Missing Zip-Tie = drowning?

[BuoyantC]

After working with students using shop or rental gear, I have learned to include checking the mouthpiece! During one pool session, I was given a student who had been a little jittery with cautions to keep an eye on her. We were doing the underwater doff and don when she looked at me with a surprised look and pointed to her mouthpiece who's reg had just popped off.

We calmly switched back to the primary, and completed the skill. I think she learned more, and gained more confidence from having had the incident, than she ever could have from the doff and don alone.

 

[Teamcasa]

I had a simulair experience with rental gear sometime ago. Now the pre-dive check includes a a tug and inspection of mouthpieces.

 

[mkutyna]

I've had it happen twice to me.

Once I was practicing a neutral buoyancy doff and don and as I was moving my BC around I guess the reg hose was put in tension. mouthpiece popped off and I saw the reg float away. I was exhaling at the time so I was watching the reg move away from me and I thought to myself, "Huh, that's and odd thing to happen. Why can I still breathe?" Then I tried to inhale, got a mouthful of water and I realized what happened.

Second time was when I was assisting with a rescue class. I had tangled myself in some branches and one of the trainees was to come rescue me. When he got down to me, I grabbed for his primary reg. He was a little stubborn and bit down to keep his primary while he tried to deploy his secondary. I kinda forced the issue and pulled the reg off the mouthpiece. From then on I had a death grip on his primary because he was the kind of person that might try to take it back from me. Since he was already in the process of deploying his secondary, he started breathing off that instead. He told me afterward that he enjoyed that exercise quite a bit.

 

[suprasteve]

This happened to me with a set of doubles during a class. Was breathing fine out of the long hose, shut off the isolator and that post and switched to the short hose, simulating a burst disk or freeflow reg or what have you. Apparently the reg on the short hose had lost its zip tie somehow (I shoulda checked this at the surface, but anywho...). So after a mouthful of half air half water, I think I set a record for turning a post back on and switcing regs back to the long hose. Kind of unnerving when you're taking classes and the instructor's watching all this happen

 

[DocIndyDiver]

I've also experienced this. I just dont think the quick ties are getting tightend securely enough.
Once off I'm sure the tie floated away. It has never happened on my primary with that fancy Scuba Pro ring closure. What's worse I had a reg come out of "expensive" service without even a mouthpiece on it! Can't trust anyone anymore.

 

[Thalassamania]

You may wan to start including a vaccum check in your pre-dive gear checks. With the reg hooked up, but pior to opening the tank valve, try to inhale through each second stage. You should be able to inhale hard without getting any air or hearing any leaks.

That particular test will disclose leaky diaphragms, folded or stuck open exhaust valves, leaking case o-rings, cracked cases, holes/cracks in the mouthpiece and mouthieces that leak due to missing zip ties.

While a good idea, that will not, most likely, detect a missing cable tie, unless it is a very poorly fitting mouthpiece. Using colored ties sounds like a great idea.

I suspect that most divers have had it happen to them at least once. This is one place where a good deal of practice breathing through a snorkel can save you a lot of grief.

 

[cudachaser]

Another potential zip tie failure point is where the corrugated BC hose attaches the BC...The BC will not fill either manually or with the auto inflate if that hose comes loose

 

[firstdive2005]

I always check my mouth piece for secure, also the inflator hose for secure on my bc. I also recheck air on at spg with intake breaths on 2nd stage and octo.
*Recently after doing all these checks the boat erupted with laughter at the opposite of the boat. I looked over started laughing. Sat on the gunwale getting ready to do the back roll. We where all laughing, the dm said pools open, signals me to roll, I go. Only to realize in the air I forgot to put my fins on. What a boob moment. I'm glad I dont blabber away on the boat about dive skills cause everyone was watching. It was funny, I was the SI victim for the day.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Example number 4,569: Zip ties are probably not the best way to hold a mouthpiece to a reg.


Also, I agree with Thal. the suction test will probably not detect the missing zip tie. most snorkels hold the mouthpiece on with no zip tie, and they seal well enough without one.

 

[bluebubble1995]

Tobin with DSS eluded to their being "right zip ties" and "wrong zip ties" once. Anyone have any idea what this is about?