How Do I Wash My Combo Inflator BCD? #askmark #scuba
Gary Willford
@garywillford
If you have air integration on your inflator/deflator, how do you recommend rinsing the inside of the BCD? I am not sure dumping water down the second stage is a good idea. #askmark
#scuba #scubadiving #scubadiver
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Silly question – but you dont know until you ask…. I am about to do a couple of months of diving (6 days a week) in salt water. How often would you recommend deep cleaning the internal bladder of the BCD? Thanks Mark, really appreciate your content.
If you give it a rinse with fresh water at the end of each day and leave it to dry overnight that’s the best thing you can do for your BCD. At the end of each week before your day off I’d put a few drops of detergent in for the wash to prevent any nasties from building up.
Try to keep it inflated in storage so the water any collects at the bottom and is easily drained.
Thats why i always reconnect all my gear to a tank and test everything right after i wash the gear. It purges any moisture that may have accidentally gone in, and the dry air from the tank helps as well.
Hey mark just curious if you’ve used any of those BCD shampoos. Thinking of getting a package since I’m buying my first new BC the BC2 by Atomic and want to keep that pricey piece of kit in tip top shape. Th ask in advance
#askmark
BCD Shampoos are great for removing build up and conditioning the seals. A small amount with every wash can help keep your BCD like new. Your BC2 has the added benefit of the laminated material so salt crystals cant penetrate and soak in.
I’ve used the McNett (now Gear Aid) BCD Shampoo before with good results. It’s nice to see a diver who wan’t to look after their gear
@Scuba Diver Magazine Thanks for the response. My dive shop at Revivex and it worked fantastic.
Great video
I personally hold that the easiest way to avoid problems with a combo inflator is not to have one on your gear. Given that you will be stressed, the second stage you are going to use in an emergency should be at least of the same performance as your primary!
This exactly.
I don’t know, I have one and it breaths very well.
When I had my PADi OW Pool Session I had to drain water out of my Jacket BCD. The Tank was removed. I did an Oral Inflation And Purge 3 times. Think I put 2 breaths in it before I handed to my instructor. Mine wasn’t the Combo Inflator. Are they Harder to use? Being that you need to purge air on ascent. But keep breathing. I kinda like the idea of one less hose.
They can be trickier to manage in an OOA situation which is one of the reasons many divers don’t like them.
Depending on your BCD design you still have your right shoulder dump to vent gas and it’s not impossible to vent gas from the inflator while you breathe from it, it just requires a little practice. If they were dangerous the manufacturers simply wouldn’t make them