deflating life jackets.

[rogerthebodger]

Anyone have a cunning way of deflating a life jacket bladder after inflating when testing leakage during service.

Other than just sitting on the bladder

 

[STOL71]

Press together the little tube that makes up the mouthpiece, that should deflate your lifejacket.

 

[[70521]]

Pressing the tool cleverly incorporated in cap into the valve, while sat in a vacuum chamber.

 

[duncan99210]

Just finished servicing 14 life jackets for the gig club.... Deflating done by using a pencil to depress the oral inflation tube valve whilst hugging the jacket. The repack from the opposite lobe to the inflation tube, so you can repeat the pencil trick with the bit of air you didn’t manage to squeeze out before.
There must be an adapter somewhere which would fit into the oral inflation valve that you could then connect to either the deflate side of a dinghy pump or a vacuum cleaner. But I haven’t got one...

 

[jwilson]

I do this very regularly, as I regularly test LJs. Push in valve thingy while holding a vacuum cleaner nozzle nearby. A bit of creative grip with fingers concentrates low air pressure at tube. Similar works well for fully deflating inflatable dinghies.

 

[Bilgediver]

I use one of those air bed pumps as sold by Tesco etc. I make an adaptor pipe using neoprene tubing and wind sellotape on each end to produce an air tight seal in the appropriate adaptor. The tube must be able to enter the inflation tube in order to hold the valve open but be airtight. Some life jackets have to have all the air removed and also if completely deflated the fold marks on the bladder reappear and help the repacking procedure.

 

[Mistroma]

Cut a little piece of small tubing or a little piece from the cover of a power cable. Slip it inside the mouth piece to push the valve in and then use a narrow piece of Duct tape to keep it pulled down. You can then fully deflate by pressing the bladder and finish using a dinghy pump.

I inflate ours with a dinghy pump and leave them for a couple of days before deflating. I found our pump slips snugly over the inflation tube. It is easy to remove the tube before re-packing and I usually allow a small amount of air back in by pressing the valve briefly after everything is back in place.

I used to simply reverse the cap and use it to open the valve but find this method less fiddly, quicker and allows complete deflation.

 

[Plum]

Anyone have a cunning way of deflating a life jacket bladder after inflating when testing leakage during service.

Other than just sitting on the bladder

On my LJs the dust cap on the inflation tube can be turned upside down and placed on the end of the tube to depress the valve so releasing the air. Now, the tricky bit is to keep that upside down cap in place with your tung with your mouth over the inflation tube, then suck out the air!

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[[70521]]

On my LJs the dust cap on the inflation tube can be turned upside down and placed on the end of the tube to depress the valve so releasing the air.

Amazing how many people don't know this!

 

[Stemar]

I just suck it out, using the tip of my tongue to work the valve. Pull the creases out as you draw out the last lungful; if you suck hard, it can take quite a tug to do it against the "vacuum"