AVID BC Failure?

Has anyone ever had a failure of the end cap on the exhaust valve mounted on the left shoulder? Has one ever loosened or come apart on a dive?

Mine did not come off during the dive, but it did come off while on the dive boat. We found some parts on the deck and the divemaster looked at everyone's BC before the dive, but did not see that the parts were from my BC. We suited up and bailed off the back of the boat. I usually drop to about 20 feet before I start inflating my BC, so about 20' down I pushed the inflator button lightly a couple of times and nothing happened. I pushed and held the inflator button and immediately heard air escaping, then I knew where the parts on the boat came from.

I signaled the dive master and he came to inspect my problem, and asked if I was O.K. I signaled back yes I was O.K. and we continued the dive. The depth was not over 50 ft and we had a flat bottom so I stayed about 15 feet above the group and my dive buddy because naturally I was a bit heavy with no air in my BC. When my air tank hit 1500 psi I was fairly neutral after that. If I had been over weighted I would have never been able to do the dive.

This happened in Cozumel. After we got back to the dock the dive op sent someone to the dive shop in town for parts. We needed the plastic cap, and rubber flapper valve, and a spring. They installed the parts and would not take any money for the parts or repair. Pretty great service from Dive Paradise.

I did not consider this to be an equipment failure. I considered it to be a failure from me to maintain and inspect my gear.

Oops. Double post.

Purchased an Avid and Luna in September. The relief valves on both were less than snug, from the factory.

I had about 100 dives on mine when I lost the cap. I now inspect my BC and other gear much closer before every dive.

Had the same experience. Lots of dives on the bc and the cap came off randomly in a quarry. I'm glad it didn't happen on a recent live aboard trip. Parts from Sherwood can take a long time. Luckily the shop I use had a top from Dacor that fit perfectly. I do check it now and thought about putting a dab of thick black paint on it to tell if it ever moved.

The caps and diaphragms from other manufacturers are very similar and many probably will interchange. Checking all components on my BC has become part of my pre-dive check. Loosing the cap on mine really did teach me to do a better equipment check.

On my last dive outing one of the divers in my group checked my air before entering the water while doing a buddy check. It was on and he shut my air off and opened it a half turn by mistake. Between that and losing the exhaust valve cap from my BC, I have learned that the only person you can really trust to check your equipment is yourself.

This issue makes me think that fewer pull dumps is better. My BC has an extra dump over the right shoulder that is just an additional point of failure in my opinion.

yes, had it happen.

when it happens, the ways of stopping your descent are:

using your fins
releasing weight
removing your BC
hitting the bottom (if there is one)

not something you want to try and fix during a dive. your only objective should be getting back to the surface in a slow and controlled manner.

ps: was not an "Avid" BC. My thought is all BC's will have a locking mechanism on this screw cap in the future.

I used to work as a divemaster on a boat. I found it to be VERY common and had nothing to do with the brand of the BC. I remember one dive were we were taking out a world record holder for depth and I instinctively grabbed her BC, checked the fitting (like I do for everyone) and then tightened it up.

She was preparing for a 300 ft air dive and reacted kinda strongly to some unknown DM "screwing with her stuff" a few minutes before splash down. I apologized and then showed her how loose the fitting was and that it could have popped loose or maybe off during the dive.... She was kinda appreciative of my intervention after that....

The fittings should be checked for finger tighteness before every dive, regardless of the brand.

I desribed a problem I had with it a while ago... guess I didn't follow my own advice of always checking for this dive...


http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/accidents-incidents/365071-bc-failure.html