1st stage of regulator failed in close position - new diver freaking out a bit :)

[david gutkin]

While it's better than breathing water, that's a very nasty thing to do.

Are you sure your valve was fully open?

I will take nasty BCD air any day vs the option of breathing water! Just not sure if a typical BCD would have enough air to take one breath at 25m. Anybody else have opnion on this? Could I have done that if I needed just one more breath to kick and reach someone?

 

[Patoux01]

It's a matter of volume, not pressure. If there's enough at the surface, there's enough at 20.

 

[DevonDiver]

... at 25m sounds like it is not realistic. What is the correct solution if this happens again?

Hit the surface quickly... or worry about DCS....or become more self-sufficient

 

[DevonDiver]

Tank was open all the way --i checked that on surface. But just so I can learn more, if I was breathing fine before the event, why would a partially closed tank suddenly...

Yes.

If you had t opened the tank fully it might supply plentiful gas in shallow water, but not supply gas at depth.

This goes back to Open Water training... and gas densities etc....

A common mistake is to partially open a tank. Fine on the surface... But no gas at depth. Rookie error....

Good reason to STOP this nonsense about teaching turning the valve 1/4 back etc.. Because people get confused and fail to properly open tanks...

 

[Captain Swoop]

Also, make sure you check your valve and then don't let anyone touch it.

 

[Steve_C]

Just before you enter the water take a deep breadth on your regulator while looking at the gauge. If gauge moves, valve is not open all the way. Saved my tail on a hot drop in mexico where a helpful crewman had messed with my tank.

If it was just your regulator that quit and started that is a regulator issue. But if your reg and your SPG both stopped working that rules out a reg issue.

On rental tanks I have seen the valve a bit hard to turn. That can fool you as to how open.

 

[Doby45]

I am going to buy the most expensive regulator possible! (i need the placebo effect to shake my fear a bit).

MK25 EVO A700 Carbon Black Tech - Jupiter Dive Center

Here ya go, nice way to waste money, but you asked.

 

[CuzzA]

What is the correct solution if this happens again? nobody seems to have a good answer.

If you don't have breathing gas, regardless of the source, deco obligation, or whatever... You get to the surface as quickly as possible. Keep your airway open with the reg in your mouth. You keep the reg in your mouth because you may be able to get gas from your life support system as the ambient pressure decreases (As you learned in this incident). If necessary, I would gladly take a breath from my BC bladder if I had to. After all of that, then you deal with the consequences on the surface.

Of course all of that can be eliminated if you follow Andy's advice and become self reliant with a redundant source of gas, pony bottle. A 13 cu. ft. tank should be sufficient for most divers down to 100 feet. But you should run your own rock bottom calculation to know for sure. DiveNerd - Rock Bottom Calculator, Imperial Units

Also, I would work on manipulating your valve underwater. Sounds like the tank valve wasn't fully open. Even if it was, it's a good skill to have.

 

[tbone1004]

I will take nasty BCD air any day vs the option of breathing water! Just not sure if a typical BCD would have enough air to take one breath at 25m. Anybody else have opnion on this? Could I have done that if I needed just one more breath to kick and reach someone?

tell that to the guy that is a fully paralyzed from the infection it gave him, not something I would do.

CESA from 25m isn't going to kill you though and because of the expansion in your lungs, if you're careful, you won't feel starved for breath on the way up. It's a long way, but it's easily doable. Hell freedivers do it all the time, that's why it's important to practice underwater swimming and skin diving skills. All of our students are required to pass a 25m underwater swim, as well as do the same swim in a CESA simulation. It's much harder because it is going across a 4m deep pool so you have to maintain buoyancy, but it's a worthwhile skill.

Pony bottles are a bandaid for poor buddy protocols unless you are solo diving and can't for whatever reason use truly redundant solutions

 

[david gutkin]

tell that to the guy that is a fully paralyzed from the infection it gave him, not something I would do.

CESA from 25m isn't going to kill you though and because of the expansion in your lungs, if you're careful, you won't feel starved for breath on the way up. It's a long way, but it's easily doable. Hell freedivers do it all the time, that's why it's important to practice underwater swimming and skin diving skills. All of our students are required to pass a 25m underwater swim, as well as do the same swim in a CESA simulation. It's much harder because it is going across a 4m deep pool so you have to maintain buoyancy, but it's a worthwhile skill.

Pony bottles are a bandaid for poor buddy protocols unless you are solo diving and can't for whatever reason use truly redundant solutions

CESA to me seems like it would work well if I inhaled and then began my ascent (thats what we practiced in the pool). I think we practiced CESA at 10m. In this case, at 25m, I had just exhaled, so my body's drive was to inhale. I dont think I can imagine being able to exhale much even with lung expansion during ascension. Not so worried about being bent. Just dont want to surface and be facedown unconscious.

Would you drop weight? would u live? just how fast would you shoot up? would u black out?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to think of clear solution. Dive master said "no way. Without buddy there is no solution with that type of equip failure."