Emergency ascent with a stuck inflator

[costi]

I haven't been diving up here in the Northeast since Nov. so I'm doing what I normally do when my mind drifts during my off season.....think about diving.
Today I am recalling an event that happened this summer in a local pond on a solo dive.
I was diving along at around 30 ft when my inflator stuck on. Recognizing a problem, my first thought was to disconnect my lp line from the inflator. I quickly realized two things: one, my dive alert whistle was mounted very close to my disconnect fitting;two, even if it wasn't, since I was wearing my 7/7 suit along with thick gloves, I don't think I could have made the disconnect quickly, and three; I was rising very quickly.
Solution: Pull my right shoulder dump valve and keep it open, and keep the inflator button pressed as necessary to get to the top safely. Once to the top, I released the dump, the relief valve blew. but it gave me time to fiddle with the disconnect to release it from my inflator.
After servicing, it has been working fine. I was a bit surprised that they said it was corroded since I thought I was very thorough with my cleanings.
I had disconnected this before underwater to practice inflating it manually, but I think it was when I was wearing thin or no gloves in warmer water.
As I said previously, I was only down 30 ft.
Anyway, my concern is the what if question: What if this had occurred at a deeper depth say....80 ft for the point of discussion. Would holding the dump valves open and splaying myself out have offset the expansion I was getting from rising quickly?
Also, is there any connection on the market that would allow me to disconnect the lp hose while wearing thick gloves? Something reliable that I can simply put between two fingers like someone would a cigarrette(I don't smoke), and pull back on to release?
Thanks for the input,
Bob
Thanks for any input.

 

[rstofer]

You might try these little 'hat' sections:
https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=45

Richard

 

[Web Monkey]

Anyway, my concern is the what if question: What if this had occurred at a deeper depth say....80 ft for the point of discussion. Would holding the dump valves open and splaying myself out have offset the expansion I was getting from rising quickly?

The dump valve always has a higher capacity than the inflator. They're designed that way, exactly for this reason.

You shouldn't have extra stuff on your inflator hose. As you found out, it gets in the way. Also if you have an integrated inflator/alternate second stage, the honker makes it hard to use.

Also, is there any connection on the market that would allow me to disconnect the lp hose while wearing thick gloves? Something reliable that I can simply put between two fingers like someone would a cigarrette(I don't smoke), and pull back on to release?

There are, but a better solution is to keep it properly serviced and not have anything in the way.

Terry

 

[RJP]

You might try these little 'hat' sections:
https://www.deepseasupply.com/index.php?product=45

Richard

Yup - work perfectly.

 

[Diver0001]

After servicing, it has been working fine. I was a bit surprised that they said it was corroded since I thought I was very thorough with my cleanings.

Was it a Halcyon? A few years ago they had a terrible batch of inflators that got recalled for rusting and freeflowing.

Anyway, my concern is the what if question: What if this had occurred at a deeper depth say....80 ft for the point of discussion. Would holding the dump valves open and splaying myself out have offset the expansion I was getting from rising quickly?

Well from your story it sounds like you handled it very well. Your trouble shooting was spot on and your solution was effective. Something that you might consider the next time is that the normal dump vent from your inflator will dump as fast as it fills too. They're designed like that, so you could make a normal ascent from 80ft or any depth and provided you didn't lose all of your air during the ascent you can control it with the inflator.

Also, is there any connection on the market that would allow me to disconnect the lp hose while wearing thick gloves?

Yes. drysuits have inflator mechanisms with the same type of connector as the BCD. Some drysuit hoses are fitted with flanges on them that make them much easier to grab onto. These will also fit on your inflator.

R..

edit: oh sorry. The other guys alread wrote all of that. I guess I should have read it first....

 

[DA Aquamaster]

As noted above, hose hats help a lot in cold water with heavy gloves. And personally, if you feel the need to have an air powered horn, leave it in a pocket until you need it, especially if it interferes with disconnecting a hose. And then again, remember if it is an inline arrangement, you can unhook it as well as it is upstream of the inflator - you don't have to unhook the inflator if the extra "stuff" you have attached upstream is easier to unhook.

Ideally, the dump will vent gas faster than the inflator will inject it, but in the real world a shoulder dump has very limited capacity and the OPV is what ultimately comes into play - and that only happens at the point you already have maximum lift. Holding the inflator up and dumping it manually works better, but it is awkward.

At deeper depths and /or on a deco dive, it is essential to either be able to disconnect the inflator hose, or to shut off the valve to that reg. If it is your only reg, you'd need to bail out to a pony, breathe off the buddy's reg, or feather it on and off until you get the inflator disconnected.

Assuming a spread eagled position (think of it as a skydiving style position) will greatly slow your ascent if everything else fails.

 

[boulderjohn]

Yup - work perfectly.

Until they don't.

We use them in our shop, and they work great. Unfortunately, when some of the inflator hoses get sticky, when pulling on the hats they can actually pull right past the connector and down the hose. Some hoses come with a metal grip like that built in, and they always work great. I don't understand why they all don't come that way.

If your BCD has an exhaust that works by pulling on the inflator hose (and most do), you can use this technique:

1. Grab the hose about 3/4 of the way to the end with your left hand, with your elbow pointing down. Make sure your hand wraps all the way around with a good, firm grip.

2. Pull on the hose to dump air.

3. With your right hand, reach across and push down on the inflator hose connection. You should be able to open it.

That technique allows you to dump air while still having both hands free to disconnect the inflator hose.

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Just curious as I read this (and not saying this would be the first/best solution): Could one "fold" the inflator hose over on itself and hold it tightly to pinch it closed, like, say, one could do with a garden hose?

B.

 

[Diver0001]

I would think it would be too slow and too clumsy to cinch off the air flow like that.... if you even could. The water pressure in your garden hose is probably 2-3 bar. In the LP hose it's 10 bar and the hose is much stiffer.

and just to be clear it's not the inflator hose you'd have to bend double. It's the low-pressure hose that's attached to it.

Just trying to visualize that, I'd say there's a pretty low probability of it working well enough to be useful.

R..

 

[gcbryan]

I leave my Air Alert in the bag for just this reason and use it only if it seems worth it for a particular dive. I put the "hats" mentioned on both my drysuit inflator hose and my BC hose. The hats have worked well for me.

If all else fails dump and swim down to take the pressure off and to give yourself a moment to disconnect the hose if you're not able to do it right away.