue with the BC's relief valve? A bladder should not be capable of over inflating if the valve is functioning as it should IMO. I would have that checked and if it is not, then I would be going after the LDS.

 

[ScooterSouthFlorida]

The answer I got from Oceanic is that they no longer manufactuer this model, nor do they have any parts left to fix it; so I guess I am now on the hunt for a new BCD.

As far as the LDS, I guess I should say it was inflated more than I have ever inflated the bladder, but I do not think the inflation caused the issue and the relief valve is ok due to the fact that there is another plastic ring that holds the rest of the harness to the backpack and it has come apart as well.

Oceanic did offer a discount on a new BCD purchase, so now I am going to work on Mcguyvering this one as I think myself and one of my dive buddies have come up with a solution and then begin shopping for a new BCD.

This one has held up pretty well for being older, but, I know some divers with BCD's twice as old (different manufacturers) that have never just 'fallen apart' due to older plastic......