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I have a brand new Oceanic Excursion BC w/ AirXS. I took it for its first dive today (everything worked fine, AFAIK), then brought it home and soaked it with my other gear in the bathtube for a bit. When I took it out to dry, I noticed some water inside of the wing. I pulled the purge valve to let out the water...
How could water have gotten in there? And what should I do to dry it out in there now?
I have a brand new Oceanic Excursion BC w/ AirXS. I took it for its first dive today (everything worked fine, AFAIK), then brought it home and soaked it with my other gear in the bathtube for a bit. When I took it out to dry, I noticed some water inside of the wing. I pulled the purge valve to let out the water...
How could water have gotten in there? And what should I do to dry it out in there now?
Don't fret. That always happens to some extent, it's normal.
Diver's that don't make frequent, massive adjustments to their buoyancy will find less water in their BC post dive, but there will always be some.
Tobin is right of course; after diving, I usually have about 25 milliliters of water in my wing. As we say in Chemistry, the solution to pollution is dilution.
When I rinse my gear, I throw everything into my cleaning tub filled with fresh water for soaking. I flow water from a hose into the oral inflator while depressing the oral inflation button, I add about 300-500 milliliters, and then blow the wing up all the way. I then swish the water around to get all of the salt, well as much of the salt out. I invert my wing, and depress the inflator button, allowing the water to be evacuated. I blow up the wing again and remove the remaining water. I repeat this for a total of three times, and also rinse the dump valve. As a final test, I try to taste the water from the inside to see if it's salty, if not, I blow it up (just to keep the sides apart) and let it air hang on my drying rack. You can do this with your BC as well but it is a bit more awkward handling.
I have had my DSS BP/W for almost a year, and over 75 dives in fresh and salt water. It works, feels, and looks as good as new because of my cleaning regimen.
If you pull your dump valve with little air pressure remaining in your bc as you decend, the remaining air compresses and allows water to enter your bc through the dumpvalve.
It is not a big deal. Post dive, inflate your bc and hold the dump valve at the lowest point to drain as much water out as you can. If diving in salt water, just fill the bc through the inflator hose with freshwater to rinse out the saltwater. Once the majority of the water is out, reinflate your bc to dry.
Tobin is right of course; after diving, I usually have about 25 milliliters of water in my wing. As we say in Chemistry, the solution to pollution is dilution.
When I rinse my gear, I throw everything into my cleaning tub filled with fresh water for soaking. I flow water from a hose into the oral inflator while depressing the oral inflation button, I add about 300-500 milliliters, and then blow the wing up all the way. I then swish the water around to get all of the salt, well as much of the salt out. I invert my wing, and depress the inflator button, allowing the water to be evacuated. I blow up the wing again and remove the remaining water. I repeat this for a total of three times, and also rinse the dump valve. As a final test, I try to taste the water from the inside to see if it's salty, if not, I blow it up (just to keep the sides apart) and let it air hang on my drying rack. You can do this with your BC as well but it is a bit more awkward handling.
I have had my DSS BP/W for almost a year, and over 75 dives in fresh and salt water. It works, feels, and looks as good as new because of my cleaning regimen.
Don't worry, ALWAYS after dive 24 you become a better diver and the water problem stops----always, it's part of becoming an experienced diver...........................You were not told of this happening in your OW classes???......I'd call the instructor up & ask for a partial reimbursement--you did not get all the info you were supposed to have received......
You didn't notice the slide rule and dive tables with bottom timer? Precision, accuracy, and attention to detail are paramount! And really, I got my eyeballing from cooking and Chemistry (not together of course). And finally, "about" means I could be off..
I'm still pretty new to diving. I always end the dive with a little bit of water in the wing. My girlfriend, however, always ends with about a quart of water in her wing. After realizing this, I watched her and realized that, when descending, she holds the purge button on her inflator long after the air has left it. When the air is gone, there is no positive pressure keeping water out. As soon as the air is gone, the pressure outiside the wing is greater than the pressure inside, allowing the water in. I addressed this issue with her(using an approach I have developed for critiquing a feisty girlfriend and not sustaining injuries ) On our next dive, I just signaled when to stop holding the button. She still ends the dives with some water in the wing, which I believe is normal, but the problem has been fixed for the most part.
PS: Her reasoning for holding the button,"I just wanna make sure all the air is out." Gotta love scientists....
Last edited by pollywogg; May 18th, 2009 at 11:51 AM.
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Originally Posted by AceszHigh
) On our next dive, I just signaled when to stop holding the button. She still ends the dives with some water in the wing, which I believe is normal, but the problem has been fixed for the most part.
Gotta love scientists....
