bubblelogist:
Nice! Bet that woke him up
Pre-Dive Safety checks
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Nice! Bet that woke him up
bubblelogist
Guest
RiverRat:Nice! Bet that woke him up
More efficient than any cup of coffee, but not very good for the mood... So I don't recommend it on a daily basis
We do predive checks every dive.
We each do a modified valve drill (in water)- makes sure gas is on and valves can be reached.
bubble check for each other (in water)- makes sure long hose is deployable, backup is where it needs to be and both regs work
bubble checks (in water) - makes sure nothing is leaking.
Modified s-drill (unless a full s-drill is called for)-makes sure long hose is deployable, backup is where it needs to be and both regs are functioning...you want to make darned sure your bud can give you gas if you need it!
Check lights by turning each on and off (usually in water).
Head to toe equipment matching (usually in water)- makes certain every one knows what every one else is carrying and where and that you have what you need. Hopefully, with the exception of special equipment every one is carrying similar items in similar places and it only takes a few seconds.
Gas planning...check supply each diver calculating turn pressure (or whatever is being used)
The designated leader briefs the dive and every one briefs the dive in turn. Depending on the dive this can be very simple.
In fact for a basic planning check list I like saddddd as GUE teaches it. sequence, air, depth, direction, decompression, distance and whatever other d's you can think of. One addition might be any specific tasks that might be planned on the dive.
It looks like alot but once you have it down the whole thing only takes a few moments. Some of it varries a bit depending on where we're diving. For instance jumping off a boat into cold rough water we won't be spening much time farting around on the surface so some things get done before getting in or a few feet below the surface where things are a little calmer. On a shallow daytime OW dive we may not need to check three lights each. In a shallow quarry where we can't go deep and it doesn't matter where we surface decompression may not be a factor, rock bottom is 500 psi and the direction plan is pretty loose and distance can be just bouncing off quarry walls until we're tired of it.
We also do negative pressure checks on our regs before turning the gas on which is something that too many folks don't do. With the reg attached to the valve and the gas off just suck on the reg. You should get nothing. This makes sure that there are no leaks in the reg as through a torn or missing diaphragm (main or exhaust) or a cracked housing. This is something that breathing off the reg while out of the water won't tell you.
We each do a modified valve drill (in water)- makes sure gas is on and valves can be reached.
bubble check for each other (in water)- makes sure long hose is deployable, backup is where it needs to be and both regs work
bubble checks (in water) - makes sure nothing is leaking.
Modified s-drill (unless a full s-drill is called for)-makes sure long hose is deployable, backup is where it needs to be and both regs are functioning...you want to make darned sure your bud can give you gas if you need it!
Check lights by turning each on and off (usually in water).
Head to toe equipment matching (usually in water)- makes certain every one knows what every one else is carrying and where and that you have what you need. Hopefully, with the exception of special equipment every one is carrying similar items in similar places and it only takes a few seconds.
Gas planning...check supply each diver calculating turn pressure (or whatever is being used)
The designated leader briefs the dive and every one briefs the dive in turn. Depending on the dive this can be very simple.
In fact for a basic planning check list I like saddddd as GUE teaches it. sequence, air, depth, direction, decompression, distance and whatever other d's you can think of. One addition might be any specific tasks that might be planned on the dive.
It looks like alot but once you have it down the whole thing only takes a few moments. Some of it varries a bit depending on where we're diving. For instance jumping off a boat into cold rough water we won't be spening much time farting around on the surface so some things get done before getting in or a few feet below the surface where things are a little calmer. On a shallow daytime OW dive we may not need to check three lights each. In a shallow quarry where we can't go deep and it doesn't matter where we surface decompression may not be a factor, rock bottom is 500 psi and the direction plan is pretty loose and distance can be just bouncing off quarry walls until we're tired of it.
We also do negative pressure checks on our regs before turning the gas on which is something that too many folks don't do. With the reg attached to the valve and the gas off just suck on the reg. You should get nothing. This makes sure that there are no leaks in the reg as through a torn or missing diaphragm (main or exhaust) or a cracked housing. This is something that breathing off the reg while out of the water won't tell you.
MikeFerrara:
Good stuff Mike! I'm not a tech diver so to speak but I do adopt as many "technical" practices as I can. I think I'll incorporate this neg. pressure test into my routine.
Every Dive
Analyze and check pressure all cylinders
Non-Return (one way) Valve check
Mouthpiece and Gas Flow check
Negative / Positive Loop check
Over-Pressure Valve check
ADV check
Turn Cylinders on HP Leak check
Turn on po2 displays
Verify Oxygen Addition via orifice and manual override
Check trickle feed flow
Analyze and check pressure all cylinders
Non-Return (one way) Valve check
Mouthpiece and Gas Flow check
Negative / Positive Loop check
Over-Pressure Valve check
ADV check
Turn Cylinders on HP Leak check
Turn on po2 displays
Verify Oxygen Addition via orifice and manual override
Check trickle feed flow
never too cool for school
Being not sure but positive that all is properly prepared is a must. I have had buddies that after diving together for a couple hundred dives we got very acustomed to one another and our personal practices. When I am with someone that I dont know I tend to watch everything they do in preperation, its a way to learn just what they know and perhaps theyre level of personal tension towards a particular dive. I am totally anal about my own gear and have been known to dive solo just so I dont have to keep looking over my shoulder to see whats up with my buddy. My wife was recently certified so she has to suffer through me and the importance of being capable to survive without my help. So, I check my own gear and we check hers together.
Bill
Bill
widebody50
Contributor
Right on Walt!
I also work in a potentially hazardous environment, a nuclear power plant. Of course we have rigorous personal and cross-checking in place. It is to be expected. But, what it has done for us (my wife and I) is to emphasize the need to check each other. It is especially critical when you are more comfortable with each other. Complacency can kill. Don't forget, if you are diving with a buddy, he/she is a piece of your safety equipment. If you don't check them out, you could die if you have an equipment failure.
Dive safely people....
I also work in a potentially hazardous environment, a nuclear power plant. Of course we have rigorous personal and cross-checking in place. It is to be expected. But, what it has done for us (my wife and I) is to emphasize the need to check each other. It is especially critical when you are more comfortable with each other. Complacency can kill. Don't forget, if you are diving with a buddy, he/she is a piece of your safety equipment. If you don't check them out, you could die if you have an equipment failure.
Dive safely people....
yes I do and it starts right from the moment I begin setting up the gear.
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