WTC by Dave Merriman

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  • corsaire
    Junior Member
    • Mar 2003
    • 166
    #1

    WTC by Dave Merriman

    Today testing my Akula II, the clippard grey hose in the WTC blew up (see bulge in the pics). No idea what caused it since I understand this set up has worked well in the past. This is a rather old version by Dave M. which I bought from him back in 2008 but I just put to use this month. Very frustrating since I was looking forward to this season for happy divings, big set back.

    Has anybody has had this problem before? Is this repairable? And do you think Dave could have a warranty on this?

    I'll appreciate all feedback and answers

    Thanks,

    Brian




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  • PaulC
    Administrator
    • Feb 2003
    • 1542
    #2
    Re: WTC by Dave Merriman

    The tubing used in the cylinder is a built in failsafe for gas overpressure. It's designed to fail when the gas pressure gets too high. This prevents failure of the metal parts which can be dangerous. And negates the need for a mechanical pressure relief valve thus saving weight.

    I've had this happen on one of old D&E units. I gassed up the propel bottle, ran the boat, then forgot to bleed off the remaining gas. It sat in my hot car while I was packing up and POP! My little gas hose blew just like yours.

    To repair it just replace the burst section of hose. Depending on your dexterity you might be able to do it without removing the ballast tank bulkhead. It shouldn't be too hard to take apart if necessary. Besides, it will allow you to better learn how your WTC is constructed.

    Regarding warranty, you could ask -- but assuming this is operator error I wouldn't expect it to fall under one.
    Warm regards,

    Paul Crozier
    <><

    Comment

    • salmon
      Treasurer
      • Jul 2011
      • 2327
      #3
      Re: WTC by Dave Merriman

      David Merriman more than likely be glad to help you on this. PM me if you do not have his email address. Or you can go to http://forum.sub-driver.com and post there.
      Peace,
      tom
      If you can cut, drill, saw, hit things and swear a lot, you're well on the way to building a working model sub.

      Comment

      • corsaire
        Junior Member
        • Mar 2003
        • 166
        #4
        Re: WTC by Dave Merriman

        This happened just only few minutes after filling up the on-board copper bottle while preparing the boat for water testing, there had not been residual gas left in the hose fail system.
        What I think it was is "age", the hose material (what is it BTW, polyurethane?) perhaps "dried up" after almost 8 years of sitting in the shelf (?).

        Anyway, now I just need to fix it.

        Thanks a lot for the feedback.

        Comment

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