My tank nearly slid off my BCD yesterday. What would you do?

[FM1520]

If the last time you did this was in your PADI training in confined water several years ago, removing your BC and tightening the cam-ban or strap at 60ft, in the ocean, alone may be much harder than you think. Just getting the leverage to tighten the strap could be difficult.

 

[jwcfbd]

I had this happen to me once. I took a job urchin diving up in Maine a number of years ago so I was diving solo at the time. My first dive was going great until I gave myself a little boost off the bottom to start heading back up. As soon as I pushed I felt my tank slip and almost pulled the regulator out of my mouth. After a slight panic attack I dropped back to the bottom, dumped all the air out of the bc and pulled it off. I reset the tank, made sure the strap was nice and tight then put the bc back on. Thankfully I was only about 40-50 feet down because I did use up some air.

 

[Dsix36]

Thjs is something that I see way to often. It is my belief that the proper means of securing a tank to the BC is not stressed enough in OW training or too many students do not pay attention to it. I have had to show new divers how to tighten the strap securely many times and it baffles me as to how they do not know this simple yet very important thing.

As far as I am concerned, the only way this should ever happen is if you catch the strap and pop it open during the dive. Having a tank "slip" during the dive means that more knowledge is needed in this area. Go back to you instructor and get your moneys worth.

Yes, I have a bit of a pet peeve over this. I came too close to drowning when I was attempting to secure a new divers tank that had slipped. The diver decided to panic and violently removed my mask and regulator in one swift elbow to my face.

 

[00wabbit]

Having 2 tank straps is nice too

 

[icechip]

+1 on wetting the strap beforehand

 

[NAM001]

I actually carry a small piece of rubber sheeting to slide between the strap and tank when this happens. makes for a much quicker temp fix till out of water and on solid ground.

 

[spectrum]

I agree that prevention is the first thing to get under control. If you have the common cam band the wetting will surely help especially until it breaks in. When you close it you should get a definite cam action POP. If it just rolls over with barely a thud then you don't have enough tension. If this skill is beyond you then get one, preferably 2 if possible of the bail type buckles. On those you set the length for an good lock and it is inherently repeatable.

I agree with a pony for solo but as you point out any buddy dive can turn solo even if only for a few minutes. If you feel your weighting is well distributed between your body and rig and if the bottom allows I'd just fix it on the bottom. Open water should have had you get out and back into the rig underwater. This will entail some task loading and turns it up a notch.

If you're not comfortable doing it on the bottom taking it to the surface is an option. Making a horizontal ascent will lessen the chances of a catastrophic failure. If it was a deep dive this may be the end of the dive.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

If my tank slips out of the cambands, I'll have my buddy fix it. (I have actually done that, at 100 feet, with both of us fairly significantly narced.)

If I've lost my buddy AND my tank falls out, I am having a VERY bad day. Depending on the water conditions, I'll either take the rig off and try to fix it (not easy, because you need force to recam the band, and if you're in midwater, it's hard to achieve that) or abort the dive.

I did have this happen to me a few times when I was first diving. It's one of the reasons I like backplate setups that have two cambands.

 

[uncfnp]

It sounds silly but we have actually practiced this...take the integrated weight pouch out and stuffing it into the wetsuit, remove BCD, fix whatever problem, put BCD back on and return weight pouch(es) to pocket(s). Awkward but effective if no weight belt and you don't want to be floating over BCD.

 

[Mike.D]

It sounds silly but we have actually practiced this...take the integrated weight pouch out and stuffing it into the wetsuit, remove BCD, fix whatever problem, put BCD back on and return weight pouch(es) to pocket(s). Awkward but effective if no weight belt and you don't want to be floating over BCD.

Not silly at all! It's good to practice the basic skills. I often spend the last 5-10mins of a dive practicing certain drills, most commonly air share and doing my safety stop without a mask.