Inflater handles explode

vincnt moore · 6th January 2009, 01:43

Ocean diving this weekend air temp around 25 at 4:00 am. Set up

equipment on boat ( covered with ice ) and started rig checks open dil valve

and wing inflater explodes like a M-80. Some nice guy named Mark takes a 20

min drive to get me another one, all is well turn on valve again and that one

explodes too...Has to be a frozen regulator hi pressure seat I figure, wait for

worm up and all is well but no Inflator.......handle..so figuring my weight and

suit and I figure I'm still pos 2 lbs. Went diving ( with extra lift bag ) and both

dives went well...water was 44 deg. 2 to 3 ft seas...nice day up to 41 deg.

gkndivebum · 6th January 2009, 03:59

Quote: (Originally Posted by vincnt moore)

[...]open dil valve and wing inflater explodes like a M-80. [...]

HP seat failure. Had that happen on a remote dive site here in Kona one morning;
better than
caffeine for getting your heart rate up!

**wedivebc** · 6th January 2009, 04:47

Quote: (Originally Posted by vincnt moore)

Ocean diving this weekend air temp around 25 at 4:00 am. Set up

equipment on boat ( covered with ice ) and started rig checks open dil valve

and wing inflater explodes like a M-80. Some nice guy named Mark takes a 20

min drive to get me another one, all is well turn on valve again and that one

explodes too...Has to be a frozen regulator hi pressure seat I figure, wait for

worm up and all is well but no Inflator.......handle..so figuring my weight and

suit and I figure I'm still pos 2 lbs. Went diving ( with extra lift bag ) and both

dives went well...water was 44 deg. 2 to 3 ft seas...nice day up to 41 deg.

Do you have an OPV on your first stage? If not you should.

Chris · 6th January 2009, 07:36

Yea I had this happen awhile ago as well, came up from a dive and the inflator was all warped and cracked. Was not from freezing but from a IP creep due to a buggerd seat.

I now have an OPV on my Dil first stage, if you don't have a second stage too blow off any excess IP then it should be mandatory to have an OPV on there.

Cheers
Chris

vincnt moore · 6th January 2009, 16:17

Good thought on opv. Dont know why I hadn't put one on, have one on my argon bottle but not on dil reg or o2 reg..Are you guys putting them on both o2 and dil regs..

pwl4476 · 6th January 2009, 16:37

I have OPVs on both 02 and Dil.

I did take the liberty of raising the opening pressure on both OPVs. I use Dive Rite OPVs. My 1st stages run IP of between 140 and 150 psi. I raised the OPV opening pressure to 175. Nothing so high that it will cause an issue. Before I raised the pressure I had a few "pops" after exiting cool water (caves) and sitting the unit in the warm Florida weather, or in the rear of the SUV. That rightfully sent me into debugging activity. Now I've eliminated the pops and only measure the IP when assembling/dis-assembling the unit.

Paul

Pelagian · 6th January 2009, 17:02

Had a similar experience with my wind inflator. Was running a MK2 1st stage off small hip mounted cylinder for wing inflation. I was still waiting for delivcery of an OPV, but still diving with it nonetheless. Turned on the bottle one day and the inflator control started continuously popping and over filling my wing.

Checked the IP, which was off the scale.

I rebuilt the stage and installed and the OPV. No problems since.

Cheers

Seb

Dave O · 6th January 2009, 17:23

My KISS came with an OPV on the O2 side, but since there's a down stream second stage on the BOV, it did not come with one on the DIL first stage. IIRC the new KISS units come with OPV on both. I guess because people were putting shut-offs on the BOV). I'm surprised more kits don't come this way.

diverreb · 7th January 2009, 17:38

O2ptima's come with OPV's on both regs....

Richie

vincnt moore · 7th January 2009, 18:15

You would think, for such a nice unit that the HH would have come with em installed??? but dont want to say anything negative about a unit that's been so good to this point... Kinda like putting wheel locks on my Porsche. Dont come factory!!

6th January 2009, 01:43	#1 (permalink)
vincnt moore RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Philadelphia Pa. Posts: 149	Inflater handles explode Ocean diving this weekend air temp around 25 at 4:00 am. Set up equipment on boat ( covered with ice ) and started rig checks open dil valve and wing inflater explodes like a M-80. Some nice guy named Mark takes a 20 min drive to get me another one, all is well turn on valve again and that one explodes too...Has to be a frozen regulator hi pressure seat I figure, wait for worm up and all is well but no Inflator.......handle..so figuring my weight and suit and I figure I'm still pos 2 lbs. Went diving ( with extra lift bag ) and both dives went well...water was 44 deg. 2 to 3 ft seas...nice day up to 41 deg.
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6th January 2009, 03:59	#2 (permalink)
gkndivebum PRISM diver Current Rebreather/s: Prism Topaz Sport Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Kona, HI Posts: 80	Re: Inflater handles explode Quote: (Originally Posted by vincnt moore) [...]open dil valve and wing inflater explodes like a M-80. [...] HP seat failure. Had that happen on a remote dive site here in Kona one morning; better than caffeine for getting your heart rate up! __________________ Best regards - gkn -- Gerard K. Newman - Kona, HI
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6th January 2009, 04:47	#3 (permalink)
wedivebc Dave Tomblin Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other CCR Other Rebreather/s: Not Bought Yet Inspiration Classic Sport Kiss Other CCR Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Vancouver Island BC Canada Posts: 1,699	Re: Inflater handles explode Quote: (Originally Posted by vincnt moore) Ocean diving this weekend air temp around 25 at 4:00 am. Set up equipment on boat ( covered with ice ) and started rig checks open dil valve and wing inflater explodes like a M-80. Some nice guy named Mark takes a 20 min drive to get me another one, all is well turn on valve again and that one explodes too...Has to be a frozen regulator hi pressure seat I figure, wait for worm up and all is well but no Inflator.......handle..so figuring my weight and suit and I figure I'm still pos 2 lbs. Went diving ( with extra lift bag ) and both dives went well...water was 44 deg. 2 to 3 ft seas...nice day up to 41 deg. Do you have an OPV on your first stage? If not you should. __________________ Cheers, Dave.... www.wedivebc.com
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6th January 2009, 07:36	#4 (permalink)
Chris Go Nude Or Go Home Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Megalodon Prism Topaz Sport Kiss Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 636	Re: Inflater handles explode Yea I had this happen awhile ago as well, came up from a dive and the inflator was all warped and cracked. Was not from freezing but from a IP creep due to a buggerd seat. I now have an OPV on my Dil first stage, if you don't have a second stage too blow off any excess IP then it should be mandatory to have an OPV on there. Cheers Chris
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6th January 2009, 16:17	#5 (permalink)
vincnt moore RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Philadelphia Pa. Posts: 149	Re: Inflater handles explode Good thought on opv. Dont know why I hadn't put one on, have one on my argon bottle but not on dil reg or o2 reg..Are you guys putting them on both o2 and dil regs..
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6th January 2009, 16:37	#6 (permalink)
pwl4476 RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Olathe, KS Posts: 179	Re: Inflater handles explode I have OPVs on both 02 and Dil. I did take the liberty of raising the opening pressure on both OPVs. I use Dive Rite OPVs. My 1st stages run IP of between 140 and 150 psi. I raised the OPV opening pressure to 175. Nothing so high that it will cause an issue. Before I raised the pressure I had a few "pops" after exiting cool water (caves) and sitting the unit in the warm Florida weather, or in the rear of the SUV. That rightfully sent me into debugging activity. Now I've eliminated the pops and only measure the IP when assembling/dis-assembling the unit. Paul
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6th January 2009, 17:02	#7 (permalink)
Pelagian Multi-Circuit Meg Monkey! Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Inspiration Vision Evolution Sport Kiss Optima Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Leeds, England Posts: 359	Re: Inflater handles explode Had a similar experience with my wind inflator. Was running a MK2 1st stage off small hip mounted cylinder for wing inflation. I was still waiting for delivcery of an OPV, but still diving with it nonetheless. Turned on the bottle one day and the inflator control started continuously popping and over filling my wing. Checked the IP, which was off the scale. I rebuilt the stage and installed and the OPV. No problems since. Cheers Seb
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6th January 2009, 17:23	#8 (permalink)
Dave O RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Sport Kiss Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Megalodon Sport Kiss Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Underwater (NJ) Posts: 174	Re: Inflater handles explode My KISS came with an OPV on the O2 side, but since there's a down stream second stage on the BOV, it did not come with one on the DIL first stage. IIRC the new KISS units come with OPV on both. I guess because people were putting shut-offs on the BOV). I'm surprised more kits don't come this way.
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7th January 2009, 17:38	#9 (permalink)
diverreb DE/MD/NJ Wreck Diver Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Dover, DE Posts: 893	Re: Inflater handles explode O2ptima's come with OPV's on both regs.... Richie
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7th January 2009, 18:15	#10 (permalink)
vincnt moore RBW Member Current Rebreather/s: Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Philadelphia Pa. Posts: 149	Re: Inflater handles explode You would think, for such a nice unit that the HH would have come with em installed??? but dont want to say anything negative about a unit that's been so good to this point... Kinda like putting wheel locks on my Porsche. Dont come factory!!
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