Trouble deflating new Sherwood Axis BCD

[Scaramanga]

Hi there, I recently purchased a Sherwood Axis but had all kinds of problems on the first dive getting the air out while in the water, first I could not get anough air out to sink so I got more weight, then comming up I could not stop ascending for the 3 minute stop safety. I could not control my bouyancy bacause of this, the rest of the week in Roatan I used my other BCD (Mares Pegasus) which deflates on command using any of the purge valves. The vest is very nice and comfortable, I had such high hopes for it. Any ideas? anyone there?

 

[lucca brassi]

Put corrugated inflator hose out of left shoulder loop . For wing (what your BC is) is best 3mm bungee loop on chest D ring (must be stretchable) . In your case corrugated inflator hose is bent down and air have problem to go out.

 

[Diver0001]

Any ideas? anyone there?

Two ideas.

First, back inflate BCDs and wings sometimes need more time for the air to find its way to the vent. You could be just going too fast because you're used to a BCD that dumps faster. Take your time and make sure you position your body such that the exhaust vent on the shoulder is really the highest point. To start with give it a clear roll to the right and tilt your head up to change your posture and get the vent at the highest point. Then give it a 3 count to let the air make its way up before venting. Once you get used to the feeling of how it vents then you probably won't have to make such an exaggerated change to your posture anymore but at first it will help.

Secondly, and this is a problem I see more often by beginners than by experienced divers, but some people don't hold the hose straight. Make sure you're extending your arm and making the hose straight when trying to vent. The axis, like a lot of BCD's also has that velcro holder on the shoulder to keep the inflator from floating behind your head. When you just lift up the inflator, that holder causes the hose to have a kink in it, which depending on your posture can mean that the air has to go up and then back *down* to get across the kink.... obviously that's not going to work unless there is a lot of air in the BCD. There are two ways to deal with that. One way is to visualize the velcro holder as the highest point so the kink isn't below the level of the exhaust valve. Depending on the BCD you may have to go fairly vertical in order to make the velcro holder the highest point.... The other way (and what I do with my wing) is to not put the inflator hose under the velcro holder and just tie a bit of bungee across that same point so the hose can be held straight without kinking. The bungee has to be a fairly thin one. it has to be strong enough to keep the inflator from floating behind your head but not so thick that it won't give to let you straighten out the hose. I think this is the point Lucca was trying to make as well.

99 times out of 100 if someone is having trouble venting a BCD one of these two things is what I discover the problem is.

R..

 

[g1138]

I use the Axis and I know what your problem probably is. Lean back when you deflate, or pull your right shoulder dump while leaning back.
I've found it easier to control your rate of dump by reaching behind your shoulder and pulling the line.

You're BC is probably leaning forward which is putting your inflator hose dump at about water level. Because the Axis doesn't have a form fitting cumberbum and because it's a backinflate, the bottom of the BC likes to tilt far off your lower body.

I added a DIY crotchstrap to fix this as well as other problems that arose because of the design.
Know your orientation in the water too, you're probably not as vertical as you think. And as others have said, keep the inflator hose straight up to the sky. It's actually much easier to use the shoulder dump for deflating to be honest. Just be sure to control your dump rate.

 

[Scaramanga]

Thanks everyone, problem solved. The right shoulder dump valve must have been a bit hard to open on that first dive (which is the valve I always use) because it was new and had it in storage 4 about 1 year. Last week I was able to dive with the axis and it worked fine, in fact it deflates rather quickly and completely. Also added a crotch strap (my Pegasus also comes with one so I am used to always using it anyways) and the vest feels very secure and fits great.