Inflater hose came off... what could happen?

[LivBlue]

While in my OW class we were in rented gear from the LDS. So my first OW trip in the water...around the inflater hose is bubbling and air runs outa it faster than I can self inflate. Of course the skills we were working on required this.

So the instructor fiddles with it while we're at lunch. So I check my gear and the entire hose comes off except a cable that was inside it. Looks like the hose was just worn out and at one of the folds just tore off. So I call him back over and ask what to do about that. The instructor clips the cable and zip ties the hose back on. And convince me all is well.

Not to sure I got back in the lake and after it started leaking air again I said thats enough and got out. They then located me a new BCD so I can finish up.

My question is what could have happened had the inflater hose came off in the water. I suspect the BCD would have filled with water and no lift. Being a newbie I did have to struggle getting back the first time with no lift cause I was too low for my snorkel to work. Which is why I got out the second time when it wasnt working.

Is this somewhat common? If so I'm guessing you grab your buddy and head up normally and get a new BCD when back home?

 

[hypertech]

In your own gear or well maintained gear it probably won't happen. It happens to rental gear mostly because people lift or drag the bcd around with full weight pockets by he corrugated hose. Unfortunately, it has to fail on someone for the shop to know it's broke to fix it.

Now, had this happened at depth during a real dive, you are correct in that you would lose bouyancy control via the bcd. If you are properly weighted you can swim it up to the surface and drop your weights to stat bouyant at the surface. If you are overweighted like many new divers you might need to drop some weight to get back to the surface. If you are somewhere with a bottom that is not dangerously deep, pull out the weight pocket and drop one weight at a time till you can swim up. If you are sinking fast with deep or no bottom, drop the weights and get back to the surface. Flip over and swim down to slow your ascent if necessary.

This would/should be a rare failure but it can be dealt with.

 

[Akimbo]

Your story illustrates why I believe that a BC “should” be considered a convenience rather than a safety device.

 

[TSandM]

This is one of the few things that can really cause a BC failure. If the hose comes off, you have no method to inflate, and if you are anything but feet up, the BC will lose air.

This is where the concept of a "balanced rig" comes into play. The basic principle is that you should be able to swim to the surface in your gear, from the deepest you intend to go, with your BC empty. It might be quite a swim, but you should be able to do it. In light exposure protection, and with minimal weight, this isn't hard at all, because you start the dive only about 5 lbs negative from the gas you are going to use, and your wetsuit only has a couple of pounds of lift in it to begin with, so you can't lose much. I know I can swim up 10 lbs without much problem at all.

Where it gets problematic is in cold water, where you are wearing very thick neoprene and for that reason, having to carry a great deal of weight. At depth, you have the 5 or 6 lbs of gas you intend to use, but then you have as much as 20 lbs of lost lift from neoprene compression. Swimming up 25 lbs is a very different proposition from swimming up 10. It can be done (somewhere, there is a video of *dave* swimming up a 23 pound weight belt from the bottom of a pool) but you won't be sure YOU can do it until you try. So, if you are diving thick neoprene and carrying a lot of weight, some of that weight should be accessible to ditch. Although it may result in lack of control of your subsequent ascent, especially in the shallows, that's better than no ascent at all.

Oh, and BTW, one of the reasons this happened probably lies in that little cable on the inside. That is what is called a "pull dump" -- if you just grasp your inflator hose and pull on it, the dump is activated. Over time, that tugging and tugging will cause fatigue of the plastic of which the hose is made, and eventually failure. The cable is not a critical component of the inflator's function, other than this pull-dumping function, and many inflator hoses are made without them.

 

[redacted]

The instructor or DM would be searching for their weights while I was searching for a new dive shop.

If you are properly weighted when such a failure occurs, you should be able to swim your rig to the surface where you can drop weights if necessary.

 

[Scott]

It is common among BC's with shoulder pull dumps or should I say rental BC's. The cable you noticed was tied to the shoulder dump valve, with only a gentle tug needed to activate the valve. The problem arises when new divers pull to hard and either tear the hose or completly pull the hose off the connection. One can be managable during a dive, the other not so easy. Good that you aborted.

 

[LivBlue]

Thanks guys for the info. It certainly wasn't impossible to swim to the surface. But the water was cold, so I had on lots of rented ill fitting neoprene on and I was tired. So surface swim back was harder than norm. But again thanks for the info, I'm about to get my own gear and while I'd have liked to of listened to sound advice saying rent some gear for awhile and see what you like... it's nutty crap like this that makes me say nope I'll get my stuff and if I don't like it, I'll sell it and learn.

 

[BrianKon]

all the above..... for those new to diving, DO NOT pull on the the INFLATOR HOSE to dump air!!! for the reasons stated above, causes unnecessary wear and "tear". Use a dump valve or the LP inflator hose held above your head. As an instructor I will use the hose for those student on a runaway ascent. If you were renting gear it was probably use for students as well, and hence more wear and tear than a personal BCD would have.

 

[DevonDiver]

I'll add to what BrianKon said. Pull-dump LPI hoses are an accident waiting to happen. I mean, really? Pulling on a hose that is only zip-tied into position?

It's a design triumph of convenience over safety...

What you experienced was a serious kit malfunction, that represented a serious risk to yourself. Your instructor attempted to 'convince you that all was OK'. It wasn't. Be wary of dive pros who attempt to brush off serious issues. It is precisely that attitude that leads to kit issues occuring in the first place. I don't think I need to spell out how I would assess that sort of 'professionalism'...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

This is one of the few things that can really cause a BC failure. If the hose comes off, you have no method to inflate, and if you are anything but feet up, the BC will lose air.

.

Have you ever tried to prove that the BC will hold air with no hose? I would love to see some video of a diver upside down in the pool, overweighted, with their BC filled and then have someone, un-screw a loosened BC/hose connection. I've not done it myself, but I think that the BC will hold much air.

I've heard several times that if the diver should maintain an upside down orientation, they could ascend with a BC compromised at the hose connection. I think this would be impractical, if not impossible in a real emergency to regulate an ascent in the completely vertical, upside down position.

I've had a couple of BC's failures myself and the advice about having a balanced rig is important. I think that many people that dive with a lot of unditchable weight fail to grasp the idea that all that separates them from a really bad day is often a single, old, brittle zip tie attaching the hose to the BC. (I use stainless steel safety wire or a good clamp)