Safety Sausage/SMB Modifications?

[minnesota01r6]

Anyone made any modifications to their safety sausage?

I am thinking about attaching a strip of reflective material to the black piping on my safety sausage so that it is more visible at night. I will be using 100% polyester thread because I hope it won't break down as quick as cotton in the water.

I was also thinking of running a guide for a string from the dump valve down to the bottom of the bag, because this SMB can also be used as a lift bag, but the dump valve is 6 feet away from the bottom of the bag, and I think it might be hard to control buyancy.

Anyone else do anything like this or have suggestions for me?

 

[WVDiver]

I have often thought this would be a good idea but have not yet tried to do anything. One thing I was thinking was that a good covering of aquaseal over your finished threads, might help keep them from rotting too quickly, certainly it would not hurt anything.

How much can you lift with it, what brand is it and where did you get it? I can't imagine having the dump valve on the top. What's up with that?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Anyone made any modifications to their safety sausage?

I am thinking about attaching a strip of reflective material to the black piping on my safety sausage so that it is more visible at night. I will be using 100% polyester thread because I hope it won't break down as quick as cotton in the water.

I was also thinking of running a guide for a string from the dump valve down to the bottom of the bag, because this SMB can also be used as a lift bag, but the dump valve is 6 feet away from the bottom of the bag, and I think it might be hard to control buyancy.

Anyone else do anything like this or have suggestions for me?

Many reflective material don't work when wet. SOLAS (Safety On Land and Sea) does. I'd recommend hosing down your reflective material and testing before any mods. Bonded nylon thread would be my first choice.

My Carter bags use a conventional OPV, but it's installed "inside out" so the pull string is inside the bag, and hangs out of the open bottom of the bag.


Tobin

 

[cool_hardware52]

How much can you lift with it, what brand is it and where did you get it? I can't imagine having the dump valve on the top. What's up with that?

Lift bags have the OPV near the top, where the gas is. This allows control of the buoyancy of an object being lifted. If the OPV was at the bottom you might not be able to dump gas from a partially filled bag.

Safety markers that are designed to inflated at depth often have an OPV located at the bottom of the bag. They aren't intended for lifting, the OPV is just to prevent bursting the bag. Locating it at the bottom of the tube reduces the amount to force required to keep the tube vertical.


Tobin

 

[*Floater*]

Anyone made any modifications to their safety sausage?

I am thinking about attaching a strip of reflective material to the black piping on my safety sausage so that it is more visible at night. I will be using 100% polyester thread because I hope it won't break down as quick as cotton in the water.

I was also thinking of running a guide for a string from the dump valve down to the bottom of the bag, because this SMB can also be used as a lift bag, but the dump valve is 6 feet away from the bottom of the bag, and I think it might be hard to control buyancy.

Anyone else do anything like this or have suggestions for me?

My girlfriend's carter smb has a small d-ring at the top so you can attach a small marker light there, like a glo-toob, for night dives. I like that solution.

 

[Cacia]

be careful not to perforate the tube.

As far as connecting to your dump valve, is this a good idea? Could't it lift YOU to the surface...maybe I need to read what you wrote again.

I use the Halcyon with the inflater plug on a spool with cave line and I am always careful to be clear of any line when I shoot it. The glow stick idea sounds good.

That looks like a very huge sausage in scale with the toilet, BTW.

 

[WVDiver]

Lift bags have the OPV near the top, where the gas is. This allows control of the buoyancy of an object being lifted. If the OPV was at the bottom you might not be able to dump gas from a partially filled bag.

Yes I know, but if it is a "lift" bag it should have a pull cord near the inflator site to dump from, not 6' away at the top. If you over inflate in the beginning it may get away from you before you can ascend to dump air and you obviously don't want to be under whatever you are lifting.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Yes I know, but if it is a "lift" bag it should have a pull cord near the inflator site to dump from, not 6' away at the top. If you over inflate in the beginning it may get away from you before you can ascend to dump air and you obviously don't want to be under whatever you are lifting.

You still need to have the OPV at or near the top of the bag, if you want to be able to control buoyancy, and not just prevent bursting. That's where the gas will be. As I noted in post #3, my open Carter Bags have an OPV near the top, installed with the valve facing into the bag. The actuator string extends down the inside of the bag and hangs out the bottom of the bag.

This puts the string right next to the "Inflator" (the open bottom of the bag) and allows one to either add gas, or dump gas without being anywhere under the load.


Tobin

 

[minnesota01r6]

To answer some questions about my lift bag / smb / safety sausage -

http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=LargeSafety

I don't know the lift capacity - it is 6' by 8 3/4" and a steal at $40

I don't want to connect a string to me, I want to connect a string to the dump valve and run the string to the bottom of the bag like a lift bag normally would have.

I checked the glow-in the dark capabilities when wet - it reduced, but did not diminish the capabilties - I will look for some SOLAS, but I think I'll try taking the material I have with me to see how it peforms after a dive.

As far as attaching a glow tube - If I am in trouble I will use my dive light to illuminate the SMB from the inside - much brighter than a glow tube, and eco-friendly.