Failed BCD pressure relief valve

[redacted]

The very first thing that came to my mind is something that has not been mentioned...

What about removing the BC and opening the valve to see if it's a simple matter of reseating the spring or pressure plate..?

If it is a broken spring, then I would imagine that a small object of some sort (rock) could be placed between the cap and the pressure plate to force it shut. Once you've regained the capability to adequately hold air, you can obviously vent in the normal manner.

-Tim

I'm pretty sure he is talking about a shoulder pull dump valve. They can be pretty tough to fix sitting at a work bench. Not the kind of thing you want to be disassembling UW.

But you should be able to roll over on one side to get the bad valve low. Then, if the inflator will still work, you should be able to get some lift. But if that lift is not enough, you would no longer be in a position to fin up.

Doesn't everyone carry a DSMB or safety sausage!!!!

 

[Hetland]

You can not conclude that the diver was overweighted simply because he was wearing 30 lbs of lead. When I was much thinner, I used to wear 26 lbs of lead for scuba and 24 for freediving (in the same suit) for cold water. I was NOT overweighed.

I did not conclude that the diver was overweighted simply because he was wearing 30 lbs of lead.

My experience was at the surface there was no way I could keep my head above water without air in my BCD. Even at 50ft I had considerable air in my BCD to get neutrally buoyant. I also noticed when I was swimming, letting out a breath I would sink pretty fast and changes in depth changed my buoyancy pretty quick.

In fact, I think it's quite reasonable to conclude that he was overweighted because: "there was no way I could keep my head above water without air in my BCD". This is at the surface, not at 200 feet.

I honestly don't see any reason for the argument......

 

[AZFinDiver]

I really appreciate all of the comments and feedback. I do understand that I was overweight and understand the importance of buoyancy control.

Keep in mind, this was my second dive.....ever. I had very little control over the amount of weight I used, I left it up to the instructor who knew better than I at the time. Buoyancy control is a skill that must be developed and is now a top priority for me (thanks again ).

Regardless, I was in this situation as is and I have received valuable feedback on how to deal with it in the future, over weighted or not.

 

[mark00020]

Personally I think it was handled well on your part. You kept your head on your shoulders and thought about what to do.

And to McGyver over there that thinks you can pull off your BC underwater and fix it with a toothpick and some dental floss, please don't recommend things like that to a brand new diver. For someone with two dives under their belt they should be going through what they learned in the pool skills, which is a swimming ascent and at worst case emergency buoyant ascent.

 

[Hallmac]

And to McGyver over there that thinks you can pull off your BC underwater and fix it with a toothpick and some dental floss, please don't recommend things like that to a brand new diver.

Yea, how ludicrous to think that something so complex could be handled that easily. You are right. All new divers are idiots and should never think of such things. Next thing you know, they might actually become comfortable underwater and forget that they are going to die if something happens down there. What good would that do?

Next time McGyver, use a rubber snorkel keeper folded three ways instead of a rock. You might be more believable that way. I am happy you took the time to post your thoughts by the way. I like to see solutions posted that show things can be handled during a dive and all is not lost.

 

[InTheDrink]

Yea, how ludicrous to think that something so complex could be handled that easily. You are right. All new divers are idiots and should never think of such things. Next thing you know, they might actually become comfortable underwater and forget that they are going to die if something happens down there. What good would that do?

I think the point was that sticking to what he had been taught/trained rather than making up potentially hazardous ad-hoc solutions would be a better idea.

Trying to repair a BC in whatever capacity or as per your suggestion, taking his rig off inverting it and swimming it up is not good advice to someone with two dives. You would be introducing a lot of risk. Admittedly, that ditching weights at the bottom was considered is worrying as that would likely been just as risky - but that is unlikely to have formed part of the training.

Irrespective - kudos to the OP for chilling and thinking about his course of action. Not many people would have been so calm. Bodes well.

 

[scubafanatic]

...when ditching weights, where is it written that one has to ditch ALL one's weight simultaneously ? Most weight-integrated BC's have at least 2 weight pockets...and just this weekend I began building a 'custom' BC that will incorporate 4 small 5 lbs Halcyon vertical release weight pockets...so weights CAN be ditched in increments and a diver doesn't have to choose between drowning or doing an uncontrolled 'Polaris missile' ascent !

 

[rx7diver]

OP, I don't think you should leave decisions about proper weighting entirely to your instructor.

Here is one approach you might use to get an initial idea about the weight you should be wearing. (This approach was taught to me by my OW instructor in '86; he had taught this approach since the mid 1960's, and he still teaches this approach today.) Of course, it depends on your using a "reasonable" cylinder (e.g., steel 72), a "reasonable" BC (one that is approx neutrally buoyant when completely empty) and a full 2-piece 1/4-in wet suit (with boots, hood, and gloves/mitts) made of a better quality neoprene (i.e., small bubbles).

Dress in your complete gear, with your tank completely full, but with your BC completely empty and no air trapped anywhere in your full wet suit. Wear a weight belt. Breathing through your snorkel, take a deep breath, and hold it. Relax. Don't fin. Be heads up, fins down in water only deep enough to permit this. OK. You should be floating at eye level. When you exhale, you should slowly sink beneath the surface. Someone should be assisting you when you're figuring out your proper weight; that person can hand you weights or take weights from you as required. When you've got your weight figured out, put all (or nearly all) of your lead on a weight belt. That's all there is to it.

One of the open water skills we were required to do was called the Three Mile Swim. Weighted as above (with a completely full tank and a completely empty BC), we would have to surface kick, in the prone position, a distance of three miles while breathing through our snorkels and towing a substantial dive float with flag--through wind-driven waves, boat wakes, currents, etc. Actually, we had to surface kick 1 1/2 miles one-way, complete some surface skills (e.g., weight belt removal/replacement), and then surface kick the 1 1/2 miles back while doing other skills (e.g., buddy tow). One of the things this skill is meant to reinforce is that with proper equipment and weighting, you really shouldn't have to be overly concerned about a BC failure, for you can always swim yourself up from recreational training limit depths to the surface even with a failed BC (since your "reasonable" tank and BC can never be too negatively buoyant), and, once on the surface, you can always surface kick back from a considerable distance--all this without having ditched anything! (And you can always use your surface float, if you need to, to stop and rest.)

I hope this helps.

CAVEAT: I am NOT a scuba instructor.

 

[docbonezz]

I too think the OP did a great job. He thought through the situation and acted upon what he thought was the best option. I would not have considered taking off my BCD. To much bad can go wrong in my opinion. As far as dropping my weights...... I would have considered dropping SOME of my weights depending upon how my weights were distributed. With that much weight I hope you had it distributed in various places. I would not have put all that weight on a weight belt or in weight pockets. I would have had some in both if the BCD had weight pockets. I would have also considered trim pockets and ankle weights. This way you can drop some of your weight and get to a point you can do a swimming ascent. This way you do not create a runaway ascent which could be a very dangerous situation.

Could things have been done different.....sure. Better? That is everyone's opinion. Thinking through the situation and acting on your options is always better than "reacting".

 

[udtfire]

az in sport diving you should be able to asscend and tread water five min with your weight but to solve the problem swim head down 45 degrees down this should hold the air in the bottom of the bcd and allow you to make a controled asscent. its all about training and experience if this happened on your cert dives find a new instructor