Normal to get Water in BC bladder?

[it_mike]

I rinse after each day/weekend's dives, before hanging to dry. Fresh or salt, it doesn't matter. I'm just clearing the biologics.

John, if you want something specific you'll find BC rinse-type solutions at your LDS. I use ~1/4 cup of vinegar with some water in the bladder, swoosh it around and let set for 10-30 minutes while I rinse the other gear. Give it a quick rinse and re-inflate to hang dry.

[fisheater]

Originally Posted by scubagirlj

zeagle makes the BX attachment for inflator:you unscrew the inflator, attach a garden hose to corrigated hose, turn on water and viola! water comes out of dump valves like a fountain!, when finished just remove garden hose, turn bc upside down to drain, let dry and slightly reinflate before hanging in closet-ST has them and i would think that they are compatable with most corrigated inflator hoses,just a zip tie holds it together-throw a little bc life in last rinse of trip or season and you're in business!

Good stuff, there. I've converted my wings to the BX system. Takes just a couple of minutes and makes thorough clean up much easier.

[edl]

could the BX be made to work with the Nighthawk w/air2

[fisheater]

Originally Posted by edl

could the BX be made to work with the Nighthawk w/air2

Not unless you went with a Zeagle BX standard inflator or Octo-Z (assuming the Air2 doesn't have a garden hose interface.)

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by Grin

I have never rinsed one of my bladders out ever. I get a little water in there every trip and I simply hold the rig upside down at the end of the day and hit the dump button on my inflator, and out the water goes. I dive saltwater every dive, and have done hundreds of dives with no problems at all. I am not bragging as I probably should rinse it out occcassionally. But for those who seem to be extra worried, you have nothing to worry about. Don't worry about rinsing it out until your trip is over. I guess if you don't dive often, then rinsing it out, and trying to dry it out, might be worth the effort. If I had to rinse out the bladder and do all the stuff some people do after a days diving I'd just say forget it. Nothing wrong with trying to take care of your stuff, but I think many overdo it by miles. I throw all my stuff in a tub, fill it with fresh water, and let it soak while the boat is washed, then pull items out and spray selected items off (like my BPW and reg sets) and hang them up, and I'm done.
I used to be anal and spray everything off really good taking a 1/2 hour to clean everything. I now know that was waste of time. I'm down to about 5 minutes.

I have to admit to the same. It's not really what I would recommend to others, but "educated neglect" seems to work quite well for me. I bring my rig inside and give it a thorough cleaning maybe once every 6-9 months. I dive enough, however, that it's somewhat rare for my gear to be dry for more than a week or so. Plus I'm competent enough to repair an inflation valve if needed. It's also possible that SoCal salt water (and perhaps Florida salt water?) is more forgiving in the biologics department than the freshwater than a lot people here dive.

I'm anal about my camera, my regs, my computer and my can light. The rest of my gear gets neglected pretty heinously.

For long term storage, I recommend adding a capful of cool mint listerine to the final rinse of the bladder interior. Kills germs, dissolves salt, and minty fresh! (Just rinse it out afterwards, it's probably too harsh to leave any significant concentration in there)

[qsnow]

Even though this transition away from the original question, it's all been very helpful. I have the LTD ranger, so my BC came with the BX adapter, although I've not used it yet to wash it out. I'm assuming most would hang it upside down after rinsing with that attackment off to aid in draining and drying?

When proceedures for 'storage' are being discussed, what kind of timeframe between dives is being referred to here? I plan on trying to get out once a week for a while anyway.

Also, will it put any undo stress to leave the BC fully inflated?

[mrm777]

1. Get properly weighted...take the time to do it at the start of your trip.

2. Get a good picture in your mind of what dump empties what air out of your BC...whether you're right side up, upside down, or anywhere in between. Check and see if you need to drop a shoulder to get air out of the top of your bc.

3. Get comfortable using the right dump for the right air release (ie upside down, use your rear dump etc)

[emt]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

I have to admit to the same. It's not really what I would recommend to others, but "educated neglect" seems to work quite well for me. I bring my rig inside and give it a thorough cleaning maybe once every 6-9 months. I dive enough, however, that it's somewhat rare for my gear to be dry for more than a week or so. Plus I'm competent enough to repair an inflation valve if needed. It's also possible that SoCal salt water (and perhaps Florida salt water?) is more forgiving in the biologics department than the freshwater than a lot people here dive.

I'm anal about my camera, my regs, my computer and my can light. The rest of my gear gets neglected pretty heinously.

For long term storage, I recommend adding a capful of cool mint listerine to the final rinse of the bladder interior. Kills germs, dissolves salt, and minty fresh! (Just rinse it out afterwards, it's probably too harsh to leave any significant concentration in there)

My 23 yr old dives more than I and does very similar (except for the listerine, lol - "cool mint",). I usually try to rinse the bc with fresh water if I'm around when he gets back.
As most know, anyone using their boat often usually gets more life out of the impeller before needing a change vs. the occasional boater.The old use it or loose it applies to most things.

[jupitertreasures]

Originally Posted by qsnow

Reading your response, I probably created some of the issue then, closer to the end of my first dive. At the onset, I was weighted well, however I didn't account for the positive bouyancy of the TANK as it emptied, so closer to the end of the dive i was pulling the releases trying to let out air I thought I had in there (hey, I'm floating upwards, I must have air to release).... So it sounds like those air release attempts probably turned into water add attempts.

Sounds to me like you solved the mystery.

[Beefcake]

I had the same problem with my new BCD. I wasn't used to the back-inflate rig, and I wasn't getting my left shoulder high enough to release the air stuck in the bottom corners of my bladder, so I was letting water into the shoulder dump but never releasing the air. I am learning to get into the right position, but I have also learned to use the rear dump valves in an emergency (I wish my right-rear dump was easier to reach, but I'm getting the hang of it so that I can dump air while kicking down to stop unwanted ascents - I know it's bad form, but it's better than corking to the surface feet first.