Safety Equipment.

[PaulRainbow]

Interesting extra information. Naturally they'd recommend buying a new one, but it's sensible to bear in mind that current liferafts are being built with better materials and techniques than those built last century, and have a warranty which reflects those improvements.

Yes. The comments:

"The liferaft that we manufacture a 18-year warranty, we have innovated on the technology of our liferafts that are totally hand-stitched, double chamber, double action firing head, sealed protective envelope
Sealing strips and ballast pockets are now heat-glued"

Confirm that different materials and methods are being used since 1999 (i think most of us knew this, i said it back in post #70), this is obviously why they have extended their warranty to 18 years.

 

[Strikeliner]

Well there seems to be a bit of spite going backwards and forwards here now. C'mon guys there's no need for that. When Coopecs elderley liferaft was manufactured it would have had a 12 year warranty. After that Plastimo would have required it to be taken out of service. This 12 year period was stretched to 15 years in the UK. This applied to rafts built before 2012. After that as a bit of a sales gimmick they increased the warranty period to 18 years. No materials were changed nor were construction methods any different. "Would you prefer a raft with an 18 year warranty or a 12 year warranty sir"?
The caveat to both warranty periods is that the raft must have been serviced by an approved service station every 3 years. Some hope of that! Otherwise no warranty. That applies to the warranties given by every leisure raft manufacturer.

Anyway never mind that. A significant point about Plastimo rafts has been missed (not surprisingly) . Plastimo rafts are unique in the leisure industry because of their construction. This can be likened to a bicycle tyre and inner tube. The raft is given its buoyancy by inflatable bladders inside each tube that are completely seperate from the structural part of the raft. It has been done to death on here that the seams are stitched, taped, welded glued etc. They are stitched. As we all know needles make holes and holes would let gas escape. No matter how much protection you try to apply with the methods listed. Sounds good though doesn't it. Stitched taped and protected seams? Just what you'd think you want. What you dont want is needles near liferaft buoyancies. The inflatable chambers are zipped into the tubes. The problem with them is that they become brittle over time. Then they can crack and become useless. They can be changed but on a a twenty one year old raft? No point.

The wise old service guy that spoke to Coopec should really have mentioned this if he had really known about Plastimo rafts. If Coopec still wants to keep his raft despite its age then Plastimo advise service stations to get the customer to sign a disclaimer to that effect.

If you want my advice Coopec for what it's worth, I would suggest you buy a new raft from a reputable manufacturer . Yours may well pass a service but you just don't know when those bladders might decide to give up the ghost.

 

[rogerthebodger]

There is a big difference between warranty and the overall life of an item.

Like food "best before date" and "expiry date"

Once the warranty expires it does not mean the life is over.

Warranty generally that the manufacturer warrants that the item will perform as expected within the warranty period with some conditions.

Some cars have a 5 year warranty one has 7 years provided its serviced by an authorised service agent.

All of my cars are way passed their warranty period but still perform as expected and are in good order.

Also the warranty is for the original purchaser not always the second owner.

I have a viking liferaft that has just had it 3 rd 3 year service and is still in good order. If the service agent recommends a replacement I would wish to be shown the reasons and make my own mind up.

A life raft is the very last resort and as said before "you should steep UP to the life raft as it always better to stay with the main vessel until it disappears below the water's surface.

 

[penberth3]

There is a big difference between warranty and the overall life of an item.

Like food "best before date" and "expiry date"

Once the warranty expires it does not mean the life is over.

Warranty generally that the manufacturer warrants that the item will perform as expected within the warranty period with some conditions.

Some cars have a 5 year warranty one has 7 years provided its serviced by an authorised service agent.

All of my cars are way passed their warranty period but still perform as expected and are in good order.

Also the warranty is for the original purchaser not always the second owner.

I have a viking liferaft that has just had it 3 rd 3 year service and is still in good order. If the service agent recommends a replacement I would wish to be shown the reasons and make my own mind up.

A life raft is the very last resort and as said before "you should steep UP to the life raft as it always better to stay with the main vessel until it disappears below the water's surface.

You're mixing up two different meanings of "warranty".

Car warranties are about the manufacturer paying for any unexpected failures in the first few years. The life raft "warranty" mentioned in this thread is the manufacturers recommended service life.

 

[rogerthebodger]

You're mixing up two different meanings of "warranty".

Car warranties are about the manufacturer paying for any unexpected failures in the first few years. The life raft "warranty" mentioned in this thread is the manufacturers recommended service life.

So if a liferaft fails to open of splits within the services lift is that not an unexpected failures .

If a manufacturer quotes warranty and it does not mean "manufacturer paying for any unexpected failure" that's misrepresentation.

Again then actual life can be different to the manufacturers recommended service life because you need to consider the conditions of use.

In most cases life rafts are not put into service like a car they are in storage and it's the storage conditions that will determine what the storage conditions are.

My life raft is vacuum sealed so the only environmental condition that can affect my life raft is temperature as long as the raft stays vacuum sealed.