TSL
Registered
OK, so leaving brands out, I recently got myself a used dual bladder wing. Both bladders worked great and held air fine. Then I integrated it into my BP pack rig and donned it and fussed about with it for location and adjustment, etc. I decided at that point that I didn't like the inflator rigs on it - or at least the primary. Plastic buttons and kinda light weight. The brand itself is decent, if not outstanding.
So being a HUGE DIYer, I says to myself, "Self, you've got that nice singles rig with that inflator you adore on it - swap em out." No big deal. So then it became immediately apparent that the elbow fixtures at the bladder connection were of different size. No big deal there either. Popped the ties on both preparing to swap. Well the adored inflator setup has the little cable in it - not for a shoulder dump, but as an added feature to keep the hose from being over extended and damaged (in theory, at least). Some of you at this point may well be able to guess the brand of said singles wing. So anyway, I says to myself "Self, no biggie here either." So I pop out the pin and take the elbow out to my workshop and look for a drill bit just under the size of the the stock pin hole. Pop it in to a drill, get the elbow of the main inflator on the dual bladder unit, measure, lightly punch, drill, gently deburr, and voilla: it now will recieve the pin from the adored inflator.
Made the swap, put on single new ties. Both take and hold air. I'm extremely pleased with my own ingenuity. At least until it became apparent that there is a slow slow leak on the dual - not too bad, but it would of course be exacerbated when under strain of me, twins, etc. So after all this babbling, here is finally my question: I am next to certain that the weak spot is the hose to elbow connection with the wire tie. Actually I always thought of this, and the hose to inflator connection as well, as weak spots in the general design of all such units. From the factory of course they have various amounts and types of adhesive to bond the hose to the hard surfaces of the elbow and inflator.
So I'm looking for recommendations to replace said adhesive. Wire ties are cheap, so I've not even a remote hesitation to pop them and redo my work on the elbow(s). But is AquaSeal the best option? If so, which version? I even thought some simple pure silicon adhesive would work, but I am still at this point unfamiliar with any substrate issues in the world of scuba plastics and synthetics, with various otherwise designed chems or compounds. Surely some one else out there has performed a replacement or repair of that hose to elbow, or hose to inflator, connection and used an adhesive - yes? (Yes, yes, I know. Don't call you "surely" . . .)
Thank you in advance.
Kindest regards.
TSL
So being a HUGE DIYer, I says to myself, "Self, you've got that nice singles rig with that inflator you adore on it - swap em out." No big deal. So then it became immediately apparent that the elbow fixtures at the bladder connection were of different size. No big deal there either. Popped the ties on both preparing to swap. Well the adored inflator setup has the little cable in it - not for a shoulder dump, but as an added feature to keep the hose from being over extended and damaged (in theory, at least). Some of you at this point may well be able to guess the brand of said singles wing. So anyway, I says to myself "Self, no biggie here either." So I pop out the pin and take the elbow out to my workshop and look for a drill bit just under the size of the the stock pin hole. Pop it in to a drill, get the elbow of the main inflator on the dual bladder unit, measure, lightly punch, drill, gently deburr, and voilla: it now will recieve the pin from the adored inflator.
Made the swap, put on single new ties. Both take and hold air. I'm extremely pleased with my own ingenuity. At least until it became apparent that there is a slow slow leak on the dual - not too bad, but it would of course be exacerbated when under strain of me, twins, etc. So after all this babbling, here is finally my question: I am next to certain that the weak spot is the hose to elbow connection with the wire tie. Actually I always thought of this, and the hose to inflator connection as well, as weak spots in the general design of all such units. From the factory of course they have various amounts and types of adhesive to bond the hose to the hard surfaces of the elbow and inflator.
So I'm looking for recommendations to replace said adhesive. Wire ties are cheap, so I've not even a remote hesitation to pop them and redo my work on the elbow(s). But is AquaSeal the best option? If so, which version? I even thought some simple pure silicon adhesive would work, but I am still at this point unfamiliar with any substrate issues in the world of scuba plastics and synthetics, with various otherwise designed chems or compounds. Surely some one else out there has performed a replacement or repair of that hose to elbow, or hose to inflator, connection and used an adhesive - yes? (Yes, yes, I know. Don't call you "surely" . . .)
Thank you in advance.
Kindest regards.
TSL
