Lifejackets(again)

[boomer]

The instructions that came with a well-known brand of automatic lifejacket seen at the LBS required that the item be 'seviced' annually, but the man on the stall did not seem to know what was involved. Do the experts here have any idea what is required, please?

 

[Guest]

option one :- send to mfg for service,
option two :- purchase from mfg new gas and seal set along with fitting info.
option three :- buy new ones [joke]
seriously auto or manual l/j are very easy to service contact the mfg for info.
regds adobe

 

[Trevor_swfyc]

Option 1. Should have included part with loads more cash.

The manufacture I am sure will say if you service it yourself, they will not guarantee it will inflate when you fall in assuming you are wearing it!
The upside is if you do it yourself at least you would know who to blame.

Your Choice.

Stay Safe Trevor.

 

[HaraldS]

Have just looked at the manuals of my jackets, they are from 4 different manufacturers. The new ones are European, Autoflug and Secumar, and both recommend a 2 year interval for inspection and end of service after 10 years.
They sell you a the CO2 cartridge and the bobbins as a maintenance kit, but it appears they hope for you to return them for service to make some more money.

The ones from the US have a note that reads: "Must be maintained by the user to ensure they will work as designed when needed. This means checking the CO2 cartridge and air-holding ability of the bladder each season, and replacing the auto-inflate bobbin every 6-12 months, if so equipped."

The US ones are older and I have been doing this for some years, icluding allowing the kids to inflate them in the living room, and being surprised by the speed of inflation and the size.

I'm now taking the two oldest out of service and will allow the crew to have fun and jump into the water with them and see what happens.

By the way, regarding US live jackets, there the coast guard only allows (counts as approved outfit) the ones that need to be manually triggered and do not autoinflate. Their arguments is that they might fail to inflate automatically and might lure the user into a false sense of safety. Sounds very strange to me, as you can always pull the cord if it doesn't release.

A valid reason might be autoinflating while you are wrestling with sails on a very wet foredeck, and that's where I have been using the two that do not autoinflate, but I don't think I'll carry on with that habit as I'm getting older and now have furlers on both foresails.

Would be interested in opinions about that.

 

[alant]

I have had a manual jacket inflate on a wet foredeck, while heaving up on a halliard with others. The pull cord dropped down & got caught up. Quite a shock when it happens, so not just the automatics that do this.
As has already been stated, manually inflate by mouth regularly to check the bladders & change the CO2 bottle if suspect.

 

[HaraldS]

You raised another point where I have heard differing opinions, and that is how to inflate for testing. Most manuals say by mouth, others have said the opposite, so not to get moisture into the thing.
I didn't think it makes a lot of difference and have usually enjoyed the fun of pulling the cord.

 

[LadyInBed]

Re: Yes - not by mouth . . .

as it does put moisture into the bladder!
You can put some talcum powder or French chalk in to counter this.
Check the CO2 cartridge periodically by weighing it. Its ‘charged’ weight should be stamped on the cartridge.

 

[andyball]

Re: servicing interval

A new "marinepool" one,bought at the show, states "maintainance should be certainly carried out at least every two and a half years"

Inspecting the inflation mechanism...it has a date stamp and a red/green indicator....the bottle has a weight and a date stamp.....to my mind, " annual servicing" is just inflating orally, checking and repacking...unless your's says otherwise.

 

[sealion]

the USCG has recently approved automatically inflated pfds by Sospenders sold by West Marine
moisture is not the main problem with testing the pfd by using the co2 cartridge. the pfd bladder is a vinyl like material and the co2 is expelled at a very low temperature. the result is the bladder becomes brittle when exposed to the low temperature often.
It is suggest that the bladder be inflated orally, once each month during the season, to verify that the bladder was not punctured while the pfd is being transferred or stored.
remember these pfds are not recommended for use by WEAK or NON-swimmers.
DO NOT inflate the pfd untill you are on deck and outside the cabin. you will not be able to exit the cabin or escape from under an overturned boat if an automatic pfd inflates before you are clear.