BC inflator flange repair

[Zef]

I am in need of advice on repairing my BC.

I have a Triple L Instructor model BC that is in great condition except that the flange that power inflator screws onto has become separated from the cordura BC/bladder.

Basically the material of the BC was glued/bonded to the plastic lip/ring of the flange that has the male threaded portion protruding through from the inside of the BC/bladder. I noticed a leak while checking my equipment in the pool last week and upon troubleshooting/inspecting I found the glue connecting the material to the flange had failed.

I am not sure what the best product would be to reglue the flange into place....aquaseal, seamgrip, another product?

Are there any other repair suggestions?

While this may put me in the market for a new BC or BP/wing, I would like to repair my current BC to have as a serviceable backup piece of kit if possible.

Any and all advice welcome.

Thanks,
-Z

 

[Couv]

Pictures would be a big plus to your description. However, if I understand the issue correctly you want to reattach the elbow to the BC. Does this BC have a bladder or is it bladderless? Usually, the best and easiest repair is to forgo any adhesive and install an elbow assembly that uses a rubber seal in the bladder and simply cinches the cover material between the fitting and bladder.

Divegear Express BCD Parts and Components | Dive Gear Express® has the components you will most likely need which probably are:
Bladder flange assembly
Bladder flange gasket
Elbow with nut
and I would suggest getting the Bladder flange tool (it's only a few bucks)

Clean all the old adhesive from the fabric and bladder sealing surfaces and install the above.

Good luck and please post your finding (with pictures if possible.)

 

[Andrew Donn]

Best advice is not to try to reglue the flange back into the BC. Any repair that you make is going to be marginal at best and could very likely result in loss of buoyancy on a dive. The bonded in inflator elbows were a weak design even when new and could pull out if tugged on. Your best bet for repair is a three-piece screw together elbow fitting. I bought one from Zeagle years back but you can probably get one from other companies. The fitting consists of a threaded fitting that goes inside the bladder. It is a little bit of a challenge but you can squeeze it into the hole that the elbow comes out of. The next part is a sealing gasket that sandwiches the bladder. The last part is the exterior fitting that screws onto the internal fitting compressing the seal and sandwiching everything together. This makes a much more secure connection.

I did this on an older BC years ago and it is still working fine.

 

[Andrew Donn]

Digging around it looks like Northeast Scuba Supply sells the parts.

Inside Bladder Nut
Outside Bladder Nut
BC/Wing Gasket
Plain Elbow Kit

 

[Couv]

Digging around it looks like Northeast Scuba Supply sells the parts.

Inside Bladder Nut
Outside Bladder Nut
BC/Wing Gasket
Plain Elbow Kit

Good list above. If you are going to order the parts separately rather than as an assembly. I think you will also need the "sandwich" gasket:
Double BC Gasket - Wing Retainer

 

[KeithG]

Not all power inflators use the same thread. My sherwood inflator would not screw onto my cressi BCD. The elbow connector is the same size but the thread pitch is just very slightly different. So you could get the connector started but the threads would bind within a very few twists well before the flange was tightened.

So unless you are really sure, you should buy the elbow with the other parts.

 

[Zef]

Pictures would be a big plus to your description.

Here are some pictures:



-Z

 

[Zef]

I had an email exchange with the folks at dive gear express and they stated their flange replacement kit is for bladders with an opening of 1" - 1.25".

The opening in the shoulder of my BC is roughly 2" diameter.

The parts suggested above from Northeast Scuba Supply do not look much different than the parts on the DGX site. Any suggestions/ideas as to whether either website's parts would fit? I am stationed in Belgium so shipping anything back that does not work out would be an inconvenience...though the cost for all the parts is not that much, I still would rather make an educated purchase first if possible and save the cross my fingers and hope for the best method for last.

Thanks,
Z

 

[Zef]

Just spoke with Northeast Scuba as well and they are stating the same thing as DGX about their flange parts....the 2" hole in the BC shoulder will be too big.

Looks like I need to bond my flange back in place....any ideas on what glue/cement I should use?

-Z

 

[Couv]

The opening in the shoulder of my BC is roughly 2" diameter.

Well, it looks like back to the drawing board. What make and model of BC is it?

In the meantime, you may find some useful information in this attaching inflator flange to bladder thread and the links within it.