So, I've been a lurker here for quite awhile. Bought a pair of steel 72s and a RAM in '15 and cannot adequately express how much I enjoy using it and how much better a diver it has made me - and I still have LOTS to learn. Thank you, all of you that make diving this stuff in enough demand that the activity is supported. I have almost converted a few buddies to the point where they are now snooping around ebay for their own double hose rigs. I may never have the opportunity to own a set of dive-able triple 30s (or what size they actually were) but the bug has bitten me good.
I'm still building out some different configurations to dive my RAM but I've gotten into the 70's single hose regs a little too. Diving a horse collar is something I've wanted to try for a long time. Seems like every one of them I see on ebay is a nasty mess that "does not hold air". I know the USD bladders can be pretty delicate.
Well, I found the cleanest USD horse collar I've ever seen on ebay this week and the picture of it in the auction showed it fully inflated and was described as able to hold air. Got it in the mail today. I promptly inflated it and started testing everything. I was ecstatic! Then, a his started coming from the shoulder dump..... Great...
Bottom line, the bladder is intact and in pretty good shape. The plastic flanges that are a part of the shoulder dump, oral inflate elbow, power inflator and CO2 fill are as crispy and delicate as a corn flake. I've removed the bladder from the BC. Is this a lost cause trying to source new fittings to install with aqua seal? I've got Dan @ Vintage Scuba Supply looking for a replacement NOS bladder for me but I'd like to have a spare on tap.