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.
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.