Purchased my first BC

I just purchased my first BC, a sherwood tortuga. The bc that I always rented was the sherwood avid I didnt mind it but the idea of a bc that was more rear inflated seemed like it might be a bit more comfortable.
Heres my question, in the next few weeks Im going to go diving in cayo coco and Im bringing the bc, should I give the bc a "test drive" in shallow water before going on the dive? I was just worried about jumping off the boat and finding the rear inflation to be a complete surprise. I have read thru the forums and heard the different arguments. Is going for the "test drive" necessary or am I being too cautious?

In my opinion, it's always good to test out a new piece of gear before diving it. If a pool is handy, so much the better.

It's better to find out now if there is a pin hole or something like that than it would be when you're on the dive boat during your vacation.

Also, different B/C's inflator valves can have very, very different inflating and deflating characteristics.

the K

At the very least hook it to the inflater hose that you "will actually be using" and inflate it all of the way.

Then inflate it some more so the over pressure dump valves open and let the excess air out. (If the BC "pops like a balloon" before the dump valves open then your BC was bad or "had" bad dump valves!!!) :shocked2:

Assuming that it didn't pop like balloon - stop inflating it and listen for air escaping around fittings etc....

Then let it sit for awhile. Then let it sit some more.... It should be holding air.

Now manually let some some air out of the BC to test the deflation valve.
Now manually add air back into the BC to test the oral inflater.

Now dump a little air from each dump valve one at a time to test them.

Now listen for air escaping.

If it passes the above tests then I would take it to the pool or ocean with reasonable assurance that it will work as advertised.

- test it on air-tightness

- test if your weights remain in the good position if you shake it a bit

- and test if all the airdumps are working. Especially the one on your inflator-hose. I know somebody that went diving with a new jacket, and the string the inflatorhose was too long => her dumpvalve did not react on ...
=> Luckily she had 3 dumpvalves, so she could easily use the dumpvalve on her other shoulder, but it scared her like hell.

- test your inflator, to see if he works flawless

One other test I would recommend. With it hooked to the tank/regulator, leave it at a given level of inflation and check to see if it self-inflates at all. My first BC had a slow bleed through the inflator valve, so it would continually fill up at a gradual rate. While this isn't serious as-is, it's incredibly annoying, and a possible indication of further valve failure in the near future.

While I'm still pretty much a n00b, my own opinion is that it's not a bad idea to test out all gear in a local pool before going on a long trip. It's much better to find out a week or so ahead of the dive that you need something repaired or tuned-up, than to find out when you're out on the dive boat (or worse, in the water).

We're going to Fiji next month, and the plan is to have the regs and my wife's BC checked out by our LDS this month, and to do a check-out dive at the LDS pool before we go. My BC is new, so it'll get a pool check as well. We want to do this with enough time for a repair job if needed before we leave. There are no absolute, sure-fire methods to guarantee that all your gear is going to work flawlessly on any given trip. Even gear that has been checked by the shop tech and then checked again by the user prior to the trip may develop a problem on the journey, but my thoughts are, if we're going to spend the kind of money a trip like this costs, it's just good common sense to spend a bit more and have everything checked over to be sure it's working before we leave.

thanks alot eveyone, I think my LDS is renting the pool in the next week or so Ill talk to them and try it out there.

Its the BCD that I have and I LOVE mine... dont regret it one bit...

I utilize every chance I have before I start diving a new piece of equipment. Normally I want to try out each piece of new gear on a different confined dive. It's covenient to shake out the equipment and get a chance to focus on a specific aspect.

I was in the pool today, first time in a 3/2 mm full wetsuit since last March. I have changed BC's and regs since that dive so it was nice to get a chance to dive with the gear I will use next week, full tropic suit and aluminum tanks. Also gives me the opprtunity to try and get my weight very close prior to my vacation.

I nust have 10 pool dives in 2009, observing OW class and adding new gear, regs, BP/W, various steel tanks and two drysuits. I have also had the time to practice OOA drills, buddy breathing off one reg and all the other OW skills that tend to be forgotten.

The LDS with which I am associated always gives free pool time to anyone purchasing equipment (or even getting it serviced). Whether it is free or not, I strongly suggest you do it.

As for how much of a shock its buoyancy characteristics will be, I don't think it will be that much. I predict you will like the difference.

Take the time to play around with where you put your weights. For me personally, when I am wearing a back inflate BCD with an AL 80 tank, I like to divide my weights evenly among the different pockets. This gives me almost perfect trim. You and I are different, of course, so you will want to see what works best for you.

The Tortuga is actually a hybrid bc with a little side inflation to minimize the face-down tendancy of the rear inflation. You should try it with the gear, tanks, and weights that you plan to use. You might find that you will need to add some trim weight to the rear. You make a wise choice to test dive your new gear at the local pool. You will like the unobstructed open front of Tortuga BCD if you have been wearing jacket style bcds.