Question about BCD delflation.

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337

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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Hi there!

I just bought my first ever BCD off of Ebay, and have a question.

How long should a BCD hold air once inflated? Is it common to lose a little air in a couple hours?

Just curious to see if it's got a hole or if it's normal.

Thanks
 
eyebrow
337:
Hi there!

I just bought my first ever BCD off of Ebay, and have a question.

How long should a BCD hold air once inflated? Is it common to lose a little air in a couple hours?

Just curious to see if it's got a hole or if it's normal.

Thanks
It should not lose air. It might change density due to temperature and change size.

You could have a small puncture in the bladder. You might have a leak in the inflater or the dump or a connection.

Whatever, if it took hours to notice a difference, I, personally wouldn't worry about it.

EDIT: If you bought it on Ebay, and you don't maintain your own BCs, get it checked at your LDS before you use it.

They'll enjoy looking over an EBay BC.:wink:
 
Yeah I'd go jump in a pool with it and see if you get a ton of bubbles. If not, I bet you're cool.

If there is a bit of a leak, you can try some aquaseal on it.
 
A tiny slow leak is not much in the scheme of things.

You do want to understand the source. It could mean something is structurally failing or that the inflator valve is in need of service. Sink it in the tub and study it.

Pete
 
337:
Hi there!

I just bought my first ever BCD off of Ebay, and have a question.

How long should a BCD hold air once inflated? Is it common to lose a little air in a couple hours?

Just curious to see if it's got a hole or if it's normal.

Thanks
Probably just a dump valve that didn't quite seal. I recommend that you unscrew each of the dump valves, including the shoulder pull dump, and inspect them. Wash off any gunk and clean things up. At the same time take a look at the bladder and see if the interior is nasty enough that you want to clean it.

Then do a bubble check on the whole thing. If it's the low pressure inflator you can get that serviced, or just buy and install a new one.
 
Thanks all!

I'll play around with it to see how it works, and to see if it will seal better. Either way it's off to my LDS for servicing after christmas.
 
fer god's sake, tell them your uncle died & left it to ya! don't bring up ebay or the price for servicing might really take an upward jump! :O
 

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