FreeFloat
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What is a valve drill?
What is an air gun, what does it do, and how is it similar to what the drill is supposed to simulate?
DIR for recreational divers?
- Thread starter ScoobyPat
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What is a valve drill?
What is an air gun, what does it do, and how is it similar to what the drill is supposed to simulate?
detroit diver
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Valve drill:
You practice shutting down your valves and turning them back on. Very useful in a valve failure or free-flow to preserve your remaining gas. Also very useful if you jump off a boat with your gas turned off and no bouyancy.
The air gun is used to simulate a valve failure or free flow. Your buddy or instuctor will have a small air gun attached to his rig and will swim up behind you and release the air. Upon hearing it, you need to make some decisions as to the proper action, or non-action.
Hope his helps.
You practice shutting down your valves and turning them back on. Very useful in a valve failure or free-flow to preserve your remaining gas. Also very useful if you jump off a boat with your gas turned off and no bouyancy.
The air gun is used to simulate a valve failure or free flow. Your buddy or instuctor will have a small air gun attached to his rig and will swim up behind you and release the air. Upon hearing it, you need to make some decisions as to the proper action, or non-action.
Hope his helps.
In our DIR/F (and most now, likely) the urban legend (maybe now better urbane legend?!) of blind side mask ripping wasn't a part of the in-water course.
It was far worse.
Having the hoverhing hulk silently roll over to your graba$$ group as you're diving around the line course, get your attention, then simply lift a finger and point at your mask was worse, as you knew "&$^$%# here we go...."
For us, all of that para-military crapola you hear about never happened. The drills and loading was all calculated and planned, and taped. We had no idea when, where or what was next (still achieving the purpose of the surprise, reaction and response) but it wasn't like the combat-type stories many of us heard about.
On the second dive I thought I was all that, and simply whipped out my spare mask. Only to have that removed, too. That was the maskless dive. By the end of that drill our instructor had a whole arm full of masks...lookin' all Copa Cabana.
K
It was far worse.
Having the hoverhing hulk silently roll over to your graba$$ group as you're diving around the line course, get your attention, then simply lift a finger and point at your mask was worse, as you knew "&$^$%# here we go...."
For us, all of that para-military crapola you hear about never happened. The drills and loading was all calculated and planned, and taped. We had no idea when, where or what was next (still achieving the purpose of the surprise, reaction and response) but it wasn't like the combat-type stories many of us heard about.
On the second dive I thought I was all that, and simply whipped out my spare mask. Only to have that removed, too. That was the maskless dive. By the end of that drill our instructor had a whole arm full of masks...lookin' all Copa Cabana.
K
SeaJay
Contributor
Hahahahahaaaaaa!!!
"His name was Andrew... He was a dii-ver...."
chrpai
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So is checking your air before entering the water, entering the water with your BC inflated, and knowing how to drop your weights. No valve drill is needed for single tank recreational divers.
WJL
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Because it has never happened that anyone has ever made a mistake or had an accident.
detroit diver
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Okay. You've suited up. Checked your air. and ready to jump off the boat. The nice DM decides to check your air too and shuts it off. Never seen that happen?
You can bury your head in the sand, or you can learn something. Your choice.
DD is right on. It happens.
Me, like a dolt, leave a fin on the rail so I can grab my hood.
My buddy, suiting up next to me, elbows said fin over the side. Diving Turtles, this thing sinks into the abyss (about 60'). I hit the swim step, grab a pair of fins from the DM and go in after it. He must have turned off my gas, or (unlikely, but possible) I didn't turn it on. I hit the water, got about 4 feet under and heard the sound none of us want to hear - as I sucked the pressure from my reg hose, and got nothing more.
So I hit the surface, and its pretty rough. I'm bobbin and poppin up, trying to keep my dome above the waves with full wrights, an empty drysuit, and empty BC and empty lungs.
First and second gasps to fill lungs and exhale into BC inflator to get positive. Reach back, grab the valve and turn it on. Get back to the swim step, resolved to the fact I'll never see that fin again.
As I'm climbing back abord, a diver surfaces waving it. "Who's Ken?..."
Uh, that would be me. The guy in the black dry suit with the red face.
It happens. Sometimes you need to reach your valve. For me, it happened on the surface - no biggie. Just a little extitement for the afternoon. At depth, something gets weird, I want to have complete control of my gas delivery system. That includes my regs, my hoses, my inflator AND my valve.
Seeing legions of people marching into the water each weekend at the park with their tanks at their butts and their valves at about V5 on their backs just amazes me. Scary.
K
chrpai
Contributor
Did he also let the air out of your BC and superglue your weightbelts on?
I repeat, valve drills are not critical for single tank recreational divers.
chrpai
Contributor
>>Me, like a dolt, leave a fin on the rail so I can grab my hood.
Problem one, don't do that.
>> I hit the swim step, grab a pair of fins from the DM and go in after it.
Problem two, your not diving your plan which would have included a predive equipment check.
>> He must have turned off my gas, or (unlikely, but possible) I didn't turn it on.
Problem three, blame others. See above.
>>So I hit the surface, and its pretty rough. I'm bobbin and poppin up, trying to keep my dome above the waves with full wrights, an empty drysuit, and empty BC and empty lungs.
Oral inflate or dump weights. OW 101. Considering your stress level, dump weights would have been safer... but let me guess your one of those guys with a heavy backplate and steel tanks with no ditchable weight.
>>First and second gasps to fill lungs and exhale into BC inflator to get positive. Reach back, grab the valve and turn it on. Get back to the swim step, resolved to the fact I'll never see that fin again.
Ok your getting better. To bad you couldn't resolve yourself to that while you will still on the boat.
>>It happens. Sometimes you need to reach your valve. For me, it happened on the surface - no biggie.
People with doubles have to reach for valves. You never needed to reach for your valve. You can always abort the dive, you just couldn't bring yourself around to that.
But everyone would much rather learn a new skill and feel superior rather then focusing on the basic skills they were already taught.
Problem one, don't do that.
>> I hit the swim step, grab a pair of fins from the DM and go in after it.
Problem two, your not diving your plan which would have included a predive equipment check.
>> He must have turned off my gas, or (unlikely, but possible) I didn't turn it on.
Problem three, blame others. See above.
>>So I hit the surface, and its pretty rough. I'm bobbin and poppin up, trying to keep my dome above the waves with full wrights, an empty drysuit, and empty BC and empty lungs.
Oral inflate or dump weights. OW 101. Considering your stress level, dump weights would have been safer... but let me guess your one of those guys with a heavy backplate and steel tanks with no ditchable weight.
>>First and second gasps to fill lungs and exhale into BC inflator to get positive. Reach back, grab the valve and turn it on. Get back to the swim step, resolved to the fact I'll never see that fin again.
Ok your getting better. To bad you couldn't resolve yourself to that while you will still on the boat.
>>It happens. Sometimes you need to reach your valve. For me, it happened on the surface - no biggie.
People with doubles have to reach for valves. You never needed to reach for your valve. You can always abort the dive, you just couldn't bring yourself around to that.
But everyone would much rather learn a new skill and feel superior rather then focusing on the basic skills they were already taught.
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