Broken air inflator at the beginning of dive

[Colliam7]

The removal of the LP inflator hose followed by oral inflation is a fundamental skill that is actually rather likely to be needed during your diving career. . . . I've decided I am going to review it and make it part of any AOW class I teach.

I very much agree - probably one of the 'emergency' skills that is most likely to be needed at some point.

On a recent week-long Bonaire trip, two divers in our group needed the skill (disconnect the LP inflator hose), and neither remembered it at the time. Fortunately, both divers were in shallow (10-15 feet) water when the inflator stuck, and neither was harmed by the subsequent buoyant ascent. One of the divers had been an OW student of mine, so I know we covered it in training. But, at the point when he needed to use the skill, he (said afterward he) just didn't think of it. That got me thinking - should I add that in to the recommended pre-dive safety check for AOW / other classes?

It is also one of the more difficult skills for OW students to perform, much less master. I spend more time with students on that skill, it seems, than on weight system remove / replace, regulator recovery, etc.

Thanks to the OP for posting this experience - it is a good reminder of the value of what may seem at the time to be a trivial exercise.

 

[tursiops]

A brand new replacement is only about US$15.00 + post from DGX.

Unfortunately, that inflator does not fit all corrugated hoses....for example, Oceanic.
So, it is an excellent idea to carry one on a trip (I carry an Oceanic one for my wife and and a DGX one for me) but please make sure it fits!

 

[kimbalabala]

For the record, we own our own equipment and this BC was serviced in June. We did go on a dive trip in June where he used the same BC. I wouldn't have thought it would need servicing again so soon though. It is a Mares BC and he had this exact issue with his other Mares BC so as soon as it red-inflated he knew what it was. He says we were taught to disconnect in our PADI class but I honestly don't remember. One of my major complaints about my initial certification is that we were both OW AND dry suit certified at the same time (in March, in a cold, cold quarry). Personally, I think doing OW and drysuit at the same time borders on criminally stupid - for both me and the dive shop. Too much task loading for a beginner. I suspect there are many things I was 'taught' and promptly forgot or never heard over the chattering of my teeth and whining under my breath. Someone here recommended that I go back and review my OW skills and I think that's a great idea.

As always, the lion's share of responses were very helpful ... and there are always a few that have a pinch of snark. But it's not like I didn't expect it. I'm a recreational diver because I don't feel I have the skills, knowledge, desire or ability to learn all that is necessary to become a wreck/tech/cave diver. I keep my gear serviced and in good shape. It is always rinsed well with fresh water after dives. I dive within my knowledge and skill limits. I don't push the envelope. And I am CERTAIN there are things I was taught that I have forgotten - and I appreciate the suggestion to review the original skills in the book - awesome idea (and we have every stinking book and DVD in duplicate!). I also know that all of those skills need to be practiced contextually so they are second nature when in crisis. The reason I posted about my husband's experience was for information. I hope some other folks learned (or were reminded of) a skill that could help them if they have the same experience.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I was taught it in my PADI OW class in 2004 and I teach it in my OW classes now under SEI and SDI. It never occurred to me that it would not be required by anyone.

It's a common enough problem. Especially with rental gear. One of my student's came to carry the flag for another OW class after his own cert. He rented gear and upon surfacing from the second dive I noticed his LP was hose was disconnected. I asked him why. He told me it had started to leak slightly at the end of dive one. It "was annoying" he said and so he just disconnected it and used oral inflation for the rest of the dive and the second dive. No problem, no drama, just do what you have to do.

Of course this is the same student that on his OW checkouts when asked to do an air share with his buddy they signaled OOA and began buddy breathing as if they'd been doing it all their lives and swam around the platform doing it. Depends on how they are trained and the options they are given. The more options the better off they are to choose what feels best for them.
Then I had them do the octo share.

As for the BC service, did you actually see them "Service" it or get a written description of what they did? Parts they may have replaced? Did you test it when you picked it up? BC's rarely need service. If someone wants me to look at theirs I will. I sure am not going to charge them for it though as it takes about five minutes to check it. If it needs serviced for something like a leaky inflator I'll do it and provide a detailed lecture on how to care for it. Unless the inflator is defective or ancient to begin with, like the one I have on my desk now from a 1970's vintage White Stag horsecollar BC that still holds air but the inflator needs rebuilt as it leaks air out badly, most inflator issues are due to improper rinsing.

Oh and this inflator is oral inflate only. You can't even hook a LP hose on it. I'm going to be working with this BC and my freedom plate with no wing in the pool over the winter with an al 80 or al 63. Should be fun when I take it out to some of the local sites next year.

 

[tursiops]

I keep my gear serviced and in good shape. It is always rinsed well with fresh water after dives.

Actually, rinsing a BCD is not good enough. The inflator mechanism needs to be flushed with fresh water, to get the salt/sand/silt deposits out. Otherwise...this thread.
A simple device to do the rinsing at the end of a diver trip is here:
https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=1301
Bc Flush Adapter w/ Hose
If you get one, make sure it fits your BC LP hose connector....those on air-integrated BCs are larger.

 

[Hawkwood]

I very much agree - probably one of the 'emergency' skills that is most likely to be needed at some point.

On a recent week-long Bonaire trip, two divers in our group needed the skill (disconnect the LP inflator hose), and neither remembered it at the time. Fortunately, both divers were in shallow (10-15 feet) water when the inflator stuck, and neither was harmed by the subsequent buoyant ascent. One of the divers had been an OW student of mine, so I know we covered it in training. But, at the point when he needed to use the skill, he (said afterward he) just didn't think of it. That got me thinking - should I add that in to the recommended pre-dive safety check for AOW / other classes?

It is also one of the more difficult skills for OW students to perform, much less master. I spend more time with students on that skill, it seems, than on weight system remove / replace, regulator recovery, etc.

Thanks to the OP for posting this experience - it is a good reminder of the value of what may seem at the time to be a trivial exercise.

Yup, like many of the "skills" we teach...seems trivial at the time it's first taught - like dealing with a free-flowing regulator.

On our last trip, my son spent the entire week orally inflating his BCD when needed (at surface or U/W). The inflator malfunctioned and we didn't bring all the fix-it stuff with us. No biggie.

Regarding the OP's comment that teaching OW and Dry Suit is "criminally insane"...the vast majority of all our OW's are done in dry suits. It's what folks learn in when the water temp averages 5 to 8C throughout the diving season.

 

[Russoft]

OOA drill/Share air, mask removal/replace/clear, regulator recovery, weight belt release/recovery, BCD removal/recovery, buoyancy/trim check, new equipment testing

Those are the things I remember practicing in a pool recently. I'm DEFINITELY going to be doing "stuck inflator" drill next time my wife and I hit the water. Definitely a skill I would've never thought to practice, and if I was panicking I am not confident I'd realize I could simply disconnect the inflator hose.

Thanks for bringing this up!

 

[Centrals]

For the record, we own our own equipment and this BC was serviced in June. We did go on a dive trip in June where he used the same BC. I wouldn't have thought it would need servicing again so soon though. It is a Mares BC and he had this exact issue with his other Mares BC so as soon as it red-inflated he knew what it was.

Did he bother to find out what casued the latest self-inflated incident? And what did he do to resolve the previous incident?

 

[kimbalabala]

Did he bother to find out what casued the latest self-inflated incident? And what did he do to resolve the previous incident?

I don't think he found out what caused the problem with this inflator. We left it with the shop, took a rental for the second dive and then picked up his BC in the morning. Pretty much the same with the first BC that crashed. He is looking into taking a course (if they offer something like that) on how to service our own gear - if not to be able to actually do our own service then to be able to fix things like this on the fly. He's pretty good with mechanical stuff.

We rinse our gear daily while on dive trips and then give it all a thorough cleaning when we get home - put warm, fresh water inside the bc and flush it out - soak gear in warm fresh water. The one thing we didn't do, but which we DO normally do before a trip, is hook up everything to a tank before we leave. We were pressed for time and skipped that step. If we had done that we probably would have discovered the problem before we even packed. Five years in and we're still learning - and re-learning!

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[jonhall]

Having taken OW in 1998, I also don't "remember" this skill being taught. Also have never thought about this problem before.

Now that I know the remedy, it leads me to a question regarding my gear. I have the Aqualung Airsource 3. If the inflator becomes stuck in the open position, there is a 'slide valve' that closes the hose and cuts off the air supply. I would then be able to slide the valve open when air was needed in the bc. Would this be accomplishing the same thing as detaching the hose?