Auto life jackets caution

[Old Scaley]

Hi all. I do a fair bit of my boating on my own and have had a couple of unplanned swims over the years, so I now wear an auto inflate life jacket most of the time. Every year at this time I get the replacement parts and give it a test by pulling the cord. Usually the vest inflates and I leave it up overnight to test for leaks. This year I pulled the cord and nothing happened. I have inspected all the parts everything looks ok, so maybe I just didn't screw the cylinder in tight enough last year.

I have manually inflated it and if there are no leaks I will try the cord again tomorrow. If it still doesn't work I will head to Whitworths to get it checked out. Problem is that now I can't be confident that the thing will work once I do the service. If you have serviced one of these you will know there is not much you can do wrong.

[Dubbzy]

good post, I will go and check mine, its one of them thing that you want to work when / if you need it.

[Do$tylz]

hey old scaley - where did you buy your inflatable recharge/service kits?

[Old Scaley]

good post, I will go and check mine, its one of them thing that you want to work when / if you need it.

Unfortunately the only way you can be 100% certain is to fire it off! and then you can't be sure it twill fire again once you reload. Curiosity got the better of me so I gave it another shot after reassembling the unit with the old cylinder in place. Worked fine this time, so the learning is to make sure that the cylinder is in tightly. I hope I never have to use it in a real life situation but I like to make sure all my safety gear is as good as it can be, just in case. Same thing with the trailer. I get the bearings replaced every year even if they don't need it. Small price for peace of mind, I reckon, especially if you are doing a bit of highway towing.

[wallyfly]

I've worn RFD brand autos for 23 years and have used their service every year which gives me the assurance that the service has been done correctly by SOLAS qualified technician. Costs about $40 and they are at 8 Miles Plains. Be Safe, Catch a fish. Tight lines. :cheer: IanM

[Old Scaley]

I've worn RFD brand autos for 23 years and have used their service every year which gives me the assurance that the service has been done correctly by SOLAS qualified technician. Costs about $40 and they are at 8 Miles Plains. Be Safe, Catch a fish. Tight lines. :cheer: IanM

Good advice Ian. When you consider that the parts kit costs about $30 the extra ten bucks is neither here nor there for the peace of mind.

[Old Scaley]

hey old scaley - where did you buy your inflatable recharge/service kits?

Hi Henry, I get the kits at Whitworths at The Gabba. Available on their website as well.

[still here]

Do you pull the cord each inspection time or did you do it to see what happens?

I self serviced mine in Feb and found the cylinder pristine. I manually blew it up for the twelve hour pressure check and put it back together.

It doesn't say on the service checklist I downloaded off the net, to replace parts.

I will probably test fire it off next Feb just to experience it and not do it for the third test.

I'll get a new one instead of sending it off to the pros for the fourth check as it will be a bit grubby by then.

I wear mine every voyage so it is getting wear and tear I'd say.

I slept in it half a night till the hard cylinder pressing into me woke me.