Low Pressure Hose Failure at Depth

[Bierstadt]

al40, al30, al19. I think photographers, spearos, and wanderers in general are well served to consider themselves solo divers and carry redundant gas. Also the buddies who dive with the aforementioned...
Thank you for posting. That was a vivid and thoughtful reminder of what all divers need to be ready for.

Edit: Nice video; good response from you and your buddy.

 

[Vitesse2l]

Thanks for sharing.

Like others, I find the noise of escaping gas together with the bubbles a real problem.

My other takeaway (never having used a speargun) is how they appeared to a real encumberment at a time when that's the last thing you need.

However, I wasn't there and the OP and his buddy handled it, so well done to them.

 

[happy-diver]

The other thing that never crossed my mind was ditching my weights.

Don't do this underwater man!

 

[Khrissi]

@DCAL 1986 I think you did exactly the right thing underwater and trusted exactly the wrong person on yr kit. Glad yr safe. K

 

[АлександрД]

.. We break the surface 35 seconds later and my tank blows for another 2 entire minutes at the surface.

Thank you for this video sharing!
Your time is very similar with this experiment - 2 min for LP hose cut
.. and you are a real hunter! Discharge weapon first.

 

[Soloist]

@DCAL1986, thanks for sharing the video. Great food for thought and discussion. Incidentally, I would have blurted out a string of obscenities if I had missed that grouper, so nice self control.

Here is a similar first stage failure, but this one happened at 185 feet. Definitely a bump for pony bottles. Many on SB will recognize this infamous (dumpster) diver.

 

[84CJ7]

That said, for whatever reason, hose failures have become more common anecdotally the last 10 or so years than I recall over the last 38 years of diving (the first 5 years I wasn't that active.. ) and the last 24 full time in the recreational dive industry

Any idea what percentage of those are the flex hoses? I was told that the flex hoses are practically just a regular hose with the heavy protective rubber covering removed (or rather not put on). That would explain a lot as a bunch of new stuff in about that time period has the flex hoses and there are a lot of conversions of old stuff. I recall high mileage used rental crap that had the heavy rubber coating looking like it would kill someone on the next dive but so long as there were no bulges it was "good" to go.

Even in a single tank setup if something starts blasting air my first instinct is to signal buddy (not usually necessary unless they are blind and deaf) and reach back to shut my air off to keep my tank full until I can figure the mess out. If something froze just stopping the air for a bit will sometimes sort it out rather than let the ice continue piling up or I could start feathering it as needed (awkward in single tank).
That assumes you can easily reach your tank valve and you can swim your gear up with an empty bcd if necessary (you don't want a crash dive with empty lungs and air off)

Ive managed to avoid any excitement but I did have a roller coaster of a mess too long for this thread happen in my group from a free flow that wasn't brought under control combined with a reverse block.

 

[helodriver87]

Every time I have read about a LP or HP failure it is this. LOUD, confusing, and a wall of bubbles that confuses and can cause panic. Can anyone comment at what level in training can you actually get to actually experience it so you know what it is like and training can condition you to automatically deal with these issue?

It was done to me repeatedly throughout Cave 1, Cave 2, and Tech 1. Instructor used a little blower attachment on the drysuit inflator hose to simulate various reg/manifold failures. The first few times it happens, you physically jump in the water column. It's unnerving. Then you remember "oh yeah, gotta shut it down, diagnose, and isolate if necessary". After awhile, it becomes a conditioned response. About a year ago, I actually had an o-ring blow in my right post first stage about 1100' into the cave at 85' or so. It sounded exactly like the bubble gun from class. And the action was pretty much automatic. I'd say that it's probably not something you need to learn unless you're using redundant gas supply and you need it. Open water, no deco dives, there's no reason to fix the problem underwater. Just get with your buddy and do a controlled ascent. There's nothing you can do on single tank and no reason to mess with it on doubles unless you have a compelling reason to stay under.

 

[Lorenzoid]

It was done to me repeatedly throughout Cave 1, Cave 2, and Tech 1. Instructor used a little blower attachment on the drysuit inflator hose to simulate various reg/manifold failures. . . .

"Cave 1-2," so I assume that was GUE?

Does anyone know whether this drill is commonly done in the courses other agencies call "Intro to Cave"?

 

[helodriver87]

"Cave 1-2," so I assume that was GUE?

Does anyone know whether this drill is commonly done in the courses other agencies call "Intro to Cave"?

Yep. GUE.

With other agencies it seems to be highly dependent on the instructor. Some agencies even have rules against air gunning students. I know a couple buddies who went through full cave without ever hearing the bubble gun. It was basically "hey, your left post is broken", then they did the shutdown drill. IMO, it's invaluable. It's really unsettling even in a controlled environment. But there's a huge difference between learning how to recognize and react to something on a theoretical level and actually experiencing it. I teach students to fly helicopters for a living. And we do a bunch of tabletop emergency procedures training and discussion. But the first time you put them in a simulator and fail their tail rotor, they crash hard, even though they know the procedure. But by the end of the program, they can effectively react to it in real time with all the associated chaos. It's going to be an order of magnitude more chaotic if it actually happens in flight, but they're as conditioned as they can be.