BCD failure & blowout

[lefrogster]

Hey everyone, just like to check your opinion on BCD bladder failures. I've heard that if they fail, they will fail at the weak points: base of the inflator hose or the dump valve.

I've heard stories that they can 'blowout' causing catastrophic failure and immediate loss of buoyancy.

However, my BCD is hardly ever that full (even with twins and 2 deco tanks) to cause such a blowout due to over inflation.

I would suspect that it would most likely be a leak due to a tear or faulty o-ring.

Has anyone every experienced a blowout?

 

[Tickler]

No but I would rather not risk one. I carry dual bladders just in case.

 

[Diver0001]

The word "blowout" makes me think that you're seeing it like the tire of a car that sort of explodes and tears itself apart.

The difference between a BCD and a car tire is that the car tire is under significant "overpressure", which makes it possible for the stored energy in the form of the compressed air to further damage the tire as it escapes once the tire has been punctured. You won't get that with a BCD.

What you can get with a BCD is that it develops a leak and is unable to hold air. This can happen around seals or from anything that causes damage to the BCD before or during the dive. That's one of the reasons why we're taught to blow up the BCD fully during a pre-dive equipment check.

If it happens under water, it is possible for the BCD to lose most or all of its ability to hold air. For this reason some manufacturers have developed dual bladder systems (OMS being a good example) and why technical divers are taught to have a redundant form of buoyancy, whether it be a drysuit, a lift bag or whatever, in order to mitgate this risk.

Thankfully the chance of such a problem is small but given that the consequences could be severe, it's a good idea to do something to be prepared.

R..

 

[tstormdiver]

Never had a "blow out" on mine, but like yours, I am no where near having it full. I have, however, had some holes that developed from something sitting on top of the bladder. It was at the tail end of the horseshoe. I was diving in Orange Grove & had a very difficult time maintaining buoyancy. when we did a bubble check before the dive, on the surface, nothing showed up because I was vertical. It was funny (in a way). I came off that dive frustrated, thinking my buoyancy had gone to hell for some reason. On a whim, I orally inflated it & noticed that it would not hold pressure,... then got out the "handy- dandy " soapy water & found the leaks,... which I then patched up.

 

[OtherHalf]

Fear of such a malfunction is one reason why I'm searching so hard for a drysuit, redundant buoyancy. Ive got an SMB that will do the job for the short term. I've got 6 or 7 patches in an older dive rite single tank wing. Aquaseal seems to be doing the job thus far, but I wouldn't make the same gamble with the wing for my steel doubles...

 

[ajduplessis]

BCD/Wing failure is partly due to lack of pre-dive equipment checks. Leaks, holes,seals/seams or issues with connections etc is easily identified if you take the time to do it before diving. Risk mitigation, planning and equipment selection are all part of you dive planning. Consider these and live with the consequences.

SMB's IMO is the wrong mindset to counter for buoyancy loss. If diving in OW without hard bottom (this includes where bottom is deeper than your initial dive plan) is especially risky. By the time you realise the lack of buoyancy with the associated stress, continued increase in depth and additional workload deploying the SMB, things go south very quickly. Dive a balanced rig, use drysuit or second/dual wing.

 

[flots am]

Has anyone every experienced a blowout?

I had a hose tear. It's just an annoyance if you're weighted properly and can drop a few pounds if necessary, or have a drysuit in addition to a BC.

If you're using a thick wetsuit and have no ditchable weight, you might want to rethink your equipment configuration.

 

[TSandM]

BCDs are equipped with overpressure valves to prevent blowouts. I've inflated mine many times to the point where the OPV begins to bubble.

All my BC problems have been leaks around the fittings of the inflator or OPV, or pinch flats in the bladder. None has been catastrophic.

 

[shoredivr]

I had the seam weld of a wing fail after 10 years of use. Fortunately I caught this in my pre-dive check. I was still at home and could use a different wing.

 

[GrimSleeper]

BCD/Wing failure is partly due to lack of pre-dive equipment checks. Leaks, holes,seals/seams or issues with connections etc is easily identified if you take the time to do it before diving. Risk mitigation, planning and equipment selection are all part of you dive planning. Consider these and live with the consequences.

Really? I had about a foot of the welded plastic seam of the bladder in a HOG wing just let go during a dive. Not sure anyone would have caught that in pre-dive equipment checks… Do enough dives and there are some failures that will just happen. On the plus side, do enough dives and there's a reasonable chance you'll be ready to deal with those failures.