bc does not seem to hold air...

[coralcrazed]

I have a question...

I purchased a brand new Zeagle BC from scubatoys last year... I'm a once a year diver on vacation so I dove with it litterally 6 times during my one week vacation... I finally got around to send in my reg. to scubatoys this week for service and decided I should check the BC. so I manually inflated it and found out that it does not hold air at the max capacity. That means when I blow it up as much as I can manually it does not hold that air at that pressure for more than a couple of hours. shouldn't it hold air at the same pressure indefinatly? I checked the releases and dumps and they seem to be fine and I don't hear any aire excaping from the main release. What should I do??? should I contact scubatoys about this? I'd hate to have to send the BC in for service as well. I'm really bummed about finding out about this. Please help!

[Zenagirl]

Do you have a BX inflator? If so, check to see if it still has an o-ring. When we cleaned our gear last time, my husband's BX inflator o-ring stuck on the garden hose and we didn't notice. His Ranger wouldn't hold air and we thought it might be a stripped thread until we took my BX inflator apart and noticed the o-ring was missing from his. We quickly found it and now his BC is holding air perfectly.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Inflate it up, then push it under water in a bath tube (or pool) and see where bubbles are coming out. Might just be some connection is a bit lose and when you know where it's at - that might make figuring out what to do a lot easier.

[calwolf]

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

Inflate it up, then push it under water in a bath tube

I'd use a bath tub, myself.

[Heavy D]

Larry beat me to it, I third the bathtub suggestion. My initial thinking though is a loose fitting or missing o-ring but you need to submerge it and see where the air is coming from to know for sure.

[coralcrazed]

OK here is what I found... now what?

http://i8.photobucket.com/player.swf...4/DSCF1868.flv

as you can see bubbles are coming from two locations on the inflater/release valve. The first location, the manual inflater nozzle is releasing bubbles and the second is where the hose connects to the inflater/release valve just above the zip tie. I checked the zip tie and its not lose... What should I do?

[awap]

Looks like you have a problem with the manual dump valve (the real big bubbles), the zip tie holding the corrugated hose, and maybe the corrugated hose itself (real small bubbles just above the zip tie. The latter may well be some bubbles that had adhered to the hose. In any case, if you can disconnect the corrugated hose at the shoulder connection (it should unscrew), you can send the LPI and corrugated hose along with the regs. That is a bit less PITA than sending in the entire BC.

[Heavy D]

It could be something small caught in the inflator mechanism thats keeping the spring for the button from closing the valve all the way or else a piece in there isn't seated properly. I would remove it from the corrugated hose and work the button a bunch of times as you move the piece back and forth underwater in the tub or sink. If something is in there or it's not positioned right, that may just clear the obstruction or get it seated properly. If it doesn't work, you are only out a few minutes of time.

[mm2002]

Originally Posted by Heavy D

It could be something small caught in the inflator mechanism thats keeping the spring for the button from closing the valve all the way or else a piece in there isn't seated properly. I would remove it from the corrugated hose and work the button a bunch of times as you move the piece back and forth underwater in the tub or sink. If something is in there or it's not positioned right, that may just clear the obstruction or get it seated properly. If it doesn't work, you are only out a few minutes of time.

I agree. Also, it may help to soak it in water and add a little vinegar. I'm thinking salt crystals. After cleaning, re-assemble with a new zip tie around the hose. Probably be good to go.

[coralcrazed]

Thanks for the suggestion guys... Unfortunately this is not sounding good to me. I will wait to hear from Larry or someone from Scubatoys.

In the mean time I'll check and see if something is stuck in there. Any other suggestions? I see a hex fitting on the valve... Larry had suggested that something might have come lose. Would tightening this do the trick at least for the big bubbles?

Thanks