Repair of diving equipment
Repair of diving equipment is divided into major, medium and current. Major and medium repairs are performed in workshops or factories, while current repairs are performed by station divers. Current repairs include work to eliminate malfunctions of rubber-fabric products, replacement of worn parts and components with those in the spare parts kit, installation of hose lines and other minor work.
Repair of rubber and rubber-fabric products.
The room in which the repair is being carried out must be dry, heated in cold weather and have good ventilation. For gluing patches, the room must have a table the size of the diving shirt, covered with sheet aluminum or other material resistant to gasoline and alcohol. All the necessary tools, rubber glue, gasoline and repair material must be prepared and laid out in the immediate vicinity of the work site. The worker's hands must be thoroughly washed in warm water with soap. The parts of the equipment to be repaired must be clean and well dried. Fire safety rules must be strictly observed in the room during work.
Rubber glue is manufactured by industry in ready-made form. If there is no industrial glue, it can be made from natural rubber. To do this, cut the rubber into small pieces, place it in a clean jar and fill it with clean gasoline B-70 (for one part of rubber by weight, take ten parts of gasoline). Close the jar tightly and put it in a warm place until the rubber is completely dissolved. The glue should be stored in a tightly closed jar in a warm room. The glue deteriorates in the cold.
Patches are glued to the punctures or abrasions of diving shirts, diving suits and breathing bags of the apparatus. Before gluing the patch, it is necessary to accurately determine the area of the damaged area, cut out the required patch from the repair material of a size slightly larger than the damaged area, carefully clean the gluing area from fluffed fabric, wipe with a gauze swab soaked in gasoline, and dry until the gasoline has completely evaporated. Place the damaged area of the equipment on the table so that it fits tightly to the table and has no wrinkles. Place the patch nearby on the table.
Apply 3-4 thin layers of rubber glue to the surfaces of the damaged area and the patch to be glued, allowing each layer to dry thoroughly. A sign of good drying is the absence of dried glue sticking to the fingers. The patch ready for gluing is folded and placed with the middle on the damaged area, then carefully, without allowing wrinkles, smoothed from the middle to the sides. After this, the patch should be tapped well with a wooden mallet (musket), a heavy object should be placed on it and held for 10-15 minutes.
Patches are applied to through holes on both sides: on a tiftic diving shirt — from tiftic on the outside, from domestic (percale) on the inside; on an elastic shirt — from adhesive tape; on diving suits — from materials corresponding to the fabrics of the diving suits.
