Water inside a BCD

[Dr. Jay]

using the purge valve (or rear dump...hehe) to empty out the excess water. Sometimes, to get that pesky remaining water out, I'll lay on the inflator and let it spit out the remaining water.

Or, if your badder supports it (I know the Halcyon ones do) you can just unscrew the valve and open it up. I do this to let it dry, but fill it with whatever air it will hold.

 

[Warren_L]

That's a great idea Dr. Jay. The pull dump valves on my Cressi open right up, so I can drain the remaining water fairly easily. I did notice some lubricating grease of some kind around the rubber seal on the valve, though i'm not sure exactly what it is. Should I be re-applying some sort of lubricant each time to keep the seal from drying out?

 

[washow88]

Normally, when I get home after a dive, fresh or salt, I soak my gear in water and fill my BC with fresh water two times to make sure it is clean inside.
SueMermaid is right on the money, but I may add that it is important to do it where there are a zebra mussels.

 

[devilfish]

Charlie99 once bubbled...
Unlike the others that harass you for not knowing about rinsing out your BC, I'll just congratulate you for getting rid of your excess lead, so that you needed to completely empty your BC.



Charlie

What lead? The question was water inside the bc.

 

[dc4bs]

The idea is that if you have too much lead strapped on, you never have to completely empty the BC. Thus, the fact that he got water in it means that he isn't wearing too much lead...

Logical conclusion.

 

[jbd]

from the BC while underwater, water will go into the BC bladder.

Typically the less weight you use the less air you will vent therefore the less water in the BC.

 

[Warren_L]

Does water leak in as much with the pull dumps if I use them versus the inflator hose?

 

[jbd]

any difference in the amount regardells of which valve is used.

 

[Diversauras]

wlo93 once bubbled...
Does water leak in as much with the pull dumps if I use them versus the inflator hose?

Water "leaks" in when you let out more air than is in the BC. Your most efficient dumping is from which ever valve is the highest.

 

[tinman]

SueMermaid once bubbled...
I do this after every dive day in salt water. Not a bad idea to do it where there are zebra mussels, too.

...This is actually a REQUIREMENT for divers visiting certain areas that have zebra mussels or you may inadvertently introduce a species or microbe into another body of water when you return home (I believe it is noted in the handouts you receive when buying your dive permit at Tobermory - Canada's Underwater Marine Park - that you are required to rinse your gear including BCD inside/outside with water and a disinfectant or bleach).

BTW, is there other parts of the world where this is done for some other reason besides zebra mussels???

wlo93: when you finish a dive, just flip your BCD onto your shoulder and fully inflate it a couple of times, dipping the inflator hose toward the ground and moving the bladder around on your shoulder to ensure gravity has moved all the water into the inflator hose. If fresh water is handy, rinse it out right away and leave it partially inflated to prevent the bladder walls from drying together and to encourage drying. If this is the only thing you missed in training, you're doing better than 99% of the new OW students out there.