self servicing of liferaft

I test fired an old Airmar (15 yrs old) as an experiment to show my daughter, and it worked perfectly. After inflating the raft, the cylinder was too cold to touch and had ice on it. I recall that it had "CO2" marks.

If cylinders are CO2 ones, then any fire extinguisher servicing company should be able to refill them.
 
Refilling is all very well, but what about when you need a new cylinder due to corrosion?
And are the cylinders and their fittings all the same? I presume it will be some sort of industry standard thread at least.
 
ghostlymoron said:
So, if the cylinder is not serviceable (as in useable), it's a show stopper.
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That's my take on it too. I don't see the point in refilling a cylinder because surely it would have emptied for a reason...
What would be good to know is what sort of fitting is on the cylinder, and then it might be possible to procure a compatible replacement.
 
Kelpie said:
Refilling is all very well, but what about when you need a new cylinder due to corrosion?
And are the cylinders and their fittings all the same? I presume it will be some sort of industry standard thread at least.
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Cylinders have to be periodically pressure tested and test centres such as cts in Liverpool (I use them for scuba tanks) will have all the necessary adaptors and most likely the correct gasses to refill. They will also have details of suppliers for failed ones. http://www.ctsukltd.com/
 
I got the folk who refill the Fire Brigade breathing apparatus here in Dublin.They were a bit anxious about certifying the cylinder, so I excused them of any responsibility, weighing the cylinder over a few days to be sure of its integrity.
He He, the reason I needed a refill, was that I tripped over the firing cord in the rather small kitchen, and watched helplessly as various chairs and sundry items went up the walls! A six man is a big brute indoors!
These days Solas marine Dun Laoghaire will let you watch the process so you know what to expect in extremis.
I was happy to service this Avon raft twice before the rubber deteriorated too much to be safe.
 
Bobc said:
Any dive centre can refil the cylinder for you.
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With CO2??

We looked at using air for training rafts only inflated in a swimming pool but it was easier to continue with CO2. The cylinders were sent to a liferaft service station for refilling. We were running MCA approved STCW95 survival courses.
 
Kelpie said:
And are the cylinders and their fittings all the same? I presume it will be some sort of industry standard thread at least.
Click to expand...
No they are not. According to an excellent service station that I viewed, the preferred firing mechanism and cylinder is similar to life jacket systems (i.e. hollow 'needle' and sealed for life cylinder).
There were/are about 3 types of firing mechanism at least.
It is the older (non needle system) that often results in under inflated rafts (according to the knowledgeable service chap).

And to OP, why not simply leave raft on boat rather than 'recycling it'. Some very old rafts have been known to work. Better than chucking it in a skip.
 
I always had my Plastimo liferaft serviced at Suffolk Sailing for a very reasonable cost, they were happy for me to see the raft before it was repacked and although its about 15 years old being vacuum packed it is like new inside.
This last time I had it serviced and went there to pick it up I got a huge shock when I got the bill. It was at least 50% more than I paid last time.
It seems that Suffolk Sailing was sold and the new owners are following Plastimo's service protocol to the letter, even to the extent of replacing the self adhesive sticker on the raft giving the next service date - that sticker was an extra £12 on the bill!! It did come with a nice certificate though which I never had before.
When we lifted the raft into my car we noticed they'd missed that one of the rope handles on the canister was almost frayed through, that would have been another £20 on the bill.
They assure me the service was done professionally to Plastimo standards and that as an authorised repairer they follow Plastimo protocols and are subject to Plastimo auditing in order to keep their accreditation. but I am afraid that I thought they were taking the pi** and they wont be seeing me again.
It's almost cheaper to buy a new raft now than have a professional service.
 
Just a cautionary tale from the first sea survival course I attended as a trainee.

We were all in the water when the 10 person liferaft was launched from the side, the cord was pulled and the raft started to inflate. It kept growing, but did not look much like a liferaft. Then there was a loud bang and we were all swimming for the side to get clear of the cloud of CO2 gas that drifted over the indoor pool.

The raft had been packed with a twist in the fabric so only half could inflate. The pressure relief valves were on the opposite side of the twist to the gas cylinders.

Also, one of the previous posts claimed that no service certificate would be needed for a British reg vessel when going foreign. Maritime inspections used to be the sole province of the flag state, however, in response to the many commercial vessels with flags of (in)convenience it has long been the accepted practice of port states to inspect for safety and if appropriate detain a vessel until it meets international (SOLAS) standards. This has, not unreasonably, been extended to yachts where they are likely to use their own equipment standards as smaller vessels are not completely covered by SOLAS.

Personally, I would not like to try and argue the right of a port state official to inspect my boat's safety gear, especially when they are carrying a gun. It has only happened once, and the officer was very polite and professional. I suspect that he did not have much to do that afternoon, and as all my paperwork was in order decided to do a quick visual check to meet his quota.
 
srm said:
Also, one of the previous posts claimed that no service certificate would be needed for a British reg vessel when going foreign.
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The previous poster is wrong then and, in common with some others, is most likely under the false impression that foreign states can't touch a UK vessel. Certainly in Portugal, the raft log book must be stamped and and the raft within service date.
 
duncan99210 said:
The firing mechanism is not tested in liferaft servicing, as that would bump the cost up considerably. Instead, the cylinder is check weighed against the weight stamped on the cylinder: if it's within limits, it is simply refitted. The only items that need replacement are those items packed in the raft that are time expired: flares, rations, seasickness pills, torch batteries etc. As is the case for life jacket servicing the raft is inflated by pump and left for 24 hrs to check for punctures.
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Precisely what I've witnessed being done in Canet, Malta and Kavala.
The Greek authorities demand valid certification for any life-raft carried and the inspection testing and repacking costs €80 for my 4-man container raft. The real cash outlay comes when you have to replace all the bits inside (even if not to IMO).
Whilst unpacking, check weighing the CO2 cylinder and doing a 24-hour inflation test is simple enough, re-packing is a very different matter and does need professional competence. My fear is that when you toss the thing overside, the lashing is too strong for the inflating unit and it doesn't deploy properly. I've heard of three instances where, in-date liferafts have failed to inflate for that reason.
It is pointless to carry a liferaft which doesn't have a recent service - one hears of those who boast that they've saved lots by not having their 10+ year-old liferaft serviced, in fact it's just another piece of superfluous junk under those conditions.
 
charles_reed said:
It is pointless to carry a liferaft which doesn't have a recent service - one hears of those who boast that they've saved lots by not having their 10+ year-old liferaft serviced, in fact it's just another piece of superfluous junk under those conditions.
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I can't agree that it's a pointless piece of junk, it's just an unknown quantity

Just because it hasn't been checked doesn't mean it's definitely faulty, it might still work . if say 20% of old unserviced liferafts were still functional then one in five boats who kept them on board and needed to use them would be glad they did so. If it was buried in a landfill site six months ago then it is 100% certain not to inflate when you need it.

Your other point about the lashings preventing deployment even suggests that tired, old, UV damaged, lashings might be better than shiny new ones recently replaced by the service centre.
 
My view is that if you have doubts about whether it will a)inflate and b)stay inflated you should either replace it or repair it. Would you do a parachute jump if you thought it might not open?
I don't actually carry one on my present (20') boat but I don't go more than 6nm offshore. It's a risk but I'm aware of it.
 
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