Best way to fix a inflator hose button?

[Divor]

Hi,

I have a minor leak in the button of my inflator hose. Nothing serious and it doesn't leak at depth, but I was wondering what the best way to fix it was. Is it enough to just put some glue on the outside of the button, or should I disassemble the inflator hose and apply it from the inside?

What glue/silicon should I use?

Thanks very much in advance for your kind advice.

[350xfire]

Hi,

I have a minor leak in the button of my inflator hose. Nothing serious and it doesn't leak at depth, but I was wondering what the best way to fix it was. Is it enough to just put some glue on the outside of the button, or should I disassemble the inflator hose and apply it from the inside?

What glue/silicon should I use?

Thanks very much in advance for your kind advice.

No glue or silicone... There is probably an O-ring leaking in there. I would just go spend $15-20 and replace the inflator. Unless you want to rebuild it, which I see no point in wasting time doing.

[driftwood]

I just finished the class to be a certified Oceanic repair tech. Their policy is to pitch it and replace the entire unit. They will send a new unit at no cost for BC's covered by their warranty.

Moral of the story is that your piece of gear is considered to be disposable and like the previous poster stated, not worth the time fixing.

[TSandM]

As previously stated, the problem is with the o-rings beneath the button, not the button itself.

It is possible to take some inflators apart and service them, and replace the o-rings. Whether you can do that with yours or not, I don't know. But the inflator modules I use run about $35 or so, and after you have serviced the module a couple of times, the cheap brass they use to make them ends up either with so much corrosion you can't get the o-rings to seat, or scratched from your efforts to replace the rings. So you end up replacing the unit eventually anyway.

[Divor]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I can actually see a little hole in the button from where the bubbles are leaking. Something must have punctured it, I think.

[Peter_C]

Hi, thanks for your replies. I can actually see a little hole in the button from where the bubbles are leaking. Something must have punctured it, I think.

Others have already said it is the o-ring and most likely they are correct. The button is an actuator of a stainless shaft below, that seals with o-rings, nothing more.

This will give you an idea of what it should look like.
Halcyon - precision inflator real problem or...? - DIR Explorers

or should I disassemble the inflator hose and apply it from the inside?

Now I am a little confused, what does the hose have to do with anything? Maybe you should just take it to your local shop and let them replace or repair it.

[herman]

Glue is not the answer, it needs an o-ring or 2. I for one don't agree with the throw it away idea. Why dispose of a prefectly good item if it can be repaired with a $0.10 oring and a few minutes work. If there is internal damage, then replace it but at least you know it's bad. From a repair shops point of view, yea, charge the customer and make some profit rather than actually fix something. Not sure where you get $15 inflators, most of the ones I have seen are in the $35 and above range. A third option, replace it and then rebuild the original one. You now have a spare and the knowledge to rebuild it yourself.

[Ghanguss]

Im a maintenance fitter / electrician so Id have a go to fix just about anything.

Id disassemble it before trying to glue anything. If its a cracked button give it a physical workout to make sure it wont fall apart, then use some araldite and plug from the inside.

For leaky seals, I used to put a bit of Grease (vaseline- bad idea) on mine when it stuck or leaked. Sometimes the metal sealing surface is pitted and the O ring cant seal. Then its throw away, but even then a bit of grease can sometimes seal it up for a while.

If changing o rings remove the old ones with a toothpick so you dont damage anything.

[lucca brassi]

Halcyon - precision inflator real problem or...? - DIR Explorers

I have this particulary inflator and I have problem with instant inflation between diving.
I have head quick disconect it from inflator hose and slowly start to swim out by inflating my wing by mouth ( I made some 1,5-1,7 jump from my depth) . No such problem.

At home I have dismantled it , at local O ring deler ordered proper O-rings , clean whole SS parts and put inflator together and lubricate whole parts fine with silicone grease.

I still have this inflator because it is very simple to repair and clean it and it is very precise at inflation. I love big buttons.

[HenrikBP]

You could throw the old inflator away and get a new one, or service the one you have and learn something useful in the process The leak, as others have mentioned before, is from a leaking o-ring - nothing to do with the button itself.

You can download the Halcyon Precision Inflator manual. It is a good reference, but the Halcyon big hex uses a larger o-ring than standard inflators. The o-ring sizes are listed in the manual:

Halcyon Product Manuals | Halcyon Dive Systems

and take a look at Tobin's inflator service video - it too includes o-ring sizes:

https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?page=video

Tobin's inflator service tool makes it very easy to disassemble, and should probably live in your save-a-dive kit anyway

https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=1302

Clean the parts in a mild soap - dishwashing liquid or Simple Green. If the metal parts look green and grungy, give them a quick bath (minutes, not hours) in a 50/50 water/vinegar solution to get the green stuff off. An old toothbrush is helpful in cleaning.

Use toothpicks or brass o-ring picks to avoid scratching anything and just replace the o-rings. Lube everything well and re-assemble with a drop of blue Loctite on the buttons.

Sounds more complicated than it is. After the first time we're talking 5-10 minutes including the cleaning.

Henrik