Drying and storing a BCD

[Seniordiver]

I have been rinsing the bladder of my BCD and washing and rinsing the external before partially inflatting it and hanging it until my next trip. Is it recommended to unscrew the inflator hose to let the inside dry, or even put baby powder in after it dries to keep it in good shape?

[gNats]

I do just what you do but only rinse the outside. I don't add additional water to the bladder itself, but so far, I have only dived in fresh water lakes with very litte grossness in them.

I rinse the entire BCD in fresh water and then partially inflate the bladder and hang it on a BC hanger in a cool dry spot of my basement.

I learned this technique through the PADI OW coursebook and my own instructor.

I haven't heard of removing hoses or adding baby powder.

I personally would be leery of adding baby powder to the inside of my BCD bladder. I would worry that it would gum up when in contact with water and the dump valves or inflator hose would get icky (or clogged).

I think this falls into the less is more category.

[Lone Frogman]

I rinse it out with a little mouth wash in mine, to keep it nice and fresh inside. No, to the baby powder.

[dannybot]

I rinse, purge, rinse purge. Leave it inflated for a few days and shake and purge, then leave uncapped for a few days. It usually takes a week total to ensure it is dry, but this system has worked well for me so far.

[firstdive2005]

I remove my hose at ocean site, fill with fresh water several times, empty it. When I get home I repeat fills and dumps with hose off. I put hose back on fully inflate, not super stretched. Hang to complete dry. Shake upside down once it's dry. Let out water via hose. Remove hose again, let dry inside, I hang it hole connection down. I also unscrew parts of my hose to dry. You really have to be careful when doing this. Store ring of hose on bc. When taking apart hose, take a photo to put back correct. They can be put back together wrong. Do not put powder in BC. I have heard people put it on their drysuit seals, I dont. Gets gummy. I will accept the correct method for storing if this is grossly wrong. My Zeagle brigade looks brand new. Got some scungy dives on it.

[Splitlip]

Originally Posted by dannybot

I rinse, purge, rinse purge. Leave it inflated for a few days and shake and purge, then leave uncapped for a few days. It usually takes a week total to ensure it is dry, but this system has worked well for me so far.

Ditto here.

Word of caution to all. Be careful removing and reinstalling elbows and purge (OPV) valves. There have been cases of people leaving the flapper out of the OPV and or cross threading and stressing elbos. One I know of ended in catastrophe.

A great option is the Zeagle inflator which unscrews from your corrugated hose like the SS1 and Octo Z You unscrew the inflator screw in a garden hose, flush, dry/drain.

There is no chance of the inflator unscrewing while in use because the inflator hose won't let it.

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Zeagle BX Inflator Valve Exchange reviews and discounts, Zeagle

[Empacher]

Originally Posted by Lone Frogman

I rinse it out with a little mouth wash in mine, to keep it nice and fresh inside. No, to the baby powder.

Doesn't mouthwash have sugar in it? When it dries, i would imagine that it could aslo gum things up inside..

[ektess1]

A little vinegar will help in dissolving salt crystals. It also changes the PH so that funky stuff can't party down inside your bladder. Rinse with freshwater then dry. Good to go.

[fisheater]

I use the Zeagle garden hose connection.

Works GREAT!

[5513]

Originally Posted by fisheater

I use the Zeagle garden hose connection.

Works GREAT!

Me too. Flush it twice and let it hang to dry. Works well for me.