How to dry and store a BP/W setup

[Kamaros]

New diver here who's also new to BP/W setups. I was wondering, how do people dry and store their BP/Ws? Given that it's common to have everything attached to a big steel plate (possibly with weighted STA), do you hang it up on a standard BC hanger, or do something else like lie it down in a tub? Do you leave the wing on, or disconnect it from the backplate?

 

[Pao]

How long are you storing it?

 

[Marie13]

After every diving day, I detach the wing, BP, and STA. I inflate it orally and dump any water inside wing using butt dump. I leave it partially inflated and put it on the floor in my bathroom on a towel to dry out (very small space).

I only dive freshwater so I don’t usually rinse the outside unless something gets on it (gravel dust from the quarry, etc.). I’ll rinse the inside some occasionally. Over the winter when it sees once a month pool use, I’ll rinse it thoroughly inside and out.

 

[jgttrey]

Nothing special. Dump any accumulated water whenever I notice it. Dunk in rinse tank at end of day. At end of trip take the wing off and flush with fresh water, dump, and leave partially inflated to dry. Rinse BP and harness and hang it all up on a BC hanger.

 

[lexvil]

I just host it off when I get home, from time to time I’ll add fresh water through the inflator to rinse the salt out, I inflate it and set it my shop on the floor, leaning up against a box of other gear. Air circulation is all you need to dry it and even when it raining mine dries in a day. Storage is not an issue for me because I have my shop with pretty much only dive gear in it. Air circulation, no direct sunlight and no ozone generation/ solvent fumes etc are all that needed.

 

[rhwestfall]

I'm a freshwater diver - Inflate, and hang off a hanger upside down - those BC hangers with the hooked ends are really nice, otherwise it is hung from the crotch strap d-ring. This moves any internal water to the inflator.

Now, a week in salt, just rinse and dry - when I get home, I flush & soak (salt-x), and then my normal routine

YMMV

 

[kablooey]

... inflate it orally and dump any water inside wing using butt dump.

This is especially important if you dive saltwater. Using the inflator to dump the rinse water will reintroduce salt residue into the inflator. Good advice from Marie13 to use the butt dump to drain the wing (or BCD)..

From what I've seen, inflator failure is the number-one cause for aborting dives.

Also, use one of these BC Washout Hose by XS Scuba.
It cleans out the inflator, and fills the wing with fresh water for rinsing. You don't need a lot of water inside, maybe about a pint or two max.
Orally inflate the wing and shake the water around. After dumping the water through the butt dump, hang the wing right side up with the butt dump valve removed to help drain and dry.
(Respect to rhweastfall, but if you dive in saltwater, I believe hanging it upside down may drain salt residue back into the inflator, IMHO).

Buy the tools and learn how to service your inflator. It's easy and will save a lot of headaches if you keep it clean, especially if you dive saltwater.
I do the service about twice a year, or after about forty dives, or whenever I feel the inflator getting sticky.

Finally, the day before you dive again, hook up your cylinder, regs, and inflator hose and test your inflator and wing. Both inflating and deflating.
Also confirm the wing is holding air and not leaking.
Check the zip-ties, or plastic rings, that hold the corrugated hose to the wing and inflator.
If you find something wrong, you have a day to sort it out.
It's usually too late if you find a problem just before the dive.

If you do all that, you'll never miss a dive because your inflator sticks.

And like Marie13, I also completely disassemble wing, plate, and STA to wash, dry, and store.

K

 

[dberry]

One caveat: when removing the butt-dump or inflator hose from the wing, be very careful not to misplace the big black O-ring. (It's not actually an O-ring, since the profile is square - think gasket). I reassembled my wing without that O-ring and took a while to figure out why the wing was leaking so bad. Tobin (DSS) said losing that O-ring was not uncommon; He kindly sent me a replacement by USPS, even though I didn't have one of his wings.

 

[Kamaros]

Thanks for the tips, definitely going to be picking up one of those BC Washout Hose by XS Scuba the next time I visit my LDS.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I hose mine off a little then toss it in a plastic bin with the rest of my gear. I rinse the inside of the BC once every five or ten years.