To service or replace?

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ontheplane

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We have 4 automatic life jackets - they are now 2 years old and I understand they should be serviced.

Given they only cost £35 each new - is it worth it - or is it better just to replace them?

They have been worn, but never "fired" and I wonder what you'd suggest?

Thanks
 
Hmm, £35 sounds quite cheap for a lifejacket. Mine are about six years old and each winter I take them home and inflate and leave them overnight as a test. I also remove the canister and examine for corrosion. Clearly this is not a manufacturers service and I'll probably be slated by other forumites.
 
Sorry, I can't help on your Q because I have the bulky, non inflatable stuff.
But you made me curious, does a good one really cost only 35 quids in the UK?
The last time I saw one in a chandler around here, they were much more expensive...
 
ontheplane said:
We have 4 automatic life jackets - they are now 2 years old and I understand they should be serviced.

Given they only cost £35 each new - is it worth it - or is it better just to replace them?

They have been worn, but never "fired" and I wonder what you'd suggest?

Thanks
Click to expand...

inflate with a pump rather than breath ( its humid ) & leave all day see what happens. remove the cartridge & see that the actuator pin operates, replace the cartridge
 
Yeh they look like they've gone up a bit - but that link is the kind of thing.

My theory is that if I buy 4 brand new - and sell the 4 I have on eBay (get £15 each perhaps) they've cost £40 to replace.


However - that people service themselves is interesting - does anyone have any proper instructions for doing this??

I'm not particularly "handy" - I worry that if I do them myself, if I don't get it totally right and someone fell in and it didn't go off I'd never forgive myself.
 
ontheplane said:
We have 4 automatic life jackets - they are now 2 years old and I understand they should be serviced.

Given they only cost £35 each new - is it worth it - or is it better just to replace them?

They have been worn, but never "fired" and I wonder what you'd suggest?

Thanks
Click to expand...

If they've never been fired, then go and get and wet and fire one - and see what happens. I did this (in a swimming pool) at the weekend with our never-fired lj's - and the very interesting conclusion for me was that mine really struggled to turn me the right way up - a combination of not enough buoyancy (I'm, er, big-boned...) and not a very good fit, despite the straps being tightened to a point of fetishistic brutality. My conclusion was: buy a new one, from a different manufacturer.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Yes they are cheap.

We go out rarely, only in excellent weather and not far from shore.

For ten years or so I never actually wore one! I now realise that was stupid - but I am hoping that an ok lifejacket gives me a better than fighting chance whereas without one I wouldn't have...
 
When/if you are in the water, you won't have any comfit in knowing you bought the cheapest available, its a bit like crash helmets on motorbikes, buy the best you can justify.Your life may depend on it......
 
I service my 4 life jackets every winter, the instructions you can get from either the manufacture or i got mine from the RNLI.

Its a basic stuff thou, common sense, ie check stitching when inflated and left over night, DO NOT leave life jacket folded up in its bag as this allows moisture and creases to form on the bent over joints this will lead eventually to a split in the material, to store life jacket leave in a non damp area and fold out flat, renew the compressed air canister and firing module if its an auto jacket,check firing pin is still sharp and not missing or bent, check whistle and as mentioned before manually inflate and i leave for a of 2 days min, then just wipe down with a damp cloth dipped in washing up liquid.

The above instructions can be obtained from the RNLI, the instructor on my RNLI sea safety check last year went through servicing.

But If your not confident in doing the work yourself then i would leave it well alone and send it back to the makers or suppliers, hope this helps.?

mark
 
As Mark says, you can check and re-arm a Lifejacket yourself - it's not particularly a hard job, but nor is it a recognised service and if you lack confidence you may well end up with that nagging feeling of "did I do it right"?

A link to the RNLI guidance notes can be read here pretty much exactly as Mark posted above.

One thing I would disagree with in the previous post though, is the replacing of the gas bottle. If you weigh the bottle and it has not lost more than 1g in weight (the total weight should be printed on the bottle), the bottle has no rust present and you can see no visible nicks or dents, then it does not need to be replaced. The bottle, whilst being the majority cost of any re-arming kit, does not "expire" as such and can be re-used providing the above criteria are met.

I would also disagree with "cheap" meaning "ineffective" - The company I work for produces a basic "no frills" lifejacket for light use, It meets all the required EN standards (Newer ones meeting ISO), it does exactly what it says on the tin - the Price is Sub £40 - I have one as a spare, I've tested it, it does it's job, my other half wears it when we're out fishing together. I routinely wear a higher spec one because I like the comfort and hard wearing qualities of the more expensive model, but I certainly wouldn't even hint that the budget model is any less effective than the mid or high range versions.
 
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