Stuck in Key West with a busted wing

[kevindwhite]

Update

The new predator wing arrived in time for my first dive which was great. The dives went very well. In terms of bouancy and trim the predator is an improvement over my original. I am however concerned about the design. Particularly the pair of grommet holes on both sides of the bottom of the wing. Thanks to these holes my bladder is completely exposed to puncture. Perhaps I am not familiar enough with wings but I am surprised a tech diving company would opt for such a design. I don't think I'll be keeping the new wing or my repaired original one. With the exception of customer service I an not impressed with Deep Outdoors and probably will never buy their gear again. I am considering dumping the whole rig on ebay and going with a complete Halcyon setup.

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[tfsails]

I've never advocated tugging on the BC inflator hose to dump air for just the reason you mentioned. I've never seen a BC that didn't have a plastic B-nut threaded onto a plastic fitting holding the hose to the bladder. Being the old retired airplane fixer that I am and knowing the kind of forces the uninitiated can put on that fitting just by tugging hard, I decided that the one time I pulled mine was the only time I would ever pull it.

FYI to any who read this: If you decide to use the shoulder dump valve, be sure you pull on the inflator itself. Do not pull on the hose--it is not attached to the dump valve! The inflator has a cable attached to it the other end of which is attached to the valve. Pulling on the hose will only a) pull the hose off, or b) tear the hose.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

I've seen LP hoses popping off left and right. That's why I stopped using the "tug" maneuver to release air. I vent air the old-fashioned way, by lifting the hose and depressing the air release button on the inflator. My LDS no longer teaches the old-fashioned way, arguing that it is necessary to upright oneself in the water column to vent air, thereby making it more likely to trample the reef with one's fins. I find that it is perfectly possible to vent air by lifting the hose without altering one's horizontal trim at all, especially with a BP/W.

 

[kevindwhite]

I've never advocated tugging on the BC inflator hose to dump air for just the reason you mentioned. I've never seen a BC that didn't have a plastic B-nut threaded onto a plastic fitting holding the hose to the bladder. Being the old retired airplane fixer that I am and knowing the kind of forces the uninitiated can put on that fitting just by tugging hard, I decided that the one time I pulled mine was the only time I would ever pull it.

I must admit I questioned the sanity of the design when I looked at the wing at my LDS. The amount of force required to open the valve is substantial, much more than I expected. The person that sold me the wing assured me she had the same one and had used the tug dump many times without incident. I was also instructed to pull the inflator and tested the wing in my LDS pool using the same method. I cannot honestly recall if I used good tug tecnique when the inflator sheared off. It is possible I tugged on the hose. It still seems like risky design to me.



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[Jim Lapenta]

That's why both my wings have plain elbows on em. The inflator hose is short enough that should I decide to use it instead of the lower dump I don't even need to get vertical to use it.