Maintaining Your BC
Take Care of your BC, and it will take care of you. Here's how
By: ScubaGearReports.com
Take Care of your BC, and it will take care of you. Here's how
By: ScubaGearReports.com
EVEN BACK IN the old days when divers used simple horse collar BCs consisting of only a bladder, an oral inflator and a crotch strap, it was important to subject them to regular maintenance to ensure they worked right when needed. Now consider the complex BC systems we have today. Modern BCs are like a Swiss Army knife of features. They not only hold the tank securely, deliver positive buoyancy at the surface and neutral buoyancy at depth, they also organize and route breathing and console hoses, many support alternate air sources, and virtually all of them these days provide a platform for your ballast system. Yeah, today’s BCs are pretty complex, and the procedure to clean and maintain them has also become a bit more involved.
But don’t let that discourage you. On the contrary, by breaking the maintenance procedure into steps, you might find that servicing your BC is a relaxing way to spend a post-dive afternoon in the backyard.
Eight Easy Pieces
| Step 1.First break out the garden hose and give your BC a good overall rinse. This will wash off any sand, salt and dirt that hitched a ride from the beach or boat to your backyard. |  |
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Step 2. Fill up a tub with fresh water and maybe add a mild cleaner (McNett’s BC Life is made for this). Toss in your BC, slosh it around a little and allow it to enjoy a short soak. Then pull it out of the tub and give it another good rinse. That pretty much takes care of the outside of the BC. Now you have to deal with the inside. Specifically, the interior of the air cell, that dark, damp place where salt crystals gather and bacteria grows. |
| Step 3. Direct a light stream of hose water into the power inflator at the end of the corrugated hose while depressing the deflate button. This will allow water to fill the air cell while at the same time flushing out the power inflator mechanism. Put enough water in to allow you to slosh it around inside by shaking and rotating the BC a few times. |  |
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Step 4. Now drain the water via one of the remote exhaust valves (right shoulder or lower rear). This will keep the now-dirty water from flowing back through the power inflator, and will also flush the innards of the exhaust valves which can get sticky if not cleaned regularly. It may take a few rounds of filling, flushing and draining to clean all the nastiness out of the air cell; your taste buds will tell you when you’ve succeeded. |
| Step 5. Now turn your attention to the BC’s fittings and hardware. Inspect the corrugated hose for cracks, inspect the zip tie that holds the power inflator in place for signs of weakness. Make sure all exhaust valves, including the pull dump’s left-shoulder valve, are screwed down snug. (These simple valves can also be unscrewed periodically to clean any accumulated sand and salt residue). When this has been completed, double-check your work by inflating the air cell. Look and listen for leaks, then pull the exhaust valve pull cords to make sure they are operational. If all looks okay, fill the BC with air again to smooth out wrinkles and folds and let it hang-dry someplace out of direct sunlight. |  |
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Step 6. Many divers use inflator/regs on their BCs. These popular units do double-duty as a power inflator for putting air in the BC, and as an alternate air source that takes the place of an octo reg. While there are some exceptions, many inflator/regs are permanently attached to the BC’s corrugated hose. Because of this, it’s easy to forget that this is an air delivery system as well as a BC fitting, and therefore you should maintain it just like you would your primary regulator. This includes giving it a good rinse and soak after each dive (see 10 Tips for Maintaining Your Reg). At the same time, the quick-disconnect low-pressure hose should be cleaned after each dive to make sure it does, in fact, quickly disconnect when needed. |
Step 7. An inflator/reg should also be serviced on a regular basis, usually at the same interval as your primary regulator. The importance of such a service interval for the regulator part of the assembly is obvious; however, it’s not so obvious for the power inflator part, but it's every bit as important.
If not periodically serviced, the internal valve that controls airflow into the BC can get corroded. This can cause the valve to get sticky. A sticky valve is liable to stick in the open position, which will allow uncontrolled airflow to enter the BC, which could create a rapid ascent, which could necessitate a trip to the hyperbaric chamber. Since this corrosion is not something you can visually inspect, it is best to have it checked out by a technician when the regulator is being serviced.
| Step 8. The integrated weight system on a BC deals with ballast weight, which isn’t sexy and isn’t complex, so it’s easy to overlook when doing your maintenance. But this important system needs to be cleaned and inspected every bit as much as your BC’s other components. The integrated pockets should be removed and cleaned after each dive to make sure the quick-release buckles are not clogged with sand or sediment. Some older versions that use Velcro closures may show signs of wear or start losing their holding power. Check that weight pouches not only release properly, but also stay put without slipping out. A dropped pouch or pocket can also cause a sudden increase in buoyancy, leading to a rapid ascent, and there we are again, back at the hyperbaric chamber. |
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With your BC cleaned inside and out, with valves flushed and tightened, features functioning, and inflator/regs and weight systems in working order, you can be confident that when Saturday morning rolls around and you load your gear into your dive bag, your BC will be ready and able to serve you well in the water.
For more gear tips and suggestions, check out our More Gear Stuff on www.ScubaGearReports.com
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