Power Inflator button leaking air - Zeagle Ranger

[Houston_Diver]

The power inflator button (button for inflating the BC) is constantly leaking air when pressurized. Is there anything I can do to service the power inflator? If it needs to go to the dive shop, can anyone tell me how much I might be paying for the power inflator to be serviced? My local dive shop is Sea Sports Scuba in Katy, Texas, just in case there are any locals here on Scuba Board...

 

[almitywife]

I have an older zeagle tech and last year both my & hubbys inflater button started giving us grief and sticking (red button), i bought some new ones off ebay for $12.50US and replaced them both.

i found this option so much cheaper than servicing and i noticed the new inflators have white buttons and these are the ones i purchased

cheers

 

[Houston_Diver]

I will need this part: http://www.scuba.com/scuba-gear-5/004027/Zeagle-Power-Inflator.html

After soaking the power inflator in warm water and pressing the button repeatedly, it is now sticking open. So it looks like I will have to replace the power inflator unit.

 

[almitywife]

yep - thats the exact part i bought off ebay.... 3 of them infact (we didnt have a aussie zeagle dist last year when i was desperate for the part, now we do) and something must be in the water as about 10mins ago we got a phone call from a friend who will be picking up my spare/unused inflator part tomorrow for his own zeagle

its the only part to playup in almost 10yrs of diving the bc's so im pretty happy with that

out of curiosity, is your inflator button the old red one or the newer white one??

cheers

 

[herman]

Not likely you need the whole thing. Have you dissambled it and cleaned it?? It is easy to do. Take a large hex key (my scuba tool has the correct size) and remove the inflator insert. It screws out from the opposite side of the inflator button.It comes out as an assembly and is basically a plastic insert, a couple of O-rings and a schrader valve (a big version just like the one in your car tire). Soak the assembly in a 50/50 white vinegar and water solution. That will likely clean it up nicely. Lube the Orings and reinstall. If it is too far gone, the plastic carrier/schrader valve assembly is around $5. Scubatoys carries them but be aware there are at least 2 versions so get the correct one. Check the outer button to make sure it operates OK without the insert installed. Every time mine has given me trouble, it's the insert, not the outer button.

 

[scubatoys]

Or if you want just the whole end... I can set you up for less than 30 bucks, or you can try the cleaning, and replace the valve or o-ring that's causing the problem.

 

[Charlie99]

Malfunctioning inflators have caused lots of dive accidents such as runaway ascents.

Inflators are cheap. Rather than mess around trying to fix it, I'd just replace it.

 

[herman]

Malfunctioning inflators have caused lots of dive accidents such as runaway ascents.

Inflators are cheap. Rather than mess around trying to fix it, I'd just replace it.

True, but the guts of this particular inflator are very simple. Why not clean or replace them instead of replacing the whole thing....with the exception of the actual button and spring the insert is the inflator.

 

[Charlie99]

True, but the guts of this particular inflator are very simple. Why not clean or replace them instead of replacing the whole thing....with the exception of the actual button and spring the insert is the inflator.

Lack of faith in my mechanical abilities.

I do trust myself to ziptie on a new inflator.

In reality, I probably would disassemble it and see if I could positively locate the problem. But I'd also be very quick to just go to a new one if the cause of the problem was not obvious or if I were not very positive that I've fixed the problem.

What was going through my mind when posting "just replace the *&^#^* thing" were the repeated stories of unexpected inflation of wings by Halcyon inflators, and how many divers would clean and reassemble their inflators, only to have another failure a few dives later.

 

[Scuba.com]

Power inflators can be a very simple device but frequently require some sort of specific tool to take apart and reassemble properly. Then once you get it apart, if you have access to the correct o-ring, in the correct size and durometer there is still no guarantee that there isn't corrosion on the shafts causing them to hang up. And keep in mind that the durometer of your o-ring is EXTREMELY important. When I was at Sherwood we went through a change over in manufacturing of the inflation side o-rings and it took forever for an engineer to discover that they were simply too soft and would roll off the notch in the shaft causing uncontrolled inflation. It was 100% impossible to tell the good o-ring from the bad by a human without the proper testing equipment.

For the price of a new inflator I'd strongly recommend just replacing the inflator. It will give years of good service and alleviate any headaches or concerns in the future.