mantaining your gear

[Crackerjack]

what tips and tricks do you have to care for you gear?

like mine is to inflate your bc it dries faster.

what do you do to clean,dry and just maintain your gear in good working order?

 

[cwhitpan]

The dive shop I do the newsletter for just put a pretty good article on the subject.

Enjoy!
IVS-2010-3-26.pdf

 

[diverrex]

I drive a pickup so I keep a big cooler in the bed filled with fresh water. After diving I leave my reg pressurized and put my tank, BC and reg in the coooler for the hour ride home.

 

[Meggie66]

Hi there

Crackerjack, thanks for starting this thread, this is something I've been wondering about myself. I remove the inflator hose from my BC, fill it one third with water and swoosh it around before draining it, as per the manufacturer's instructions. My problem is, I can never seem to get *all* of the water out of it afterwards, no matter how long I drain it and what position I put it in. Advice appreciated!

All the best and thanks again Crackerjack
M

 

[spectrum]

You can read what we do here.

Pete

 

[Crackerjack]

Hi there

Crackerjack, thanks for starting this thread, this is something I've been wondering about myself. I remove the inflator hose from my BC, fill it one third with water and swoosh it around before draining it, as per the manufacturer's instructions. My problem is, I can never seem to get *all* of the water out of it afterwards, no matter how long I drain it and what position I put it in. Advice appreciated!

All the best and thanks again Crackerjack
M

i make one of the dump valves the lowest point on the bc and use the air pressure to help the water out that gets about 90% of it. then i fill the bc up as much as i can and flip it over. trying to get what water is still there to the inflater. i use one of the d-rings to hold the bc upside down. then open the deflater button and most of whats there comes out, then inflate it one more time and let dry. it wont get every last drop but its pretty close. with a little pratice you can it 99.5% dry. thats the best way i know.

 

[Crackerjack]

i like the cooler idea too. for suv's i saw a lady put her gear in a mesh bag put the hole bage in the wash bucket and then a rubermade container to keep her suv clean and dry.

 

[kensparta]

I stole a great idea from my LDS and put a dehumidifier in my shed to get everything dry after all of the rinsing. It works great! It has certainly been nice to always have dry equipment the next day. Mold and mildew is a thing of the past as well.

 

[Herk_Man]

Just adding clarity to a previous post. If you put a bunch of water in your BC, then use the oral inflation valve to inflate it, you can then invert the BC so the inflation hose is at the lowest point. Then push the oral inflation button to release the pressure (as you would if descending on a dive) and the air pressure in the BC will blow all of the water out. Do this two or three times and you should have minimal, if any, water still inside.

 

[kanonfodr]

I use a water hose, but once a month my gear gets soaked in the bathtub with equipment wash for the heck of it.

Peace,
Greg