SECUMAR is a German lifejacket manufacturer. This family company has the particularity to produce in Germany all the parts which constitute their vests. If inflatable boots and protective covers are sewn and glued"at home", firing pins are also invented and built on site.
Home-made firing pins
SECUMAR has developed 2 automatic firing pin models: the Secumatic 3001S and the Secumatic 4001S. For both, the choice was made to use a cellulose tablet. About the size of a medicine (about 5 mm), this paper fibre tablet disintegrates in water. Solid it blocks a lever. Decomposed, it releases the lever which with the power of a spring hits the CO2 cartridge. The latter then inflates the vest.
Before being marketed, all tablets are checked at the factory one by one to ensure that they are the right thickness and weight. This very rigorous quality control ensures the same release time between all the vests.
Note that SECUMAR automatic strikers can also lock voluntarily to operate only manually. This will be useful for a person who sails in very wet areas (a crew member on the front beach for example). This prevents unintentional and unintentional triggering. A plastic part delivered with the vest which is installed in place of the cellulose pellet comes to block the automatic mode of the striker. On the 3001S, a yellow ribbon remains visible under the vest to remember that the manual mode is engaged. On the 4001S, a large yellow light appears in the vest window.
The reference for cellulose pellet firing pins
The firing pin 3001S (the older of the two) is distinguished by 3 indicators. All lights must be green for the vest to be ready for operation. The three indicators are marked with letters (A, B and C). The A is the indicator light on the manual release tab. The triggered zipper breaks a small red light. Indicator B indicates that the cellulose tablet is in place. And light C shows that the cartridge is tight.
On this firing pin, access to the pellet is easy. By unscrewing the cartridge first, then by opening a protection (tilting of a lever on the left of the striker). This lever is used to defuse the spring and change the pellet.
This slightly heavier and less ergonomic firing pin than the new model continues to be used because it is cheaper to produce.
With time, the screwed cartridges always end up unscrewing with the vibrations. Every vest user should have the reflex to check the screwing of his cartridge before any use of the vest. SECUMAR has solved this problem thanks to its Positorque system on the 3001S firing pin. At the end of the thread, the cartridge crushes a large rubber seal. This seal maintains pressure on the cartridge to prevent it from unscrewing.
The Rolls of the firing pin
The Secumatic 4001S firing pin is the latest development from SECUMAR. This model, more compact than its predecessor, is also much more ergonomic. He only has one psychic. On this model the cartridge is not screwed, but is installed with a quarter turn. This attachment is glued directly to the bottle. A patented system that prevents the cartridge from unscrewing with vibration. In addition, the needle that perforates the cartridge is installed in this part. So every cartridge change is like installing a new needle. The assurance that it is not damaged.
The cellulose tablet is integrated in a kind of plastic compartment. Thus it is not in contact with the fingers when it is changed. The receptacle that receives it is a drawer that opens with a lever (the one that arms the spring). The pellet position is controlled by coded pins. It cannot be inserted upside down. If the drawer is closed without the tablet, a new CO2 cartridge cannot be inserted. Another security! Similarly, if manual release has been used, a new cartridge can no longer be inserted. The Secumatic 4001S is a kind of ultimate trigger..
More powerful, simpler, more ergonomic, lighter, more reliable: this new generation firing pin is currently reserved for new generation vests at SECUMAR. But gradually the whole range is equipped with this model.
Think of the refill kits
SECUMAR offers refill kits that include both a new CO2 cartridge, but also two cellulose pellets (and green pins for the 3001S model). These kits depend on the volume of your vest (150, 220 or 275 N). Indeed the size of the CO2 cartridge is not the same 32, 43, 56 or 60 g). Always remember to have a kit with you in advance.
