Dive Question

[Walter]

I hope she's properly weighted now.

 

[captain]

I hope she's properly weighted now.

Not being properly weighted is the number one problem with todays dive training.

Way too many new divers just strap on weight with no knowledge of what is really needed and then depend on a BC. Not a good way to dive.

 

[1_sl]

One of my buddy actually did get a leak on his BC on a recent wreck dive we did, but didn't realize it (Note: it could have been a problem if it's a wall dive).
Since it was an anchored boat dive, he just followed the line up without any problem. We later found the leak and fixed it. The cause: overweighting - overinflation!

Lesson - underweight is bad, but overweight is not good either!

 

[JCR]

Take my experience for what it is worth ... on a recent warm water dive trip my bc failed at depth (60 maybe 80 feet). It is a back inflate type and the connection between the inflator hose and the bladder came apart. I discovered this when trying to add a puff of air during the dive and heard a bubble behind my head and I felt no buoyancy change as a result of the puff. I was able to ascend to the safety stop with no problem (wearing a 1.5mil wetsuit, 14 pounds of lead, AL80 tank). I stayed close to my buddy once we surfaced and I also made sure we were near the boat's ladder so there would be no issue. At the surface there was no problem staying afloat and getting on the ladder.

The boat crew examined my bc and indicated it could not be repaired. Since I experienced no problems on the first dive, I made the decision with my buddy to do the next dive and carry along a large SMB the boat crew gave me and my buddy and I made a plan to address any potential problem. The next dive was uneventful. The DM did insist that the SMB be deployed while we were at the safety stop and things continued to be uneventful.

We took some time before we did our boat diving to get our weighting close enough. And, since I felt as if I there was enough buoyancy in the tank at the end of the dive combined with the SMB and my buddy being near by, this did not seem unsafe. Others may not agree with that risk assessment, but it worked for me.

The point to me is, as others have stressed, getting the weighting so that it works for you is a key part of the equation.

Good luck, good question.

 

[Artimas]

BC failures can happen. I had a rental BC fail on me in Coz, even though it tested OK before diving.

I was able to swim my rig up, and my buddy's (my son) BC held us both up with no problem after I dropped my weights at the surface. The operator didn't ask about the missing weight belt, but I figured that was his cost for renting me the POS BC.

 

[Splitlip]

My wife's BC 'exploded' a few years ago. We had finished our dive, and to maintain + buoyancy at the surface, we inflated our BC's. Hers ended up as a bubble maker, and she started to sink. I grabbed her and took her weights off and headed a few yards to a ladder and she climbed out safely.
Not as stressful as 100fsw, but could have had disastrous results.
KEEP YOUR BUDDY NEARBY!!!

If her cylinder was near empty, she was likely overweighted.

The deaths of which I know that resulted when the BC could not be filled would not have occurred if the victims were correctly weighted.

For OP: predive checks prevent most of the causes Gas not on, OPV installed incorrectlt, elbo failure)

To the original question, if you are unable to swim up, you could always breath down your gas.

 

[gbray]

These are really good questions to ask. while diving a new BC in a quarry at 30 feet my dump valve came off in my hand. Normally not that big a problem but at the time a million things raced through my mind. Things really got interesting when I showed it to my buddies ( there were two of them) , gave them the up sign and they signaled ok and swam out of sight. Now two million things were racing through my mind and none of them good. In most situations the biggest problem is controlling your own mind. fortunately i was weighted correctly and was able to just swim up. during the swim up I also swam towards the rock wall nearby. I clung to the wall once at the surface and hooked up the redundant bladder in my rec wing ( I know this is a no no to you DIR types but I was glad to have it at the time) and finished my dive.

The point is constantly prepare yourself mentally for your dives and never panic. there is almost always a way out if you give yourself a chance to think about it.

 

[Spearomen]

Take my experience for what it is worth ... on a recent warm water dive trip my bc failed at depth (60 maybe 80 feet). It is a back inflate type and the connection between the inflator hose and the bladder came apart. I discovered this when trying to add a puff of air during the dive and heard a bubble behind my head and I felt no buoyancy change as a result of the puff. I was able to ascend to the safety stop with no problem (wearing a 1.5mil wetsuit, 14 pounds of lead, AL80 tank). I stayed close to my buddy once we surfaced and I also made sure we were near the boat's ladder so there would be no issue. At the surface there was no problem staying afloat and getting on the ladder.

I had the exact same scenario recently only at 100ft, and with a 19 lb snapper on the end of my spear line. Was lots of kicking to the down line then slowly moving up and doing my safety stop. Turns out it was a minor defect with my bc hose valve cap poping up due to cloth being over the last bit of the threads. The main advice I can give is get some experience with diving and your equipment and number one thing is dont panic in situations like this.

 

[Scott L]

I seldom see divers on charters fully inflate their BCD's to check for leaking while assembling their gear.

 

[lord.harshil]

I am relatively new to diving and had a question for the experts. What would I do if my bc fails (gets a hole in it) at 100 feet and my tank is full of air? Thanks!

Its a fatal problem!

You gonna die! YOU GONNA DIE!!

*SHRIEK!*

:reaper::reaper::reaper::reaper: