Pull Dumps — lose them
- Thread starter Capt Jim Wyatt
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I've read several comments about "vetting" the divers, which I think unfairly puts the responsibility of this incident on the OP. Obviously some vetting by an operator should always occur, particularly for more advanced dives or more challenging conditions, but ultimately it's the certified diver's responsibility to be competent and comfortable enough to be in the water (especially an OW instructor).
I've worked for several operations, running everything from 6-packs to cattleboats, and we usually assumed pretty much everyone we were dving was an inexperienced panic-attack waiting to happen, but if we started 'vetting' the divers that checked any of those boxes, we'd have left nearly everyone back at the dock !
Short of something blatantly irresponsible like dropping a boatload of gomers into 8 ft swells, over a 150ft deep wreck, the operator's responsibility is fairly limited, as is his ability to predict events like this.
I've worked for several operations, running everything from 6-packs to cattleboats, and we usually assumed pretty much everyone we were dving was an inexperienced panic-attack waiting to happen, but if we started 'vetting' the divers that checked any of those boxes, we'd have left nearly everyone back at the dock !
Short of something blatantly irresponsible like dropping a boatload of gomers into 8 ft swells, over a 150ft deep wreck, the operator's responsibility is fairly limited, as is his ability to predict events like this.
The designs of the elbow dump vary. They don't all use a diaphragm. Some (like the Aqualung/Apeks elbow dumps) are just mini versions of a normal pull dump in their design.
AdivingBel
Diver
Agreed, not sure where dive op vetting divers comes into this. Maybe another instance of a worldwide audience and different parts of the world view it differently. IMHO, short of dropping obviously new divers on an advanced site, I don't hold dive ops overly accountable. Advanced sites should be acknowledged before the boat leaves the dock and if you have new divers on the boat, site changes on the fly (which sometimes are not avoidable) should never include advanced sites or pressure for new divers to dive beyond their skillset on short notice. If a dive op advertises skill matching divers and multiple boats, then that's a different story and I would expect a good faith effort to vet divers (maybe those with inflator pull dumps and those that don't
). At that point it's a service being offered.
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Soloist
Contributor
The fact this incident involved an instructor is very troubling. Assuming he was diving a single tank and was unable to keep his head above water is even more troubling. My wing is completely empty when I start a dive (negative entry), but more importantly at the end of a dive when I surface. If you can’t swim a single tank up to the surface and stay up for any length of time without an inflated BCD you are probably carrying too much weight.
It's my understanding that it is the responsibility of the agency to "vet" their instructors. I'm not sure this is really a violation of standards like you see discussed on this site. However, it is certainly evidence that this guy probably shouldn't be teaching other people how to dive. I really do think the OP should report the incident to the instructor's certifying agency.
johndiver999
Contributor
If the diver was unable to understand how to inflate his BC and could not maintain himself close to the surface with a functioning scuba tank, and was unknowingly dumping air instead of inflating the BC and became so confused that he ripped the thing right off his BC, then my first inclination would be to point toward a skills problem rather than seeking an "equipment solution".
Problem was with instructor not his gear.
Regardless of the type of dump valve you use everybody should have a back-up plan if their primary buoyancy fails.
I've personally sunk to the bottom (thankfully it wasn't too deep) because I used a pull dump and ... well ... pulled too hard. In my case it was a hard bottom at a shallow depth and was more surprised and perplexed than anything when I tried to fill my BCD to slow my descent that nothing happened. I landed on the bottom and thankfully had the time to figure out what had happened and fix it with help from my buddy.
Years later I saw *exactly* what happened to me happen to a diver at a deep offshore reef in Egypt. He pulled his inflator clear off on the surface and away he went..... Thankfully he had the presence of mind to throw off his weight belt and return to the surface. He had pulled too hard on the inflator and pulled it right off..... The bottom where we were diving is more than 120m deep and drops off on a slope from there.... That could have ended badly.
Since then (this was about 15 years ago) I don't use pull dumps. In my OW course I tell students that their BCD has a pull dump (particularly on the inflator hose) and I feel that I am required to show them the functionality but due to my experience I also tell them that I personally believe that they should never use them.
For the buddy check I expect them to check the functionality of the pull dumps but the reason for the check is to make sure they are not loose or broken, not because there should be any intention to use them. I'm quite clear about that.
R..
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