Causes of Sticky Inflator Button

[MrVegas]

My BC has an inflator button that after a few years has started sticking slightly on the way back up and then release. I'm stopping using until serviced or I can replace the inflator. The hose is 3/4 inches, so the standard inexpensive replacement inflators don't fit. Out of curiosity, I took it apart -- only used in fresh water. Nothing looked too bad on the inside. It didn't looked gunked up or corroded. After pushing down, the button would come up very slowly and then eventually pop up.

Anyway, I was just curious what would typically cause an inflator button to start sticking. Do they eventually just wear down? I've read a fair amount, but usually the solution is just to take apart and clean, replace o-rings, etc., without much focus on what actually went wrong with the inflator button.

 

[chris kippax]

Friction, clean and lubricate the o-rings and try again.
What type of inflator? Aqualung? Oceanic?
North east scuba supply sell a hose so you can convert your BCD to 1” inflator valve.

 

[Julius SCHMIDT]

Friction

 

[tc]

My go to fix is to spray the hell out of the whole inflator with silicon.

 

[MrVegas]

Thanks! You guys are quick. Might try that Northeast Scuba Supply adapter hose, although my BC has a 16 inch hose currently. It's a Sea Elite BC, so I'll probably see if I can call Divers Supply Monday and get a replacement. Maybe the Edge inflator will work. It's actually been a good BC for the price.

I should have thought of the lubrication earlier. Between the time of my first post and now, I took it apart one more time and was a little overzealous with the screwdriver and broke one of the parts putting it back together. (Maybe something was about to give anyway.) Now I definitely need a new inflator. The o-rings all looked fine, but everything was pretty dry.

I guess I also have an excuse to look at new BCs now (or a backplate setup). I do appreciate the responses.

 

[GJC]

If you haven't serviced your inflator in 3 years, it was time to do it now. After 3 years, the lube that was in there has probably washed out, and even in fresh water, algae mud and sand can get in there and gum things up.

 

[buddhasummer]

I use these generic ones:

45-Degree Oral Power Inflator

I like generic where possible.

 

[Landau]

Not quite the same but a main cause of a sticky drysuit inflator is worn O rings. The tech at my LDS is convinced a flaw in the SiTech inflator design causes this. I’ve seen him replace the Orings in less than 5 minutes.

 

[MrVegas]

In looking through my now broken and disassembled inflator, one other note of interest is that the spring feels pretty loose. Since the problem developed somewhat gradually, I wonder if the spring just lost some tension over time, thus eventually leaving it without enough pressure to get the button back up (especially if the o-ring was providing any resistance). I used to fence competitively, and there was always the issue of the tiny springs in the weapon tips losing resistance over time.

The Edge mini-inflator will fit my 3/4 hose, so I will order one of those. (The generic 1" won't work.) I'll get my family Sea Elite BCs serviced at the end of the season.

Lesson learned for me-- everyone worries about regulators, but I'm not sure BCs are really emphasized enough. I waited too long to deal with this. My last (very shallow) dive, I found myself hesitant to touch the BC and mostly just used the drysuit for buoyancy. Shouldn't have ever reached that point, of course.

 

[Doc Harry]

CORROSION

Your inflator is one of those things that needs to be serviced annually, or it will become corroded and start sticking.

You can buy parts and rebuild your inflator. It takes a special tool to disassemble the inflator.

I found it much easier to just throw away the entire inflator every year and install a brand-new inflator assembly. It's as simple as cutting the zip ties that hold the inflator on the corrugated hose, and then using new zip ties to install a new inflator.