Ready to dive!

[LaughingDiver]

My wife and I are doing our open water certification next weekend, can't wait!

Got a few safety questions:

1) What if one of your fins comes off and you can't get it back on, can you still propel yourself to safety? Whilst in Tahoe once I had a snow shoe come off in the mountains and I nearly drowned in the deep snow lol.

2) If you can't propel yourself anymore for whatever reason, can you jettison your equipment and rise (slowly) or do you explode lol.

3) What happens if the gauge telling you how much air you have left is faulty, do you realize you're running out of air or do you just get dizzy and pass out and die unaware that you were running out of air?

Yup I'm paranoid

Thanks!

 

[NWA395]

My wife and I are doing our open water certification next weekend, can't wait!

Got a few safety questions:

1) What if one of your fins comes off and you can't get it back on, can you still propel yourself to safety? Whilst in Tahoe once I had a snow shoe come off in the mountains and I nearly drowned in the deep snow lol.

2) If you can't propel yourself anymore for whatever reason, can you jettison your equipment and rise (slowly) or do you explode lol.

3) What happens if the gauge telling you how much air you have left is faulty, do you realize you're running out of air or do you just get dizzy and pass out and die unaware that you were running out of air?

Yup I'm paranoid

Thanks!

Yes :blinking:

 

[azmodan50]

My wife and I are doing our open water certification next weekend, can't wait!

Got a few safety questions:

1) What if one of your fins comes off and you can't get it back on, can you still propel yourself to safety? Whilst in Tahoe once I had a snow shoe come off in the mountains and I nearly drowned in the deep snow lol.

2) If you can't propel yourself anymore for whatever reason, can you jettison your equipment and rise (slowly) or do you explode lol.

3) What happens if the gauge telling you how much air you have left is faulty, do you realize you're running out of air or do you just get dizzy and pass out and die unaware that you were running out of air?

Yup I'm paranoid

Thanks!

1) If for whatever reason you lose a fin, you can still propel yourself with the other. Just not as fast.

2) There would be no reason to get rid of your equipment. And you never want to. You add a little air to your BC until you start to ascend, then let air out to slow your ascent.

3) If you run out of air, it just stops. You wouldn't get dizzy or pass out because it's not like you start breathing dead air.


As far as out of air goes, you have a buddy for a reason. And if they are your check out dives, there will be an instructor. You should have learned in your classes what to do in an out of air situation. Also, it depends on how your gauge is faulty, but you should abort the dive as soon as you realize that it is bad.

Diving in the open water is not much different then diving in the pool. Just remember what you have learned and you will do great.

 

[diversteve]

3) I tried it once to see what happened. Started with my pressure gauge needle below zero in 6' of water. Took one breath, fine. Took two more - harder. Took one more and my regulator made a funny click and that was all. So I stood up..

Proper gas management - which you'll learn - means you'll never get there unintentionally. Analog pressure gauges are extremely reliable. More expensive dive computers also have tank transmitters that monitor your air supply. Some even have predictive algorithms that can give you an estimate of how much dive time you have left based on your current depth and consumption rate. Many people dive with both for redundancy.

It's really hard to run out of air unless you make an effort...

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Good responses above- especially azmodan50. Don't stress- you will learn all about all these things in class, and if they are not covered each is the kind of question you should ask your instructor. Best advice of all- STAY WITH YOUR BUDDY. Have a great time in your certification classes and dives.
DivemasterDZennis

 

[drbill]

Finning with a single fin can be a bit difficult due to the imbalance. Keep the fin close to your center line.

However, why would you be losing a fin? Rubber straps do break, so consider spring straps.

As for #3, many gauges out there are not as accurate as you might think which is why watching your gauge and leaving a good safety margin is wise. I'm fortunate in that my gauge is pretty accurate (within less than 100 psi) so I know when to emerge.

 

[industrious95]

2) If you can't propel yourself anymore for whatever reason, can you jettison your equipment and rise (slowly) or do you explode lol.
Thanks!

If you are in an emergency situation and incapacitated and need to ascend, you jettison your weight belt only. If that ever happens, you will have to make a judgement call as to whether or not you need to drop your weights to ascend. Err on the side of caution, I've read that lots of dead divers are found with their weight belts on. I can't imagine the benefit to removing your tanks and regulator underwater. Or are you just joking?

As far as exploding, I haven't seen that happen to any divers lately. It shouldn't be your biggest concern.

3) What happens if the gauge telling you how much air you have left is faulty, do you realize you're running out of air or do you just get dizzy and pass out and die unaware that you were running out of air?

Yup I'm paranoid

Thanks!

I've never heard of anyone running out of air because of a faulty pressure gauge. However, I suppose anything's possible, however unlikely.

Try this test on land: with the regulator in your mouth, turn off the air on your tank. You will get one or two breaths, than nothing. That's what an empty tank will feel like. One second you're breathing normally, the next second you're looking for your pony or buddy. Maybe both.

I check my pressure gauge regularly when I'm in the water. If the gauge didn't show the tank being consumed, I would assume the gauge wasn't working properly, realize I didn't know how much air I had, and abort the dive immediately. That doesn't mean drop your weight belt and fly to the surface in a panic, it just means go up so you can figure out what the problem is, and hope someone on the boat has a spare gauge.

I wouldn't check the gauge every ten seconds, but if it showed the same volume now that it showed 5 minutes prior and I was in 80 feet of water, I'd be concerned because at that depth I should see a couple hundred pounds of air consumed.

If your gauge doesn't appear to move when you're in the swimming pool, I wouldn't worry, but I would mention it to my instructor after the class. You're probably not consuming enough air to see it on the gauge. Remember, the deeper you are the faster the air gets used up.

 

[Tippytoes12]

Hi there

Welcome...please don't worry , all of these scenarios will be covered in depth in your course. In any case you will always be diving with a buddy and almost always with a guide , whose job it is to help if things go wrong. If you follow the rules and are sensible the chances of these issues arising are extremely low.

Enjoy the course ..please let us know how you get on.

 

[nolatom]

Forgive me for asking, but...

You have an instructor, right? Did you ask these questions during your classroom and pool sessions?

Q1: The pool would have been an excellent place to try it out.
Q2: That you would ask this after a normal course of OW instruction kind of concerns me.
Q3: Your instructor didn't describe the feeling of the regulator "breathing hard" as air gets low, nor have you breathe on shore while turning the valve off so you feel that effect?


Ah, wait. By "certification" you mean you haven't done the class yet? I thought you were heading out for your OW checkout dives.
If so, and as Gilda Radner used to say,,,,,,,,,,,"never mind".........and yes ask these things in class.