If my BCD inflator were to get stuck open, how much time to I have to disconnect/vent
before it could lead to injury?
I know there are a few different factors such as depth, starting position, and how open the inflator got stuck, so what are the different scenarios that you have actually seen?:shocked2: I wouldn't think that feet down at the safety stop is a good place to be when your inflator decides open fully. Has anyone been able to stop from this depth? What is the shallowest that anyone has stopped a runaway BC incident? Has anyone had to go to their knife?
Would you even have time to?
What is your ascent rate with a BC fully inflating? How much does flaring reduce your ascent speed? Obviously, I don't want to test this on myself just for the heck of it.
I think starting at a good depth and kicking down with a small or medium lift BC could give you some time to disconnect/vent, although, kicking down does put the BC inlet near the lowest point, so I am not sure what is best.
Is there a way to practice this besides just disconnecting and reconnecting at depth?
Seems like this might actually lead to the aforementioned ascent, but I don't know. Would quick piking practice help at all?
I have seen the other thread with the Hat, so don't post that.:tongue2: And yes, proper BC maintenance and not holding your breath on the way up are two important things too...
:zen:
