Repairing a BC Bladder

[PirateChance]

I got a leak, and its making me sad. Heres some info:

*The rig:
I have a Dacore BC that is a couple of years, less than 6 I think. It was given to me by my uncle (who used it untill last year) and I hope to use it for my dive class at UNCW and OW cert.
I dont know the model, I dont see it inked on and the rubber patches on the shoulder are gone.

* The problem:
I've inflated it, worn it around my apartmet, scared my cats, the works, its comfortable, I like it.( I'm excited about first scuba session next week) So today I decide to pratice kicking with my new fins and work on water mobility in general, Just for fun I take it with me to the pool *and it leaks!*

It has an internal bladder, but I cant find a way to take it out to patch it.
It appears to be leaking from some sort of of connector post thing that is hidden under the left pocket, it appears to be a connection directly to the bladder.

*Questions:

Any advice on getting the bladder out?
Any idea what the post is? (I'm about to unscrew it and find out anyway)
What kind of patch works best, if its even possible to patch?
re: questions 1 & 2...
and feel free to just talk to me, I'm new, so far I think I'm in love with diving.

I'll post some pics when my girlfriend returns with the camera.
*edit* I couldnt search because "bc" is shorter than the minimum word length, but under relat threads I see that auqa seal is recommended, sorry if this thead becomes superfluious.

 

[diver 85]

I got a leak, and its making me sad. Heres some info:

*The rig:
I have a Dacore BC that is a couple of years, less than 6 I think. It was given to me by my uncle (who used it untill last year) and I hope to use it for my dive class at UNCW and OW cert.
I dont know the model, I dont see it inked on and the rubber patches on the shoulder are gone.

* The problem:
I've inflated it, worn it around my apartmet, scared my cats, the works, its comfortable, I like it.( I'm excited about first scuba session next week) So today I decide to pratice kicking with my new fins and work on water mobility in general, Just for fun I take it with me to the pool *and it leaks!*

It has an internal bladder, but I cant find a way to take it out to patch it.
It appears to be leaking from some sort of of connector post thing that is hidden under the left pocket, it appears to be a connection directly to the bladder.

*Questions:

Any advice on getting the bladder out?
Any idea what the post is? (I'm about to unscrew it and find out anyway)
What kind of patch works best, if its even possible to patch?
re: questions 1 & 2...
and feel free to just talk to me, I'm new, so far I think I'm in love with diving.

I'll post some pics when my girlfriend returns with the camera.

Man, bad luck....I had to replace my wife & I's Dacors last year....both were 21 years old...cheap ones too, mine was blue & grey hers was blue/yellow......Maybe you're doing something wrong......

 

[Scubakevdm]

I got a leak, and its making me sad. Heres some info:

*The rig:
I have a Dacore BC that is a couple of years, less than 6 I think. It was given to me by my uncle (who used it untill last year) and I hope to use it for my dive class at UNCW and OW cert.
I dont know the model, I dont see it inked on and the rubber patches on the shoulder are gone.

* The problem:
I've inflated it, worn it around my apartmet, scared my cats, the works, its comfortable, I like it.( I'm excited about first scuba session next week) So today I decide to pratice kicking with my new fins and work on water mobility in general, Just for fun I take it with me to the pool *and it leaks!*

It has an internal bladder, but I cant find a way to take it out to patch it.
It appears to be leaking from some sort of of connector post thing that is hidden under the left pocket, it appears to be a connection directly to the bladder.

*Questions:

Any advice on getting the bladder out?
Any idea what the post is? (I'm about to unscrew it and find out anyway)
What kind of patch works best, if its even possible to patch?
re: questions 1 & 2...
and feel free to just talk to me, I'm new, so far I think I'm in love with diving.

I'll post some pics when my girlfriend returns with the camera.
*edit* I couldnt search because "bc" is shorter than the minimum word length, but under relat threads I see that auqa seal is recommended, sorry if this thead becomes superfluious.

For what it's worth, I pulled a dead guy and his girlfriend off of the bottom once. A bunch of stuff had gone wrong at the same time, but from what we could tell, the start of it all was when the aquaseal repair on his BCD let loose.

 

[mikey3091]

" For what it's worth, I pulled a dead guy and his girlfriend off of the bottom once. A bunch of stuff had gone wrong at the same time, but from what we could tell, the start of it all was when the aquaseal repair on his BCD let loose."

What else happened? Sounds like that would be a pretty traumatic experience.

 

[Scubakevdm]

" For what it's worth, I pulled a dead guy and his girlfriend off of the bottom once. A bunch of stuff had gone wrong at the same time, but from what we could tell, the start of it all was when the aquaseal repair on his BCD let loose."

What else happened? Sounds like that would be a pretty traumatic experience.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/138091-diver-deaths-palm-beach-county.html

 

[Nemrod]

Aqua Seal will not repair that bladder. You will need to purchase a new BC, toss the Dacor.

My all time favorite, lower bladder leaks at the drain. Upper bladder is torn away for the oral inflator--too bad that because this thing rocks for a BC.

N

 

[PirateChance]

Thanks guys, I appreciated it.
I havent found the leak yet, so I'm going to take it to my DM and let him look at it, if its the bladder I'll toss it

Man, I even had my parents convinced that since I already had a BC, the mares rebel REG kit from scubatoys would be great for christmas.

 

[homerjion]

the post you are talking about is for an emergency co2 inflator. I have a few bcs with that feature, and a few that have just the post. I have the same problem with a leak right now, if I can figure it out, I'll let you know

 

[james croft]

It may just need a CO2 cartridge screwed into the detonator. You should see a gizmo with a pull lanyard attached to a lever. Tugging on the lanyard punctures the CO2 cartridge and inflates the BC in an emergency. Get the appropriate gram CO2 cartridge and screw it in and it should not leak. If all you see is a "post" that is threaded and it has one side of it flattened out your situation is a bit more complicated. That would indicate that the detonator has been removed. It will definitely leak as you will see a small hole in the post. You can scrounge another detonator from an old BC or even an inflatable life jacket. I have found them to be pretty standard pieces of equipment and readily "swappable".

If the detonator is there and you don't have a CO2 cartridge the port can be plugged with a standard 3/8 port plug taken from a first stage regulator. the thread size is the same as the CO2 bottle. Good luck and hope that helps keep your gear going.

 

[james croft]

I found a link to a site that sell detonators if you need one. It is called the Halkey-Roberts actuator on the bottom of the first page:
http://www.mar-vel.com/pdffiles/P146_152_COMPENSATOR_05.pdf