Mares BC dump valve "crumbled" while diving...

[Gamecock]

So, diving this weekend in shallow water and went to pull my right shoulder dump valve.... it just crumbled! All the base "male" plastic ring that was sealed / glued inside the fabric just crumbled, the male piece being what you screw the diaphragm part into was completely destroyed! I was able to get to the surface and shed my gear to stay on top, then swam to shore.

Is this fixable? Can it be glued back onto the fabric? It did not look crushed but appears that it just deteriorated somehow.

And, yes, I'm looking for a new BC... not sure about Mares now...

 

[Fibonacci]

Scuba-Fix make a repair kit to suit the welded on BC flanges... at SG$108 (US$80) it ain't cheap though
Scuba-Fix – scuba solutions made easy

 

[CandiveOz]

Interestingly that is exactly what happened to my Vector 1000 just a few weeks ago although it was the left hand inflator hose/dump valve and not the right shoulder dump valve. It just crumbled. Admittedly, with my diving, I tend to use the inflator dump valve exclusively over the other two - it was just easier to locate. During its life, I never took the BCD in for annual maintenance but I was very religious in washing it in fresh water inside and out after every dive and made sure the inflator valve was always functional.

Anyway, I took it into my LDS since I thought it was a simple fix but they told me that they could not repair it and that I should throw it out and buy a new BCD.This is probably the best advice since the BCD is over 20 years old! But other than that male plastic ring, everything else works fine and the bladder does not show any sign of fatigue or degradation. I took apart the other two dump valves on the unit and inspected the male rings and they seem solid so in the end I decided to order the replacement from Scuba-Fix. I'll post back here if the repair is successful. If it works great! and if it doesn't I'll just buy a new a new BCD. After over 20 years of flawless service, I really can't complain.

 

[Haoleguy007]

Did it work? I have the same issue