How do inflatables work?
All inflatables have the following: • An air holding chamber • A source of compressed gas, usually CO2 • An inflation mechanism to discharge the gas from the cylinder into the chamber Gas is released into the chamber by activating the mechanism to puncture the CO2 cylinder. The gas expands to fill the chamber to full size, which provides the buoyancy. There are some mechanisms that will actuate automatically when submerged in water, while others require the wearer to manually actuate the mechanism by pulling on the “Jerk to Inflate ” ripcord. It is important to remember that each time you discharge a CO2 cylinder, you must replace it with a new cylinder and re-arm the mechanism.
