Punctured BC

[Halthron]

This weekend, I was diving with a group of people I had never gone diving with before. One evening, I'm talking to this guy, an avowed warm-water weeny, and he's saying how much he hates throwing money away on dive gear. Turns out he's referring to a relatively new BC he bought. A local was dragging his gear around and put someone else's gear on top of it, puncturing the BC.

My initial response is, if the hole is small, why not just use a innertube patch and keep going. His response was that he didn't feel comfortable diving with something the manufacturer would no longer cover for defects.

::cough:: Okay.

"Besides", he says, "that patch wouldn't hold if I fully inflated the BC at depth."



I told him that if he's fully inflating his BC at depth, he has bigger problems than a small hole in his BC.

 

[spectrum]

Depending on where the puncture is patching may be possible. It only needs to be stronger that the over pressure valve limit.

Being in a surface flotation situation is when the bladder will see the greatest strain. At depth the pressure is at equilibrium.

I don't follow his defect coverage logic but I can appreciate him not wanting to dive a patched BC. It probably needs to be patched from the outside and a patch on a fabric facing with all of the flexing a BC sees could be unreliable.

Pete

 

[Halthron]

Sorry, I left out that the discussion drew out that the BC had an inner bladder. IMO, it's just a matter of cutting a slit in the outer covering, patching the hole in the inner bladder then sewing up the small slit.

 

[spectrum]

That makes it more feasible then. Most bladders are urethane materials (not rubber) so I would not jump on the tire patch kit too quick. Consult a manufacturer such as DSS here on the board for patching suggestions.

 

[PlayaCountryBoy]

..His response was that he didn't feel comfortable diving with something the manufacturer would no longer cover for defects.

::cough:: Okay.

"Besides", he says, "that patch wouldn't hold if I fully inflated the BC at depth."



I told him that if he's fully inflating his BC at depth, he has bigger problems than a small hole in his BC.

That's too funny! I love some people remarks. Sometimes I just smile and be quite, but sometimes...if what they've said is just too ridiculous I might have to call their bluff on it. :14:

Funny thing...I too have been trying to repair a bladder out of the Rec-Tek wing of my old Scuba Pro S-tek harness. I use Dive Rite now, but would like to keep the SP as a back up. I found out that SP discountinued the S-Tek...or at least here in Mexico. So I can't get a replacement bladder. Any ideas on how to patch this up. I have already tried Aquaseal and superglue. Any other ideas?

 

[Ed Palma]

Here's what I would do: If aquaseal and/or super glue don't cut it, then the hole is probably bigger than a pin prick. I managed to plug a hole in my BC about 1x1 cm. Solution? I got a SS bolt and nut and some washers. coated the nut with aquaseal, then fastened the nut, bolt and washers through the hole.

Hasn't leaked since.

 

[Ed Palma]

Hey Halthron, what did the guy say when you told him he had bigger problems if he inflated his BC at depth?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I bought a 55LB wing from Halcyon that arrived with a 1" L-shaped cut in the bladder. I patched it with a waterbed repair kit and never had a problem with it. Halcyon refused to repair it, even though it had never been wet.

 

[Halthron]

Hey Halthron, what did the guy say when you told him he had bigger problems if he inflated his BC at depth?

He went on about how he wouldn't use a damaged BC anyway. I honestly hope that he figures out what was so funny about his comment, I'd hate to think of anyone deliberately filling their BC at depth in warm waters.

Good to know about repair kits. I've not had to fix a puncture so I did some assuming. At least I won't have to go through the "why isnt this sticking" step in the future now

 

[Garrobo]

Personally, I wouldn't use a BC if the bladder had a repair. Period.