Question about a Brigade Bladder

[rktman26]

Scott,
After looking at this thread:
Zeagle BP/W

It seems as though there's some question as to what side of the bladder the OPV/rear dump valves should be on.

The Brigade I got about three weeks ago, and am very impressed with, has the valves on the tank side of the bladder (topside if I'm face down). The photo on ST's website (best photo I could find) has the dump that is visible on the harness side of the bladder, completely different from mine.

Could you comment on this?

I'm not complaining, but the rear dumps are a little difficult to get to on the "top" of the badder. I probably wouldn't have realized it until I saw that thread.

Thanks

[cbope]

You're right, I hadn't noticed that either in the pic, it does look like the bottom OPV valves are on the non-tank side of the bladder.

I've noticed in several pics of Zeagle bladders on the web that it seems they have changed configurations a few times in respect to number of OPV/dump valves and their location. My Brigade that I got a couple weeks ago has 2 valves on the tank side like yours. I haven't dived it yet, so I can't comment on the reachability of the valves during a dive. But it's not something I expect will be a problem.

[rktman26]

It's not really a problem just curious as to the reasoning behind it. There's a lot of discussion on the other thread, just thought I would get some info from the source.

Which is one of the reasons I like hanging out on this forum.

[ScottZeagle]

Ok, let me see if I can explain this in the simplest terms...

For the sake of argument, let's divide the bladder into the "tank side" and the "diver side".

All of our double bag bladders (the ones with a urethane bladder inside a cover made of material and/or elastic) have the OPV/Dump Valve(s) on the divers side.

The single bag bladders have the OPV/Dump Valve(s) on the tank side. All of these single bag bladders have either what we call a "winglet" which clips to the vest to prevent the "taco effect" or they have bungee cords to help prevent that "taco effect"....and some have both.

Originally, almost all the bladders had the OPV/Dump Valve on the divers side, but we had a few people complain that the line on the pull dump would sometimes get wrapped around the bungee cord, so we fixed that problem by simply moving the dump/opv to the opposite side.

I hadn't read that other thread until you guys linked to it, but I can tell you that since we switched the pull dumps to the tank side, we have had no complaints...and that change was made a while ago.

I am not saying that our way is right, wrong, better or worse - it just seemed to work for us and our customers in the application that we are using it for...your mileage may vary.

[5513]

Originally Posted by ScottZeagle

Ok, let me see if I can explain this in the simplest terms...

For the sake of argument, let's divide the bladder into the "tank side" and the "diver side".

All of our double bag bladders (the ones with a urethane bladder inside a cover made of material and/or elastic) have the OPV/Dump Valve(s) on the divers side.

The single bag bladders have the OPV/Dump Valve(s) on the tank side. All of these single bag bladders have either what we call a "winglet" which clips to the vest to prevent the "taco effect" or they have bungee cords to help prevent that "taco effect"....and some have both.

Originally, almost all the bladders had the OPV/Dump Valve on the divers side, but we had a few people complain that the line on the pull dump would sometimes get wrapped around the bungee cord, so we fixed that problem by simply moving the dump/opv to the opposite side.

I hadn't read that other thread until you guys linked to it, but I can tell you that since we switched the pull dumps to the tank side, we have had no complaints...and that change was made a while ago.

I am not saying that our way is right, wrong, better or worse - it just seemed to work for us and our customers in the application that we are using it for...your mileage may vary.

Makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[Diver Kat]

Originally Posted by ScottZeagle

Originally, almost all the bladders had the OPV/Dump Valve on the divers side, but we had a few people complain that the line on the pull dump would sometimes get wrapped around the bungee cord, so we fixed that problem by simply moving the dump/opv to the opposite side.

That's exactly what happens on my Zena ... did you ever figure out a fix for those that have older models with that issue? (Other than buying a new BC with the dump valve on the other side?)

[ScottZeagle]

Kat - do you actually use that pull dump, or mainly use it as an OPV?

You can shorten the string, which will help - or if you want to use it only as an OPV, you can remove the string and pull handle completely.

[Diver Kat]

Originally Posted by ScottZeagle

Kat - do you actually use that pull dump, or mainly use it as an OPV?

You can shorten the string, which will help - or if you want to use it only as an OPV, you can remove the string and pull handle completely.

I use it occasionally as a pull dump - just depending on how I'm situated in the water - but usually have a hard time finding the string, as it's wrapped around the bungee ... Rather than going shorter, I was wonder if making it longer would help? The current string end hits the bungee at just the right spot to wrap, so i thought longer might hang through. Not really a big deal - I had just thought about the problem every now & then, and since you mentioned it, thought it was a good time to ask!

[ScottZeagle]

Well...you can try making it longer...it can't hurt.

I was thinking that if you shortened it so that it was down next to the OPV cap, it would be easy to locate and not long enough to get caught up...

Just a thought.

[Diver Kat]

Originally Posted by ScottZeagle

Well...you can try making it longer...it can't hurt.

I was thinking that if you shortened it so that it was down next to the OPV cap, it would be easy to locate and not long enough to get caught up...

Just a thought.

Thanks ... might check out shorter and see if it makes it easier to reach ... if I don't like that, I'll try longer. And if I don't like that, I'll stop messing with it, because it's just a little nagging thing!