BC Failure

[dumpsterDiver]

I think I would have ditched ten pounds of lead--roughly equal to the weight of the gas--shot the bag, and swam to the surface as soon as I recognized the problem, thereby retainng a huge reserve of gas in case the plan was in some way flawed (say, for example, I still couldn't swim it up, or I was so out of shape that my SAC tripled from the effort).

All weight on my belt was fixed. It is either all or none. It is however a very comforting idea to know that I could have simply dropped the belt, flaired out on my back and managed a bouyant ascent if needed.

I stayed on the wreck and speared 70 lbs of fish, no real need for me to abort the dive. I was planning on shooting the bag anyway because it was 6 ft seas and blowing hard that day and we had a live boat.

For what it is worth, this is my second BC failure, the other was when the OP spring failed resulting in the exact same inability of the BC to hold air. In that situation, I was solo in 180 ft and was overweighted with a large steel tank, no wetsuit, no ditchable lead and no reel. I was an idiot on that dive and stayed down spearing until I was in deco and had to kick up and do a swimming deco.

I will concede that the prudent thing to do when you have a gear failure is to abort the dive.

 

[doctormike]

I think I would have ditched ten pounds of lead--roughly equal to the weight of the gas--shot the bag, and swam to the surface as soon as I recognized the problem, thereby retainng a huge reserve of gas in case the plan was in some way flawed (say, for example, I still couldn't swim it up, or I was so out of shape that my SAC tripled from the effort).

Gotta say I agree with Vladimir here...

Unless there was some reason that you HAD to complete the mission (Navy Seal? Rescue?) I would definitely not have continued a dive with an immediately identified and potentially life-threatening equipment failure, even with a buddy (let alone solo).

You are obviously far more experienced and trained than I am, and I'm not doubting your ability to accurately assess the immediate risk and options. But I worry that a less experienced diver will read this and take home the lesson that you finish the dive before dealing with the problem.

Even if you make it to the surface, if you have no dry suit and no BC, you have no buoyancy assistance. No anchor line? What if you got blown away from the dive boat? OK, you can always ditch your rig, but now you are treading water in the open ocean in a wet suit... hope you hung onto your signaling devices!

I'm just trying to think it through...

 

[DevonDiver]

DD, I am confident that you can survive most anything at this juncture in your diving career...

Yep... I've dived so much that I grew gills and evolved a new gland that excrets nitrogen anally.


Complacency and over-confidence are the biggest dangers to experienced divers. That factor is very relevant to this thread IMHO.

 

[Ayisha]

I had the cap at the top of my inflator hose unscrew itself twice soon after service two different years when I first started diving. Both times it was at the beginning of a dive with a 7 mm farmer jane and I or my buddy discovered that my BC was not holding air and bubbling heavily and I did not start the descent. I was lucky that I was not overweighted and stayed right at the surface until we figured out what was going on. One time the cap was lost and the second time it was just very loose and we tightened it.

When I informed the shop that the cap had unscrewed itself, they told me that I need to make sure that all the caps are tight before every dive. After the first time, I checked the caps for a while. After the second time, I made sure I checked every time... for several years. Then, once in a while. Hmm, I had better get into that habit again.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Gotta say I agree with Vladimir here...

Unless there was some reason that you HAD to complete the mission (Navy Seal? Rescue?) I would definitely not have continued a dive with an immediately identified and potentially life-threatening equipment failure, even with a buddy (let alone solo).

You are obviously far more experienced and trained than I am, and I'm not doubting your ability to accurately assess the immediate risk and options. But I worry that a less experienced diver will read this and take home the lesson that you finish the dive before dealing with the problem.

Even if you make it to the surface, if you have no dry suit and no BC, you have no buoyancy assistance. No anchor line? What if you got blown away from the dive boat? OK, you can always ditch your rig, but now you are treading water in the open ocean in a wet suit... hope you hung onto your signaling devices!

I'm just trying to think it through...

I agree, the prudent thing was to ascend immediately with the maximum amount of air for contingencies. I was on a commercial spearfishing trip trying to make money, that was my "mission". The dangerous part of that dive was when I got into a tug-of war contest with a 350 lb jewfish who swallowed my spearshaft and 15 lb grouper... wanna guess who won that contest??? :

Once I reach the surface, my suit is expanded, I am close to neutral, I have a snorkel and can ditch the weight belt with no risk of an accelerated ascent. A BC is not really that necessary when on the surface with a thick wetsuit if you can ditch lead. I also carry a marine radio within a pressure proof canister and a dive alert and another second smb.

We were 50 miles from shore that day, so I do think about contingencies.

 

[doctormike]

I agree, the prudent thing was to ascend immediately with the maximum amount of air for contingencies. I was on a commercial spearfishing trip trying to make money, that was my "mission". The dangerous part of that dive was when I got into a tug-of war contest with a 350 lb jewfish who swallowed my spearshaft and 15 lb grouper... wanna guess who won that contest??? :

Hey, based on this story, I would have put my money on YOU..!

 

[jkaterenchuk]

I knew there was a reason that they made dual bladder wings and why they teach redundancy as a key concept when solo diving.

John

 

[knowone]

The dump comes factory glued and requires sharp whacking
and distortion to break the bond for cap removal and service.

Which really should be a rebuild.

Both the inflator and dump incorporate poorly designed U/S come back to me and buy stuff ideals.

The hole where the pull attaches with something less than a paperclip and electrical eyelet, is drilled almost as big as the stock itself.

But there's more. Too numerous to note. The valve is not Schrader.

Gaffer tape is your friend.

Aqualung is not.

Bollocks.

 

[DevonDiver]

Gaffer tape is your friend.

Aqualung is not.

Bollocks.

 

[diver 85]

Now you know how Mike Nelson felt during most of 20k dives(EDIT---without the SMB)------lol, ......My HERO, btw......