Warning : Halcyon wing

[Mal Bridgeman]

Originally Posted by warmwaterdiver

thanks Dad

Sorry if you found it patronising, Gary, not everyone has as much kit as you and therefore be as familiar with maintenance requirements, but you can't argue with the sentiment.
Mal

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by Mal Bridgeman

I think Clare's was at the inflator end.

I think Liisa's post is to be commended but the episode reinforces the need to check our equipment over periodically and get things serviced in a timely fashion, regardless of the brand.

Mal

Nahhh screw that, just get a Custom Divers like my one and kick it arround the garrage for five years, it works fine Baught Second hand I put five years probably 600+ hours on it and a grand total of nothing went wrong before I sold it. Total servicing cost, A squirt of silicone spray before every dive on the inflator

Now thats quality kit

ATB

Mark Chase

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by tom

From the description, it sounds more like a design problem than lack of servicing. The H inflator assemblies don't have a cord running through the middle of the corrugated tube, do they? Certainly the H (SS) inflator I had didn't have an attachment point for one.

Agreed re Liisa's post, it's the kind of issue that certainly should be fed back to the manufacturer.

Yep and pointed that out to SML with my Zeagle.
Even if you dont use the pull dump, the wire acts as a strain relief
mechanism.

But TBH its a design flaw, no question and IMO there were three!

1. There was no ridge or raised part on the plastic barrel of wing
attachment.
2. Nor was there a corresponding ridge moulded into the corrogated hose.
3. The clamp met solid and had no gap, which meant that there was
no way you could get enough tension on it. Might be done this way to
avoid squasing mind, but the solution is to have a thicker pipe not
weaker clip.

[Mal Bridgeman]

Feeling a little paternal on our recent trip to the Red Sea, on a rib ride out to the dive site, I noticed one of my buddies' inflator mechanisms was was beginning to part ways with the corrugated hose.

Much to the astonishment of the others on the RIB, I wipped out a cable tie from my wetnotes, zipped the inflator back on tightly, cut the end of the tie off with my trauma shears and saved the dive.

It was only a 30m poodle over a 1000m sea bed so who says you can take too much equipment

Mal

P.S. A more permanent and secure repair was made using 2 cable ties on the boat after the dive.

It was a Halcyon wing and seems the problem was related to the clamp which just isn't tight enough

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Mal Bridgeman

Feeling a little paternal on our recent trip to the Red Sea, on a rib ride out to the dive site, I noticed one of my buddies' inflator mechanisms was was beginning to part ways with the corrugated hose.

Much to the astonishment of the others on the RIB, I wipped out a cable tie from my wetnotes, zipped the inflator back on tightly, cut the end of the tie off with my trauma shears and saved the dive.

It was only a 30m poodle over a 1000m sea bed so who says you can take too much equipment

Mal

P.S. A more permanent and secure repair was made using 2 cable ties on the boat after the dive.

It was a Halcyon wing and seems the problem was related to the clamp which just isn't tight enough

Nail on head, the clamp is crap i'm in the process of changing the complete inflator system with one that has a hose inside it. In my view this is a big flaw in this pice of kit and could end up killing someone, i was ok mine failed getting back on the boat

[liisa]

Hi Sean

Halcyon stopped using the clamp last year and the inflators on all wings are now secured with a large, stiff cable tie. If you want me to send you some, PM me with the address. (This goes for anyone else - just let me or your local Halcyon retailer know and they will let you have some replacement cables).

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by Mal Bridgeman

Feeling a little paternal on our recent trip to the Red Sea, on a rib ride out to the dive site, I noticed one of my buddies' inflator mechanisms was was beginning to part ways with the corrugated hose.

Much to the astonishment of the others on the RIB, I wipped out a cable tie from my wetnotes, zipped the inflator back on tightly, cut the end of the tie off with my trauma shears and saved the dive.

It was only a 30m poodle over a 1000m sea bed so who says you can take too much equipment

Mal

P.S. A more permanent and secure repair was made using 2 cable ties on the boat after the dive.

It was a Halcyon wing and seems the problem was related to the clamp which just isn't tight enough

The morel of the tail is: if your going to buy crappy Halcyon wings make sure you take cable ties and gaffer tape with you every dive to hold them together.

Thanks for the heads up M8

ATB

Mark Chase

[RichieG]

Originally Posted by liisa

Hi Sean

Halcyon stopped using the clamp last year and the inflators on all wings are now secured with a large, stiff cable tie. If you want me to send you some, PM me with the address. (This goes for anyone else - just let me or your local Halcyon retailer know and they will let you have some replacement cables).

Liisa,

How large are these cable ties? The same size as the cable tie used to secure mouth peices to regs or larger?

Ta

Richard

[TerryH]

TBH if they havnt re-engineered a moulded lip on the plastic as a stop,
a tie isnt that much better as a solution.

All you have is a clamp/tie on a smooth barrel. Sod says that will work
loose and come off. With a lip this wouldnt happen.

[Madfish]

Originally Posted by TerryH

TBH if they havnt re-engineered a moulded lip on the plastic as a stop,
a tie isnt that much better as a solution.

All you have is a clamp/tie on a smooth barrel. Sod says that will work
loose and come off. With a lip this wouldnt happen.

Ooooohhh I'm not so sure about that - Mal has very strong hands ....

Di