It's NOT a valve...it's a PLUG! Those bladders were outfitted with CO2 canisters to do a quick surface maneuver...problem is...people DIED when that string was yanked at 100 feet.Without some quick thinking(knife to the bladder) you go straight to the surface...OUCH!. Remove the plug...then take a half dollar piece of old tire tubing.Roll it up,and insert it into the bladder.Now get some silicone,and squirt it on the half dollar piece of rubber(laying flat,centered on hole.Now take another piece of rubber sheet,and do the same on the OUTSIDE of the Bladder. If Sherwood would have changed the bladder they were using when they discontinued the CO2,no one would have this problem...instead they PLUGGED the hole,ran out the existing inventory before they changed the design.....naughty,naughty!!!
---------- Post Merged at 07:17 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:14 PM ----------
Why ,oh why....didn't SHERWOOD SCUBA REP tell us the truth? Why doesn't SHERWOOD sell replacement bladders? BECAUSE...a bladder might sell for $50.00,but a brand new BCD is $600.00 !!! Makes sense to me!!!
---------- Post Merged on June 24th, 2012 at 09:01 AM ---------- Previous Post was on June 23rd, 2012 at 08:14 PM ----------
One more thing to look at is the pressure relief valve....and,yes,it IS a valve.It's round,slightly larger than a silver dollar,and has 8 pencil sized holes in it.After I repaired the PLUG hole in mine,I noticed the bladder kept leaking down.I submerged the BCD in the bathtub,and noticed the location of the leak.I disassembled the valve,and noticed a deep groove in the flexible seal. I turned the seal upside down,applied some vaseline to both sides and reinstalled the seal.Then I stretched the spring about an 1/8th of an inch(it seemed to not have enough pressure)....and BAM!! Back in business. Do NOT stretch the spring much at all...These units are NOT designed for literally ANY pressure at all...all that will do is burst the seams. Sherwood can kiss my nether regions.