Crewsaver Hammar replacement - advice

[skyflyer]

When I bought a share in my current boat I inhertied two Crewsaver 150N Hammar activated lifejackets. (I have two new ones of my own as well) Upon examination I find that the replacement date for the mechanism is 2009 in one case and 2010 in another!

So they need to be replaced but what I would like to know is:

1. Can I replace it myself or is it a specialist job
2. If the CO2 cylinder weighs up correctly can I use it for a non Hammar type inflation system (I gather the Hammar ones are 'glued' i n and cant be removed and replaced
3. If I cant re-use the cylinder I might as well jump into the water near the shore and see if it works to benefit from the experience of having a jacket inflate on me and see how easy/difficult it is to swim and manoeuvre myself whilst wearing an inflated jacket. Bad idea?

All thoughts welcome!

 

[andygc]

1. DIY - dead easy. The little tool you need comes with the kit. You need the Hammar Auto Cap, not the Hammar Rearming kit.

2. You keep the cylinder and fit it to the new operating head - it screws in.

3. You do reuse the cylinder, so there's no answer to q 3.

Look at the Crewsaver web site http://www.crewsaver.co.uk. All the information you need is there.

 

[John_Clarke]

Mr Kitchen of Crewsaver advised me a couple of years ago that they now secure the gas bottles in their new lifejackets with Loctite 222 Threadlocker (this is the weakest of the Loctite products and is for screw threads rather than nuts or studs). The cylinders can be unscrewed but should not work loose on their own. When replacing the cylinder he advises applying a tiny drop to the end of the threads and it will be spread along the threads as the cylinder is screwed in.

As andygc says follow instructions on the crewsaver website but it is important that before the black locking ring is rotated that the bladder around the Hammar device is slightly raised so that the Hammar device lies is a slight depression in the bladder. Otherwise the thickened rim of the clear seal on the bladder will not lie in the recess of the replacement cap. If this happens air will leak past the seal. If this happens just undo the Hammar device and repeat the procedure until it is airtight when the bladder is inflated.