Oral Inflator Valve

[Ed Hatfield]

During a dive last November I had difficulty maintaining bouyancy and discovered that my BCD was leaking from the oral inflator. I took it to my local shop for repair and ended up with a valve from a snorkelling vest fitted into the end of the inflator hose. The Airtrim BC is a Morphos Metal - Special Edition. The service tech explained that the valve had become pitted and corroded with salt water and was poorly designed because it used metal parts. The replacement is plastic (maybe nylon) but it looks terrible and stickes a couple of inches up from the vest and the cap no longer fits. If I accidently press the top of the valve it will vent the BC. The valve has a twist lock setting but I don't want my oral inflator locked should I need it in an emergency. Question - Has my service technician repaired this problem in an acceptable manner? Was his description of the poor design of the valve correct? If it was a poor design has the problem been corrected and a replacement part issued to dealers? Looking forward to a response from Mares on this so I can get my BCD 'Looking good the way it should'!!!

 

[Phil Mintz]

Hi Ed,

First I am sorry you had a problem with the oral inflator. The quick answer is that it is not acceptable to replace the part with a part that is not designed to fit where the original part was or work in the proper manner.

We have had no design issue with the inflator. Was the shop a MARES Authorized Dealer? If so they should have simply ordered the replacement part from us. Please take your BC to an Authorized dealer and they can order the part. If you cannot find a dealer or they have a problem just drop me a P.M.

Regards

Phil

 

[Ed Hatfield]

The shop is authorized and they strongly promote the Mares equipment. In fact I believe they have the largest stock of Mares products within 150 miles. I have met the local Mares rep at an 'open house' the DS ran last spring and I recall him saying this DS was his 'tops in sales'. Having said that I know he contacted Mares when I brought in my BCD and he was noit satisfied with the response. I will have to ask him why he wasn't satisfied because our conversation didn't go in that direction. I have Mares regs, fins, mask, BC, Mares/Mobbys PolarFit drysuit. This is the only problem I have. It is minor in the grand scheme of things but I respect my DS and I know he is well respected in the industry so I have to trust him when he says the part needs to be corrected. If it is in fact made of parts that rust easily in salt water then it has no place on a BCD. If he is incorrect then I need him to understand this and order the replacement valve.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

I do love my Mares gear and every time I go south I get a lot of questions from resort divemasters who don't see the AirTrim that often. Everyone likes the look and ease of operation when I show them how it works. But the simple question is, what is the oral inflator valve made of? Can it be improved? If it is a 50 cent part then what is the problem with correcting it? If it doesn't need correcting then I need to know this as well.

 

[CODMAN]

ED, I have a Morphos Pro (similar to yours) with the airtirm and the one way valve on the inflator. I don't pay the valve particular attention or maintenance (orther than an occasional rince) and it's held up fine so far with around 100 dives over a bit less than 2 years use. Also, I've never read/ heard of a problem like this on these BCDs. So if it's a bad design... well my Bad design is working great!

Cheers!

I do love my Mares gear and every time I go south I get a lot of questions from resort divemasters who don't see the AirTrim that often. Everyone likes the look and ease of operation when I show them how it works. But the simple question is, what is the oral inflator valve made of? Can it be improved? If it is a 50 cent part then what is the problem with correcting it? If it doesn't need correcting then I need to know this as well.

 

[Phil Mintz]

Ed,

I did not mean to question your LDS, just want to make sure it was someone who is a dealer of ours. I have never seen a request for this part, typically if we have a problem with a part I would here would know.

I don't think the design needs to be replaced. We should get yours replaced, I will need to check if we have this, if so then we can ship it the same day to your LDS. If it is not in stock as this is not a typical replacement part then we can get one from the factory which takes about two weeks.

Have your LDS give me or our sales rep a call.

Phil

 

[Ed Hatfield]

Thank you for your quick response. I will print off this thread and go see my LDS early next week after the holiday weekend. I'll send you an update at that time.

 

[Ed Hatfield]

I spoke to Doug last night, my LDS owner, and it is my turn to eat some crow. He said that the valve failed because it wasn't properly cleaned on a regular basis after repeated salt water dives. I clean the bladder of the BC with a mild soapy solution after each trip but I didn't ever actually put the solution through the oral inflator hose to clean the valve. I never even thought of this. I am going to keep the current valve on there because he replaced it at no charge. He would have had to bill me if he ordered it from Mares. Thank you for your assistance with my concerns.

 

[Phil Mintz]

Ed,

Thanks for following this up, in the end this is a minor isssue and I am glad it was resolved.

Best regards,

Phil