My neighbor's comment about his old floor jack made me check my own gear

He was telling me he had his 3-ton jack from the 80s fail last month, and it was just sitting there with a slow leak he never noticed. I went out and looked at my own jack, which I bought used about five years back, and sure enough the seal looks a bit rough. It's one of those things you just assume works until it doesn't. How often do you guys check your basic safety gear like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan6531mo agoMost Upvoted

Good point from @piper_green about the release valve. Guess we all need a yearly gear check, right?

piper_green1mo ago

Check the release valve too?

jade2216d ago

My buddy Mark had a close call with his release valve last summer. He was out at Big Bear and his BCD was acting weird, holding air when it shouldve dumped. Turns out the valve was caked with salt and sand from him never rinsing his gear after ocean dives. He spent the whole trip fighting his buoyancy and got a nasty headache from the stress. Now he makes sure to check that valve before every trip, not just once a year. Kinda glad he found out on a shallow lake dive instead of a deep one.