How old is too old for a liferaft to pass its test

[Scotty_Tradewind]

How old is too old for a liferaft to pass its test?
Do they have a life expectancy?

 

[Searush]

It's about the same as the length of a piece of string.

Condition is all; it must inflate & stay inflated for at least 24hrs, all seams need to be sound & in good condition. I guess there can be issues due to multiple repacking or even chafeing or creaseing due to being left undisturbed in the canister unchecked.

Damp/ dirt etc in the container wouldn't help, but professionally repacked ones are usually vacuum packed (?) in plastic. You will have to look to check if you have any doubts. If it seems OK, then you can spend the money on a professional service. Incidentally, some insist on annual checks, others accept 3 yearly, it seems to depend on which guidelines you choose or need to follow.

 

[mocruising]

There is an old thread about this subject. I work for a company that owns about 200 liferafts they are commercial and serviced every year. We get on average between 20-25 year out of the better quality rafts RDF,Zodiac and as little as 15 years out of the cheaper ones. We stopped purchasing non proprietory brands some years back for this reason.

 

[Nostrodamus]

I suspect that if you asked,
Do you carry a liferaft and is it big enough for the crew you carry?
Is your life raft servicing always carried out within time?
Do you get your life jackets services on a regular basis?
you may get some suprising results, especially in a pole.

 

[pcatterall]

I inherited one dated 1991. I was going to skip it. On advice I opened it up and inflated it. It stayed up with no air loss. The rubberised fabric and seams looked in good condition. ( I worked on materials testing/aging etc for several years) The cylinder was the correct weight, had the green symbol in the window and was not corroded. I have sucked out the air with the vacuum cleaner and repacked.
Obviously the flares and batteries are too old but otherwise I am tempted to continue using it.
A cheap liferaft made from pvc and continually folded or badly packed/stored will not last as long as one made with quallity material.
I am now trying to get someone to 'have a look at mine' but I dont need a certificate as such.

 

[Tranona]

Perhaps not wise to mess about with these yourself. A service station will inflate and test the raft for you and advise if it is worth servicing or do you a deal on a new one.

 

[Ubergeekian]

My Seago should officially be serviced at 3, 6 and then 7, 8, 9 ... years. At 280 quid a pop from Cosalt and £500 for a new one, annual servicing will not be cost effective.

 

[Searush]

My Seago should officially be serviced at 3, 6 and then 7, 8, 9 ... years. At 280 quid a pop from Cosalt and £500 for a new one, annual servicing will not be cost effective.

Now there's a surprise. I wonder who set the service timing & their pricing policy? I wonder if the Accountant, Marketing Dir & Production manager ever got together over a beer?

 

[Mooswana]

My Seago should officially be serviced at 3, 6 and then 7, 8, 9 ... years. At 280 quid a pop from Cosalt and £500 for a new one, annual servicing will not be cost effective.

Does this mean that, as more owners reach the same conclusion, (ie that it's cheaper to buy a new one after 3-6 years or so) there will be an increasing number of 4-to-6-year-old liferafts on the market? Hmmmm.
I've just bought my first boat, and am contemplating the task of accumulating important bits of kit. It's a costly business, innit?

 

[Malish]

Now there's a surprise. I wonder who set the service timing & their pricing policy? I wonder if the Accountant, Marketing Dir & Production manager ever got together over a beer?

Or, from experience, the fabric has a life expectancy of between 6 & 9 years (to be generous to the manufacturer and critical of the materials they are using)

 

[widgeon]

I have just picked up my Plastimo Cruiser 6 (in a cannister) from Ron Hale. Roy, who does the servicing, says that cannister liferafts last almost indefinitely. Certainly, mine looks brand new despite being 10-years old (I am a year late on my 3-yearly service). Being over 10-years old, the gas cylinder had to be tested this time and that added £85 plus VAT to the bill. However, the total cost was still less than half the price of a replacement raft.

 

[DownWest]

Around here, there is a definate life, 10/12 ys? ( I don't have one) Interestingly, if you have an IPERB, they are no longer compulsory for cat B.

 

[misterg]

My Seago should officially be serviced at 3, 6 and then 7, 8, 9 ... years. At 280 quid a pop from Cosalt and £500 for a new one, annual servicing will not be cost effective.

EDIT: It was Norwest Marine in Liverpool, not COSALT - Sorry

They charged me £60.00 + consumables for a 4 man Seago at the beginning of last year. Total (incl. carriage one way) was <£100.

Have you got a 16 man one, or something??

Andy

 

[Ubergeekian]

They charged me £60.00 + consumables for a 4 man Seago at the beginning of last year. Total (incl. carriage one way) was <£100.

Have you got a 16 man one, or something??

Andy

I have no idea what's going on. Without opening it they have quoted £280 to repack in its valise or a cool £700 to stick in it a canister. Which seems odd, since Seago themselves said it would be an extra £100 for them to repack in a canister. Cosalt also said a new one in a canister would be £960 - they are £500 or so from online chandlers ...

Which Cosalt did you use?

 

[misterg]

Which Cosalt did you use?

EDIT: SORRY - It was Norwest Marine in Liverpool, NOT Cosalt

Seago 4 man valaise. The £60 was an offer they were advertising nationally at the time....

Andy

 

[GrahamM376]

My Seago should officially be serviced at 3, 6 and then 7, 8, 9 ... years. At 280 quid a pop from Cosalt and £500 for a new one, annual servicing will not be cost effective.

A friend has a Seago liferaft which is due its first service. It's in Portugal and the nearest service centre is LaRochelle and, although his boat and liferaft are laid up in a yard for the winter, Seago warned him that if it was even a week or two late for repacking the warranty would be void. I guess you get what you pay for - cheap to buy is often more expensive in the long run and maybe their yearly repack after 6 years reflects the quality.

 

[westernman]

The RFD which the fishing boats and other professionals use need to be serviced every year. They go on pretty much forever.

 

[prv]

Does this mean that, as more owners reach the same conclusion, (ie that it's cheaper to buy a new one after 3-6 years or so) there will be an increasing number of 4-to-6-year-old liferafts on the market?

There's always a reasonable crop on eBay.

Pete

 

[Searush]

The RFD which the fishing boats and other professionals use need to be serviced every year. They go on pretty much forever.

Isn't that a coding requirement, tho?

 

[westernman]

Isn't that a coding requirement, tho?

The servicing requirement is what is required by RFD.

Of course this might have been set at one year by RFD because commercial/coded boats need to do it every year anyway.