Strategies if an o-ring pops at depth

[diver 85]

"we had lots of blown tank o-rings on the boat or zodiac"----probably obtained from an inexperienced tank filler---

 

[caseybird]

Never been to the Caribbean, huh?

Or Fiji, I guess. Dang, the world gets smaller every day.

 

[caseybird]

Oh yeah, I had an o-ring extrude from a DIN valve in 2007. I had just entered the water, no harm done. My buddy shut down the valve and I replaced the ring. I inspect the o-ring and DIN threads very carefully now.

 

[sabbath999]

I certainly don't want to labour the point but on a few dives in what we call back here ****ing mental current, staying in touch with buddy was impossible. So with the best of intentions, I believe buddy separation is entirely possible.

Yeah it should be the exception rather than the rule but it's at these exceptional times everythind else goes **** up too

Cheers,
J

If I was regularly diving in conditions where there was a likely possibility of buddy separation due to current or vis, I would plan the dive as a solo and take an independent redundant air source.

I have more than 40 dive in the last year where the visibility was less than ten feet, and about 20 of them the vis was less than 5 feet. Buddy separation is a real concern around here, so we pay a lot of attention to it.

Since most of our dives are shallow (40 feet or less) we don't carry ponies, but we do from time to time just plain lose each other unless we are holding on to our buddy.

I guess I am just trying to say with my answer that redundancy is the ticket for handling the problem you originally posted... either have a buddy around or a pony. IMHO if you lose your buddy for any length of time, you go up and try to find him... since you are exactly right, bad things can happen in bunches. Better to not be down when they do.

To be specific, you can breath out of your second stage with an o-ring out... at least my wife did when hers blew in Kona. It wasn't "oh, no air" for her... it was just losing air rapidly.

 

[Belmont]

Guess I'll buy a few extra 0-rings for the save-a-dive kit. Are all O-rings on tanks the same size?
and is it an easy task to change them out?
Great thread..........................

They are probably the same size since it's a standard fitting. Be sure to put a brass pick in your kit, it's fairly easy to replace with this tool. With the brass pick you are sure not to nick the base of the O-ring and create a bigger problem.

 

[ReefHugger]

In my corner of the world its all A-clamps.

O-rings bursting underwater, imo, must be quite rare. I've only heard about two, and I've been diving from the '70s. The last such, happened to a friend (approx. 800 dives). The valve was a Thermo and he contacted them about it. Their response suggested that they require a very specific o-ring for their valves. He did buy some and we all had a look at them. The o-rings definitely seemed to be of a harder rubber. Whether this be all important, is a matter of opinion, as I also have some Thermo's and been using regular ones with no problem.

I should point out the recommended way of opening the valves when you are setting up. I do this and require it of my students. When opening the valve, press the purge button on a 2nd stage and then slowly release the purge. This prevents the 3000 psi jolt not only to the reg's 1st stage but also the valve o-ring. Maybe this explains "o-rings blowing out, all over the place"? Please inspect the o-rings before use.

 

[vladimir]

Outside the US practically every tank you see is a DIN valve

The following places had resorts or liveaboards that offered yoke valves exclusively, as far as I saw: Bali, Belize, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cocos Island, the Coral Sea, Cozumel, Derawan, the Great Barrier Reef, Jamaica, Kakaban, Kauai, Komodo, Layang-layang, Little Cayman Island, Martinique, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Phuket, Puerto Rico, Sangalaki, the Similan Islands, Sipadan, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Tioman, Trengganu, and the Truk Lagoon.

 

[RJP]

The following places had resorts or liveaboards that offered yoke valves exclusively...Truk Lagoon.

Blue Lagoon Resort and Truk Odyssey both have DIN as a standard offering.

 

[vladimir]

No doubt DIN valves are available at many of the places I have cited. Nevertheless, they had resorts or liveaboards (in the case of Truk, it was the Aggressor, in December of 1995) that offered yoke valves exclusively when I was there. (In response to the assertion that "practically every tank you see is a DIN valve.")

 

[RJP]

No doubt DIN valves are available at many of the places I have cited. Nevertheless, they had resorts or liveaboards (in the case of Truk, it was the Aggressor, in December of 1995) that offered yoke valves exclusively when I was there. (In response to the assertion that "practically every tank you see is a DIN valve.")

Yeah, but c'mon, that was FOURTEEN years ago.

That's like telling someone that currently video rentals in the US are exclusively VHS based on what you saw in 1995.