Life vest inflated while stored on boat. Common?

stickinthemud57

stickinthemud57

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Apr 11, 2020
780
MacGregor 26s Scott's Landing, Grapevine TX
I purchased a self-inflating life vest from Amazon. Not the cheapest, but inexpensive. I was surprised to find it had inflated itself while stored on the boat. Everything was dry, so it was not due to moisture. I has been hot here lately, so it might have gotten a tad toasty in the boat. Might this have caused the inflation mechanism to let loose, or is it more likely I just had a defective vest.

I have purchased another one from West Marine and want to avoid having the same thing happen. Should I just not store it on the boat?

Thanks!
 
JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,744
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
You must re-add your salt pill that dissolves and inflates it.
Should be done once a season.

Jim....
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
22,746
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Not had that experience. Store my PFD’s on the boat. Temps sometimes get to 95.
 
D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,700
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
I've had an inflatable vest for decades. The original inflation device is no longer made and not in use on USCG certified vests. The problem was the little pill dissolved too easily from small amounts of moisture. I had 2 bad experiences with these.

In the first experience I had sailed in extremely wet conditions, a thunderstorm. Put the wet foul weather gear and the inflatable on the front seat of my truck and had it inflate at 70 mph on the interstate.

The second case was more concerning. Over the winter the the pill had gradually dissolved and allowed the spike to puncture the CO2 cartridge, not quickly and suddenly as designed, just a little bit which allowed the CO2 to escape without inflating the PFD. There was no readily available evidence to indicate the cartridge had been discharged.

I now have 2 Mustang Inflatable with a hydrostatic inflator and 2 BackTow inflatables which use the new style pill, the same as the Spinlocks. In the past few years I've had no problem with either. Every spring I manually inflate the vests and allow them to remain inflated for 24 hours and inspect the trigger mechanisms.
 
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BigEasy

BigEasy

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Jun 21, 2004
2,765
Beneteau 343 Slidell, LA
stickinthemud57 said:
I was surprised to find it had inflated itself while stored on the boat. Everything was dry, so it was not due to moisture.
I have purchased another one from West Marine and want to avoid having the same thing happen.
Click to expand
I have a West Marine (Suspenders) bobbin type auto inflating vest that self inflated a few years ago. The bobbin had a current service date. High heat / humidity can set it off. Had the same thoughts as to storing off boat; however it’s only happened once in 20 years. I usually do a complete inspection annually; inflate with compressor to do a 24 hour leak test, check the bobbin expiration date, weigh the CO2 cylinder, & repack.
 
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rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,553
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
I had three inflate when i didn't want them too... but it had nothing to do with the mechanism and everything to do with a bratty little kid that belonged to one of my guests.:mad:

After I asked him not to do that again (the first time) he looked me right in the eye and pulled the rip on his mom's vest.:angry: I later discovered a third in the laz had been inflated... suspect I know how that happened as well.:badbad:
 
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WayneH

WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,087
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
I have three in a locker on my boat and one of them popped sometime in the last year. Not sure when because the boat hasn't gone out recently. Captain is not broke but you can see the cracks on the X-rays. :yikes:
 
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Scott T-Bird

Scott T-Bird

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Oct 26, 2008
6,239
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
I have 3 Spinlock deckvest Lites and 2 of them went off after more than a year. I replaced the cartridges and haven't had a re-occurrence. I also have a Deckvest for the 4th season now without discharge.
 
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rgranger

rgranger

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Jan 19, 2010
12,553
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
Went to the boat today. My inflatable had popped. How weird. Never had one go off on its own in the many years i've been sailing and just days after this thread... mine popped. We are living in the Matrix....
1690083948131.png
 
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Alan Gomes

Alan Gomes

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Nov 22, 2011
1,246
Ericson 26-2 San Pedro, CA
rgranger said:
I had three inflate when i didn't want them too... but it had nothing to do with the mechanism and everything to do with a bratty little kid that belonged to one of my guests.:mad:

After I asked him not to do that again (the first time) he looked me right in the eye and pulled the rip on his mom's vest.:angry: I later discovered a third in the laz had been inflated... suspect I know how that happened as well.:badbad:
Click to expand
And, of course, it goes without saying that the parents offered to cover the costs for the rearming kits--right?
 
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jviss

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,089
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
The only two auto inflate harness/PFD jackets I have self-inflated due to humidity. I converted both to manual.
 
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