Tips needed for pinch flat avoidance

[kelemvor]

I've never taken any special precautions with mine and so far have not had a pinch flat. I did have to replace the bladder in 2015 (at about 3 years old) because I had a bunch of salt in there that caused a problem over time. Fortunately, it was easy and fairly cheap to do.

I dive on cattle boats, and probably don't take nearly the care with my bcd that I should. I do check it and maintain it often, but when it's out on the boat, it's out on the boat. In 2015 I learned that apparently my skills at rinsing the inside of the bladder suck.

After dives it usually gets shoved into my wet bag with all the rest of my gear so I can walk off the boat in shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops with my bag. The only thing I haven't figured out how to get into the wet bag are my lp108 tanks.

I did add an extra bladder to my SAD bag after 2015.

I thought pinch flats were mostly an issue with backmount doubles.. I guess not?

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Many of the new age wings designs no longer use the gummy urethane for bladders that has always been problematic for pinch flats. I noticed that the new VDH wings use a black fabric material that is much more resistant to pinch flats. I also moticed Oxycheq in their latest line uses the same material, and the first time I saw that material used was actually on a Hog wing several years ago.
They seem to have eliminated the pinch flat problem with this new material.
Meanwhile, I suggest isolating the wing away from anything hard during transport. Always wrap a towel or something in between the plate and wing, or has already been mentioned remove the wing and or slightly inflate. You might also want to pack a urethane patch kit in your save-a-dive kit with cut, peel, and stick patches. They work very well.

 

[tbone1004]

@Eric Sedletzky Halcyon has been using laminated fabric bladders for years. I just inflate mine...

 

[The Chairman]

I thought pinch flats were mostly an issue with backmount doubles.. I guess not?

When a hard tank meets the rigid edge of a Back Plate with a bladder in between, there will be some pinches. You can't eliminate the hard tank, so the other option is to go with something flexible like a kydex or fabric plate. That or baby your BP&Wing. Me? I just want to dive something I don't have to coddle.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

@Eric Sedletzky Halcyon has been using laminated fabric bladders for years. I just inflate mine...

That’s good to know. I have ZERO knowledge about any Halcyon products other than they are $$$$.

 

[tbone1004]

That’s good to know. I have ZERO knowledge about any Halcyon products other than they are $$$$.

the fabric bladders aren't really any more durable than the butyl and are more prone to pinholing as they're basically the same material used in trilam drysuits.

 

[Ojai Diver]

With my DSS wing, the only precaution I take is when using my 80 cubic foot tank. Because this tank is shorter, I lay the tank down on its side when I remove it. Attempting to stand it up on its boot in the customary fashion can result in a pinch.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Many of the new age wings designs no longer use the gummy urethane for bladders that has always been problematic for pinch flats.

Gummy Urethane? I've never encountered any gummy urethane. I have seen various rubbers become gummy with age.

The vast majority of bladder damage is via impact, and we did a *bunch* of controlled impact testing ~10 years ago. A weighted rod with a 3/4" ballbearing in the end was dropped from repeatable heights on to a hardened and ground steel "anvil"

We tried many different combos of shell material and bladder materials.

The bad news is the very best performers would suffer damage at fairly modest impact velocities, (energies) meaning pretty much all wings are subject to pinch flat damage.

The good news is some combo do perform better than others. IMO it is ability of the materials to attenuate the impact energy that determines the resistance to impact, not tear strength.

Thicker, pliant materials consistently performed better than laminated textiles, i.e. 400-800 denier fabrics laminated to a ~.005" of urethane.

The reason why DSS continues to use true duplex weave 1050 ballistic nylons for shells is not because 1050 is very strong (it is robust) but because the duplex yarns and basket weave make the material think and sort of springy in cros section. That's the same reason we use .030 straight urethane films for bladders, .030 can attenuate more energy.

Think about shooting a handgun into wet phone book, or into a piece of .125 thick steel. The steel may be "stronger" but the phone book stops the round for simple reason the wet phone book attenuates the energy and the steel sheet fails.

Tobin

 

[Lorenzoid]

Duplex weave 1050 ballistic nylon--well, sure. But what is a "phone book"?

 

[cool_hardware52]

Duplex weave 1050 ballistic nylon--well, sure. But what is a "phone book"?

Saturated phone book, aka BLAM or Ballistic Attenuation Materials, (the quickly vanishing terminal ballistics testing material of handloaders worldwide )

Tobin