Life Raft service stories, or don't always trust a professional

[Rumrace]

I’ve been doing visuals and pressure tests on scuba tanks for years. I think the real life span of a raft is 15 years but the tanks 4 years is max. A scuba tank requires a visual every two years and pressure test every 5. Gets date stamped on the tank. Steel 4,000psi aluminum 3,000 psi. Unlike the fireman’s tank they are built to withstand outside pressure. The small 300cu aluminum weighing in at 54 pounds full. Yes air has weight even bone dry. 300CU @3,000 psi is about 2 pounds.
Easier to spot on a fibreglass wrapped firmans tank.
So to refill your life raft tank it has to pass inspection for visual and pressure.
I have a retired life raft in Lou of a back seat in a small Donzi. Just in case it has a new tank. The old one did not pass the pressure test where the tank is stretched and then measured empty. Failed stamp and required hole drilled

[Rumrace]

PS. I saw a bad tank fill in Mexico at a popular scuba shop. It blew out the concrete barrier wall around the four stage compressor the concrete block shop wall and kill one employee
I witness an idiot park a running diesel truck beside the air intake on a compressor. Big sign No Parking.

[liferaft]

I serviced life rafts from 1983 to 2017 and there are a few things in this thread that need clearing up.

1st: One NEVER deflates a raft through the Pressure Relief Valves [PRV]! All rafts have manual inflations valves [which should be on the inside of the raft] designed for both inflating and deflating the raft. Trying to use the PRV's will most likely damage them.

2nd: The "funnel" is called a siphon tube or dip tube. It is designed so that you will be drawing liquid, not gas out of the cylinder when it is discharged. Not all life rafts inflate using CO2 which requires the use of a siphon tube. Rafts that inflate using high pressure air or nitrogen will not employ a siphon tube. There are plenty of rafts out there with this type of inflation system. Switlik and BFA were brands I serviced that used high pressure air in some of their rafts.

3rd: Since sometime in the 90's Switlik rafts have been a welded construction, not glue. They use a urethane coated material, not natural rubber or neoprene.

Although not addressed, the folding pattern for a life raft will have a major impact on how it inflates. Some are very complicated and unless you are servicing them every day you need to consult the folding drawings. Improper folding can cause the raft to inflate upside down or the painter to strangle the raft. Neither are optimum outcomes. I have yet to see folding drawings online [although I haven't looked since 2017] but I doubt they are available to the general public.

[nuku34]

To Rollie
Thank you for the "clearing up"

I admit I made a couple of mistakes in story 2 of my original post.

In trying to figure out what went wrong with the PRV's, I made the wrong assumption that the service tech had used them to deflate the raft. That was totally wrong. It now appears that the PRV's just went brittle with age and fell apart due to the spring pressure. That particular model of Beaufort raft was a "lightweight" verson, and some of the fittings including the PRV's were not the most robust.
I wasn't aware that some raft inflation systems use compressed air, not CO2, and hence don't need the siphon tube.
The Beaufort raft in question was glued, not welded, but it was still in good condition. I didn't see any indication of seams coming apart, but that doesn't mean that they would not have failed in an actual in story seas situation.
To Rumrace, Re the cylinder: It weighted at the stated gross of 6.4KG. I secured it in a vice; pulled the trigger line and the CO2/Nitrogen shot out for about 8 seconds. So this particular 20 year-old steel cylinder and valve were not in anyway compromised by age. Yes, they should be inspected (valve only) every 3 years, and pressure tested every 5 years.

[Ardens2]

We had a 2015 Winslow 8 man life raft when we bought our boat this past Jan. It was due for it's 3 year service which we needed done by an authorized service center for an upcoming rally we are in. We took it to LRSE in Tiverton RI who looked at the raft and condemned it saying the seams were falling apart. They contacted Winslow who authorized it being sent to them in FL for inspection/repair. They agreed that it was not worth repairing and replaced the life raft with a new Winslow 8 man off shore raft under warranty, made custom for us. Most life rafts are warrantied for something like 12 years as long as you do have it serviced every 3 years. You can ask to be present for the service to watch it done. LRSE never tried to sell me a new raft. I can highly recommend both Life Raft and Survival Equipment in Tiverton as well as Winslow life rafts. It is great when a warranty actually works out for you!

[LargeMarge]

1989.
Sacramento, California.
East in the mountains is a great river for floating.
That morning, the two of us rented an inflatable raft, stowed our lunch, and put in.
Our raft was bright yellow, and stayed cool to the touch.
.
Two hours later, sun blazing overhead, we were almost dozing as the slow current took us to the take-out point.
.
A lot of folks were pulled up on various beaches for snacks, beverages, and adult activities... such as conversations, navel-gazing, exchange of recipes, that sort of behavior.
As we passed one couple, their black inflatable raft safely up on the sun-drenched sand far from the water so it could not float away, that inflation reached its zenith.
.
Over-heated, internal air pressure pegging the 'whoops!' meter, a seam let go.
The resulting twenty-minute fart echoed for miles.

[Idaho]

Today I opened the 1999 Zodiac 6-man offshore liferaft. It came with the sailboat I bought in June. It was last serviced in 2009. It is discontinued and can no longer have certified servicing.

Overall, it is in good condition. It was packed in a vaccum bag, it still smelled like new. All the seams and glue joints are good.

One of the plastic overpressure valves was brittle and broken. The lower perimeter tube will not hold air, unless one of the tapered repair plugs is screwed into the broken valve.


Screwed is the operating word for this raft. Too bad a brittle, broken 75 cent part is the end of this Zodiac.

[LargeMarge]

Originally Posted by Idaho

... 1999 Zodiac 6-man offshore liferaft...no longer have certified servicing...plastic overpressure valves was brittle and broken. The lower perimeter tube will not hold air, unless one of the tapered repair plugs is screwed into the broken valve... a brittle, broken 75 cent part is the end of this Zodiac.

.
(1970s.
We had a raft rental business, offering Zodiac exclusively.
Similar to most owner-operated businesses, we rarely trashed anything.
Fact is, our bone-yard was a source of great treasures.)
.
Could that section be spliced with functional?
Could a fresh valve be 'welded' in?
.
Of course, for a SOLAS contraption, replacement of the entire raft is probably the better decision.

[nuku34]

Idaho:
Your old broken valve can be unscrewed from the tube.
This company in the UK makes PRV (pressure relief valves) and sells them to many life raft manufacturers.



https://www.leafieldmarine.com/produ...relief-valves/


There are several UK retail companies that sell Leafield Marine PRV's. I got a US$60 quote for one valve including shipping to the USA.

[Idaho]

I decided that fixing one problem, is just asking for a cascading series of more problems.

Overall the condition of the raft was pretty good. Most of the tape has lost its adhesion and left sticky residue behind. However, the glue and seams were basically perfect.

I stripped everything useful off the raft; rope, cord, webbing, paddles, pressure bottle, first aid kit .....

A friend knows a batch of local kids who will enjoy playing with it until it is ultimately destroyed.

Just about ready to pull the trigger on buying a new raft.

[nuku34]

Idaho: I think you did the right thing. That's basically what I just did that with my 20 year old raft, and put in an order for a new one.

[Wotname]

On a similar issue, I once had some inflatable PFDs made by RFD. Each year or so I gave them a self service, manually inflated them, checked the gas bottle and trigger and so on. Every time they passed with flying colours UNTIL...

After maybe 20 years, they would no longer hold pressure overnight. Previously they held pressure for 24 hours and then at the next check, they were porous. The fabric looked and felt the same as previously but it was now useless.

So the previous check did not tell me anything about the future serviceability of the PFD. It was a good lesson to learn and best learnt on land! Now I would never consider an 'old' PFD or life raft even it had been recently inspected.