I inherited an inflatable life vest with a recent sailboat purchase. I ordered a rearm kit for it which included the proper cylinder and trigger. The water activated trigger in the kit is yellow but the one currently in the vest is red. The yellow one does not seem to want to go onto the post. Anyone know if they are the same size and I'm just not forcing it hard enough. If they are different, where might I find a red one? Thanks.
Rearming an inflatable life vest
- Thread starter George Jarvis
- Start date
Buying rearming kits is like buying pantyhose, too many choices. You have to know the model of the vest. I bought mine at West and bought a rearming kit at the same time. Most of the kits list the models that they will fit. The kit for an offshore West inflatable is LELAND–Inflatable Life Jacket Rearming Kit, Automatic, 33 g., 1/2" Bayonet.
This is the link to the Leland site with a cross reference list:
www.go2marine.com
This is the link to the Leland site with a cross reference list:
Life Jacket Re-Arm Kit Cross-Reference
Find a replacement re-arm kit for your inflatable life jacket.
I noticed on this list all the bobbins are yellow, none are red. If I recall correctly the original SOSpenders used a red bobbin and they are no longer available for good reason.Buying rearming kits is like buying pantyhose, too many choices. You have to know the model of the vest. I bought mine at West and bought a rearming kit at the same time. Most of the kits list the models that they will fit. The kit for an offshore West inflatable is LELAND–Inflatable Life Jacket Rearming Kit, Automatic, 33 g., 1/2" Bayonet.
This is the link to the Leland site with a cross reference list:
Life Jacket Re-Arm Kit Cross-Reference
Find a replacement re-arm kit for your inflatable life jacket.
SOSpenders were first to the market about 20 years ago with inflatable life jackets for sailors. A welcomed alternative to the various bulky foam PFDs. Initially they did not meet USCG carriage requirements and for good reason. The red bobbin was too sensitive to moisture. When immersed in water the red pill rapidly dissolved allowing a spring loaded pin to pierce the CO2 cartridge and inflate the vest. The problem was the pill dissolved too readily which caused 2 failure modes.
In Failure mode 1 the pill dissolved without being immersed causing the vest to inflate. If this occurred it could trap someone inside the boat or it could inflate at some other in opportune time like driving down the highway at 65 when the vest on the front seat suddenly inflates or blowing apart a gear bag in the car's trunk.
The second failure mode and the more dangerous one had the pill slowly disintegrating which would cause the pin to slowly puncture the cartridge seal. In this condition the CO2 would escape without inflating the vest. I was even more surprised when I saw this on my vest than when the vest auto inflated on the front seat of my truck.
The original SOSpenders and their rearming kits were pulled from the market. Depending on the model, there may be some useful SS fittings and webbing that can be salvaged.
Anyone else curious about the panty hose reference?Buying rearming kits is like buying pantyhose, too many choices. You have to know the model of the vest. I bought mine at West and bought a rearming kit at the same time. Most of the kits list the models that they will fit. The kit for an offshore West inflatable is LELAND–Inflatable Life Jacket Rearming Kit, Automatic, 33 g., 1/2" Bayonet.
This is the link to the Leland site with a cross reference list:
Life Jacket Re-Arm Kit Cross-Reference
Find a replacement re-arm kit for your inflatable life jacket.
Buy chance is the bobbin yellow and when it activated the red sleeve slides up to let you know to replace the cartridge?