I've serviced my life raft - Vaccum Bags

[zambant]

For £300 for the job this is completely over the top in my opinion and limited budget...

What I'm looking for is where I can buy the inner vacuum bag for my 4 man valise or a source of tape to re-seal the bag as I don't have access to a plastic welder.

I have tried the manufacturers and a few service centers who simply tell me I cant do it myself and then spend 10 mins telling me the dangers of doing so

Well 30 years in engineering is good enough for me to be able to weigh a gas bottle, check the seams and valves and see if it goes down after 24 hours! (Oh and replace the out of date flares)

Any ideas would be appreciated....

Many thanks

John

Please don't bother to post with dyer warning's of the end of the world, dangers etc.....I repack emergency parachutes for a hobby and encourage / teach the owners to learn to do it themselves.!!!!

 

[pcatterall]

Cant help with the bags. I did mine but there was no bag, with a vacum to suck out all the air and carefull folding it went back into the valise ok.
I agree with your sentiments on DIY.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Vacuum Bag Supplier

I am pretty sure that there is nothing special about the inner plastic bag except the size.

There is a 400 x 600 mm vacuum bag at the bottom of the page in the link below: -

http://www.polybags.co.uk/shop/heavy-duty-vacuum-bags_c1117.htm

It would not be difficult to rig up an air compressor inlet to suck the air out, or purchase a vacuum pump from GRP / Epoxy supplier.

I would want to be sure that the gauge of the polythene (or whatever material) was correct such that it wouldn't prevent inflation, however I doubt that it matters too much as the force would be significant anyway to part the silver duck tape. However, I would want to know this.

One area that has always puzzled me is how to seal the exit of the lanyard from the bag to maintain a vacuum environment, do you know?

 

[zambant]

I am pretty sure that there is nothing special about the inner plastic bag except the size.


One area that has always puzzled me is how to seal the exit of the lanyard from the bag to maintain a vacuum environment, do you know?

The proper bags have the lanyard seal built in...

Thanks for the reply's so far.

John

 

[Rigger Mortice]

For £300 for the job this is completely over the top in my opinion and limited budget...

What I'm looking for is where I can buy the inner vacuum bag for my 4 man valise or a source of tape to re-seal the bag as I don't have access to a plastic welder.

I have tried the manufacturers and a few service centers who simply tell me I cant do it myself and then spend 10 mins telling me the dangers of doing so

Well 30 years in engineering is good enough for me to be able to weigh a gas bottle, check the seams and valves and see if it goes down after 24 hours! (Oh and replace the out of date flares)

Any ideas would be appreciated....

Many thanks

John

Please don't bother to post with dyer warning's of the end of the world, dangers etc.....I repack emergency parachutes for a hobby and encourage / teach the owners to learn to do it themselves.!!!!

Try a butcher. They may be able to help with one of their vacuum bags. They may even be able to do it for you. You may need to try a catering butcher who will use the larger bags.

I don't know it it will work but, FWIW it's worth a try.

 

[Aeolus]

possibly a silly question but...

Why does it have to be vacuum packed? I can see that the liferaft needs to have as much air removed as poss and be folded to fit the canister or valise but if that can be achieved, then any not-too-strong waterproof bag should be OK. Or have I misunderstood?

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Why does it have to be vacuum packed? .... then any not-too-strong waterproof bag should be OK. ....

The vacuum bag removed the need for a seal in the canister. The seals had a habit of failing and contaminating the liferaft with moisture. Now the canister is just sealed with a 2" wide tape, similar to electrical tape. Moisture protection is provided by the inner vacuum bag with the outer casing providing an environmental level of protection. I guess the vacuum concept removes any risk of the liferaft folds from relaxing and causing undue pressure on the canister.

 

[SailingEcosse]

One area that has always puzzled me is how to seal the exit of the lanyard from the bag to maintain a vacuum environment, do you know?

I used mastic tape to seal cable exits when vacuum bagging, it sticks to most materials (incluiding polythene) so should work for this as well, and is fairly easy to seperate again when required

 

[rob2]

I seem to recall an article on these services in which the technician said he was very careful when cutting the bag open to leave enough to reseal, or else he'd have to use a new bag. I bet they charge for the new bag every time!

Could you suggest any manufacturers/types of mastic tape, please? All the things like tape in the article were referred to as "special" - another Secret Squirrel move? I'd be willing to bet there's nothing special about any of this. I've just been quoted £250 plus parts for a service by the supplier which is probably more than the thing is worth after the service! Fair enough if I find the firing head is rusted I'll have to go to them, but I'm sick of paying money to people to do practically nothing.

Rob.

 

[SailingEcosse]

Could you suggest any manufacturers/types of mastic tape, please? All the things like tape in the article were referred to as "special" - another Secret Squirrel move? I'd be willing to bet there's nothing special about any of this.

Rob.

Mastic tape or Butyl tape, easily available on the web, but one source here

Does a great job for vacuum bagging and is thick enough to mold around cables, wire, string, rope etc

 

[westernman]

Would something like this do the job:-
http://www.amazon.com/Vacuum-Space-Saving-Storage-3-Pack/dp/B002B08VG2

 

[vyv_cox]

We leave all our clothing and bedding aboard in winter in vacuum bags. They are widely available from many sources but possibly not sufficiently robust or large enough for a liferaft. Google shows very many suppliers, maybe you will find some suitable. We vac ours down using the dinghy pump, easy and quick. When new they hold the vacuum fine for six months but not so good on re-use.

 

[miekej]

For £300 for the job this is completely over the top in my opinion and limited budget...

What I'm looking for is where I can buy the inner vacuum bag for my 4 man valise or a source of tape to re-seal the bag as I don't have access to a plastic welder.

I have tried the manufacturers and a few service centers who simply tell me I cant do it myself and then spend 10 mins telling me the dangers of doing so

Well 30 years in engineering is good enough for me to be able to weigh a gas bottle, check the seams and valves and see if it goes down after 24 hours! (Oh and replace the out of date flares)

Any ideas would be appreciated....

Many thanks

John

Please don't bother to post with dyer warning's of the end of the world, dangers etc.....I repack emergency parachutes for a hobby and encourage / teach the owners to learn to do it themselves.!!!!

I hope you record your name as the last service person on the log card so that the last legitimate service technician doesn't get blamed if the raft doesn't inflate properly.
Mieke