As we go back to diving

[shmuggy]

I was fortunate and had an opportunity to dive last month and so I went. I had an issue however that I would like divers to consider as they resume diving. My gear sat in the closet- still packed and ready for a trip that got cancelled last March. So when it was time to go- I just grabbed it and went. For the first 5 dives of the trip- all my gear worked just fine. At the start of my 6th dive of the trip, my BCD inflated at 60 feet and I could not get the valve to work. I was shot up to the surface, against my will of course, and the tank was emptied of 1600+ pounds of air. I remembered what to do and was fortunate I did not get hurt. The boat saw me, immediately picked me up and looked at the BCD. The valve handle was just flapping around and the DM said he was not comfortable with me using it anymore and I knew he was right.
When I got home- I put it on a tank and it worked just fine. I took it to the shop and they inspected and serviced it. The shop just called to tell me that they found no problem with it as far as broken parts but that there were salt crystals in the Shraeder valve and that would account for the intermittent issue. It has now been serviced and I am confident about it again.

So what did I learn?
That sitting in the closet is not good for dive gear.
The saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is wrong when it comes to dive equipment
It is a good idea to review your dive skills if you are like most people who have been out of the water for a long time. Think about what you should do if any piece of equipment fails - think, think think about the best way to react so if it happens- you are ready.

 

[Outbound]

First off, I'm glad that you are okay. But, just to clarify, it appears as if the power inflator was sticking open. But what about the dump valves? None of them worked? You could have just yanked a dump valve while removing the inflator hose. Task loading for sure, but certainly something that is rectifiable while under water.

Also, I don't think it was the sitting in your closet that was the issue. It was that you need to make sure you rinse your BCD and valves better, especially after diving in salt water.

But, once again, I'm glad you are okay.

 

[shmuggy]

Yes the power inflator did stick open. I just was not quick enough to yank on the dump valve because my first thought was that I had done something wrong and I just needed to operate the valve handle correctly. It did not occur to me at first that my BCD was malfunctioning. Then I fumbled going for the dump valve and by the time I got to it I was near the surface - at about 10 feet. It happened so fast- really just a few seconds. Someone I dive with said I should have removed the BCD but there wasn't time for that. What saved me was breathing out aggressively to empty my lungs and maybe the pause when I did grab the dump valve.

I think you are right about the rinsing. I had rinsed it before leaving my previous destination and then again when I got home but obviously, still not well enough.

I am quite a few yers and many dives out from my dive training and I would encourage anyone who is like me to review their skills again.

 

[Outbound]

It's best to get one of those garden hose-to-Schrader valve attachments so you can flush clean water right through the valve and into the BCD. You just turn on the garden hose and depress the power inflator. Regular soaking and rinsing won't really work.

 

[Landau]

you need to make sure you rinse your

Rinse your everything better, or at least start rinsing it.

The Service Tech at my LDS has a collection of photos of giant salt crystals he has found while servicing gear. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say one of them is from my second stage where it lodged behind the purge button and caused an unstoppable free flow pre-dive.

I am now much better at rinsing.

 

[kelemvor]

I'm pretty religious when it comes to cleaning my gear. I use the garden hose thing to rinse the inside of my wing's bladder. Still had a failure similar to this. Luckily for me, it happened in the pool. My LDS serviced the valve, and it happened again. I bought a new one from divegearexpress for $16. I also carry a spare in my sad bag. Later, I switched to an air2 which gets serviced with my regulators. So far I haven't had any trouble with the air2.

 

[BlueTrin]

I'm pretty religious when it comes to cleaning my gear. I use the garden hose thing to rinse the inside of my wing's bladder. Still had a failure similar to this. Luckily for me, it happened in the pool. My LDS serviced the valve, and it happened again. I bought a new one from divegearexpress for $16. I also carry a spare in my sad bag. Later, I switched to an air2 which gets serviced with my regulators. So far I haven't had any trouble with the air2.

How old was the valve and did they find out why it failed ?

 

[Bigbella]

I am glad to hear that there were no injuries involved.

In the past, Shrader valves were far more prone to failure than today; though I am unsure just why. The interior components seem to be the same; but the shop where I had worked, years ago, were constantly replacing them on their rental fleets. Since I was low on the totem, the task was often left to me. I do recall them frequently devloping cracks near the inflator button.

When a similar event occurred while on a dive, I simply hit the dump valve; and, when that didn't solve the problem, detached the LP hose from the inflator; and continued on. An abundance of gravel-like sand from a local dive site, during a particularly rough entry, seemed to have been the culprit that time . . .

 

[FLturtle]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[kelemvor]

How old was the valve and did they find out why it failed ?

I think it was 3 or 4 years old. Never did find out why it failed. I still have the failed valve somewhere around here. Just in case I confused the post, it was the valve which came with my diverite BCD that failed, not the replacement from divegearexpress. My suspicion is that it probably got dirty somehow and that caused it to stick. Was surprised after the LDS took it apart and serviced it that it stuck again. I didn't watch him do the work but presumably he replaced the soft rubber (o-rings), cleaned and re-lubed.

Honestly for $16 i don't consider servicing it to be worth the effort. At the time, I didn't know you could get 'em so cheap. The LDS was trying to shake me down for like $40 for a replacement. Most of the time I'm in favor of paying slightly more for stuff to support my LDS but not when they're flat out ripping me off... I'd have happily paid $20 or maybe even $25.... I guess that's a bit off topic though.. sorry