Hi there, i was reading about a 1999 kayaking accident, where the paddler found his horn was inoperative after dunking in water.
is this something common with all disposible horns?
can they be blown or shaken to clear it?
thanks
Probably all the same disposable means cheap. Cheap means not going to work after water. My boat horn never works and it’s no cheap or on the water.
You mean an air horn with can possibly. Whistles don’t fail.
disposible means a small deoderant sized can.
a non disposable marine horn would be the type you would see bolted to a cruiser. along with its 12v battery, space / weight would be an issue!
Generally those that work with a compressed gas will work after immersion and will clear themselves when used. However, if previously exposed to water, especially salt water, they can fail as corrosion sets in. Also a slow leak can render it useless over time. In the incident you read about, the question is whether or not it worked before they set out.
Like any piece of safety equipment, test it periodically, even though this will eventually use it up.
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Yeah wait a week and try it. 
We bought a brand new one to start our race two weeks ago and it failed right out of the box. Fortunately, I had an old school freon air horn that I bought at K mart in the 1980’s. It had been sitting in the garage for over 30 years, but it worked just fine. I know if you dropped those in the water, it just took one toot to blow the water out.