Quiz - Equipment - J-Valve

[Scuba Lawyer]

Even diving a k-valve today I find myself reaching back often during a dive to do a check of the phantom pull rod being up. Was diving a j-valve equipped tank last year, surfaced from a 30 ft dive with about 800 psi to do a check on where my boat was, then dropped back down to head toward the boat. On that short swim I came across a halibut so by the time I got it on my stringer and my gun reassembled my J-valve kicked in reminding me I needed to surface. Yeah, I should have been more situationally aware, but s**t happens and dinner was yummy.

 

[BlueTrin]

US Divers catalog in the 1950s had the valve with the reserve labeled J and the valve without the reserve labeled K, still called the K valve.

Having dived a J valve for 10 years from 1970-80, this was an easy question for today's quiz

Also the Y valve is not named after the catalog but from its shape.

 

[broncobowsher]

My J-valve usage was in New England. We'd descend, take off each other's pull-rods, use them for (illegal) tickle-sticks for lobsters, then put them back on before surfacing. Our OOA plan was to reach back and push the lever down. I can't believe now that (1) we were so stupid, and (2) I could actually reach that lever in the full 7mm farmer-john that was a bit small.

You are not that old, you still call it a 7mm. The true old timers would be calling it ¼"

 

[scubadada]

Also the Y valve is not named after the catalog but from its shape.

I believe that is true for the H valve also

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

I believe that is true for the H valve also

Don't forget the lowly P-valve.

 

[scubadada]

You are not that old, you still call it a 7mm. The true old timers would be calling it ¼"

I had a custom Bayley 1/4" farmer john, jacket, booties, and hood and dived it from 1970-80 in Southern California. I was not always warm, but I was warmer than nearly all my buddies

 

[tursiops]

You are not that old, you still call it a 7mm. The true old timers would be calling it ¼"

Of course it was a 1/4" suit. But now I use the metric system if possible.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

I had a custom Bayley 1/4" farmer john and dived it from 1970-80 in Southern California. I was not always warm, but I was warmer than nearly all my buddies

Mark Kettenhoffen had a wetsuit shop in Orange, CA for many years during that time frame and well into the 80s. A custom 1/4" Kettenhoffen farmer john/hooded jacket combo was the warmest wetsuit I ever owned. Of course I never really tried any others because I liked his so much.

 

[scubadada]

Of course it was a 1/4" suit. But now I use the metric system if possible.

Ah, so a 6.35 mm wetsuit

 

[Angelo Farina]

E: Find out that somehow that level got pulled down and now you are truly out of air.

This was a problem with American J-valves. The Technisub J-valve, which was the most widely used here in Italy, had a spring-loaded mechanism, which avoids the lever can be pulled down accidentally, until the pressure drops below the activation point.
Here you see it on the Aralu twin set (we own two, one is mine and one is my wife's):