Where do you teach valve shutdowns?

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

So my training was UTD Essentials, which among many other things trains you in valve shutdowns / regulator failures while maintaining trim and buoyancy. Before you take the Cave-1 through UTD or GUE you are already proficient in Basic 5 (GUE) and Basic 6 (UTD). You are also proficient in valve manipulation so the Cave course then focuses on ... well the cave.

When I look at mainstream cave courses I am unable to see where exactly is that skill taught? Is it a Cavern skill that you need to be proficient at before your progress to Intro? It took me a while to nail those down and even till now my valve shutdowns are not as pretty as I would want them. Can anyone explain where do those skills fit into mainstream cave diving courses?

Thanks.

 

[lermontov]

So my training was UTD Essentials, which among many other things trains you in valve shutdowns / regulator failures while maintaining trim and buoyancy. Before you take the Cave-1 through UTD or GUE you are already proficient in Basic 5 (GUE) and Basic 6 (UTD). You are also proficient in valve manipulation so the Cave course then focuses on ... well the cave.

When I look at mainstream cave courses I am unable to see where exactly is that skill taught? Is it a Cavern skill that you need to be proficient at before your progress to Intro? It took me a while to nail those down and even till now my valve shutdowns are not as pretty as I would want them. Can anyone explain where do those skills fit into mainstream cave diving courses?

Thanks.

your talking about twins i guess? sidemount is a non event

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Yup. Twin doubles.

 

[DiveTucson]

I am not a cave guy nor do I know anything about cave training. For TDI they are taught in Intro To Tech or AN/DP both of which could be considered entry level courses. I require students that are coming into one of my courses to take ITT unless I know they have experience in diving doubles or another entry level course that would be similar to ITT.

 

[lermontov]

Yup. Twin doubles.

i dd my valve shut downs on twins with 3 certs -extended range adv trimix and cavern dont know if it is required on cave or adv cave as i havent done it

 

[elmo]

In the Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) the first course is Basic Cave (formerly called Deep Cavern). When I did it lots of skills, including valve drills, were taught in a pool, and practised and tested in caverns/sinkholes. It's an assumed ability and tested in various forms at Cave and Advanced Cave levels too.
Similarly, when I did TDI ITT, valve drills were taught in a pool and practised in a lake. In AN&DC it was practiced and tested as part of responding to failures.
And in GUE Fundies valve drills were taught and practiced on land and in a pool before doing them and being tested in open water. At T1 again we did plenty of valve drills and were tested in responding to failures.
All my tech instructors have had different teaching styles, but the sequence of when valve drills are taught seemed pretty similar between agencies.

Edit: all my tech diving has been in backmount twins with an isolation manifold

 

[Jack Hammer]

For my cave training valve drills were done in Cavern, Intro, Apprentice, & Full Cave. All those were done in doubles. Some agencies allow a single tank for cavern & intro. No idea what's done with regards to valves. Most folk, myself included, take Cavern & Intro together, then Apprentice & Full Cave. I dont recall doing valve drills in Cave DPV, not positive though as it's been awhile.

 

[rddvet]

I think for the most part in non-GUE classes, valve drills are taught in intro to tech and cavern. By the time you're past cavern I think most instructors assume or expect you to have it down. Unfortunately I see alot of people going all the way through to full cave and barely know how to do a valve drill. I'll be honest, my training in valve drills initially was ultra basic. I learned proper valve drills from a GUE instructor friend.

 

[BrackaFish]

My wife and I took Cavern in doubles and that is where we were introduced to valve drills. Our instructor continued these drills/skills for the remaining courses.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Thanks guys. So mastery of valve shutdowns is not a prerequisite to further training beyond Cavern then right?