Regulator Prob "in my head"?

[dumpsterDiver]

he he...yea!

I am facing new potential problems....boat mooring issues, doffing and donning, trying to learn the radio and GPS...so maybe I am overwhelmed and need to slow down. But give up solo? or my respect for DIR methods and gear? Nope. Besides, everybody knows many DIR divers solo, they just are mum about it so that the family doesn't get upset. Hate to break it to you, but some Catholics even use birth control.
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I'm not a DIR person, (although I dove with George a few times on recreational dives). I also usually dive solo and also try to incorporate DIR thinking into my gear as much as I find useful. The pony bottle and extra reg will make you feel much better; I feel irresponsible when I rarely don't use one. I have no problem with people diving solo.

I also know exactly what you mean about being overwhelmed with going out on your own boat. It has a much different "feel" then when going on someone else's boat whose boating skills you completely trust.

 

[Cacia]

yup...exactly.

The boat has me pretty wigged out.

So...I hear George is a real trip. Ya'll must get along great, huh? I think enough people have suggested the pony---I am almost convinced. Actually, I am convinced.

Doc Intrepid says it...it must be true.

I think about the boat thing and it makes no sense. It is sound. I bought an EPIRB, for pete's sake. I just feel like a total weenie suddenly! I am even afraid to see Guardian.

 

[Cacia]

okay...a great PM.

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I'm curious about what kind of reg you have- does it have a 2nd stage adjustment? environmental seal? Did you throw an IP guage on it? (The IP gauge is my favorite!)

I used to use a Seacure, but got rid of it when I went to the long hose since it hurt my buddies feelings. For the most part, I don't miss it, but when the water is cold and my jaw is starting to ache from the tension, I think about it sitting in the bottom of my toolbox.

As for the psychology of watching your life flash before your eyes, every once in a while, I have an "accident" and then I start to second guess my diving. Most of the time, it is something stupid, like forgetting a spool, losing track of my gas, or gearing up before zipping up my drysuit. These are simple mistakes that are easily fixed, but I get hard on myself for making them. I'm afraid that if I can make the stupid mistakes, then what is to stop me from making the big ones? These are no big deal- I think about them for a day, decide to quit diving, then laugh at how silly I am, and then get wet again.

The incidents that really scare me are the random ones that I didn't cause. One incident, a buddy turned my air off in the pool; another time, a deco reg was free flowing at 70'; and the most recent one was a deco reg with a loose fitting that was bubbling vigorously when I pressurized it at 20' (O2). The common element in all of these is that I just reacted to the problem- it was quick, efficient, and effective. What scares me is that it wasn't the STAB Stop, Think, Act, Breathe stuff that they teach. After the "incidents" I couldn't tell the difference between panic and effective problem solving. I instinctively knew what I had to do and just did it. There was no conscious thought, just a reaction. Afterwards, I would second guess myself- what if my instinct was wrong? I didn't think about what I was doing or the consequence, I just reacted. How is that different from panic? In the end, I just tell myself that my training and experience guided me, although that is more an excuse to keep on diving that an real rational justification. I don't see many people talk about stuff like this. Maybe it happens all the time and that is part of the psychology, but people are just to chicken to say "Holy Cra p!!! I panicked, but I survived!"

Permission to post.

A great communicator/ writer!

 

[Puffer Fish]

thanks Jen.

yes, I can't remember the title. Basically what we figured out was a series of people turning my tank on and off left me with it off after I had checked both regs, but they were charged, so purged normally. I did not watch the gauge...so I learned. Then, I got pretty far along in the dive and the depth finally exceeded the ambient 1st stage pressure and the "door closed" in a very definate fashion. No eeking out a bit more from the tank. Very easy OOA ascent...just shook me up. Not because i almost drowned or anything dramatic...but that the mistake happened to ME. Like I have been in la la land. Now, when I descend the line, I get overwhelmed deeper than 60 feet or what I can ascend from.

Jb thinks maybe the funeral and all has made me nuts. he says they drive along nonchalant until somebody gets blown up and then they get hypervigilant for awhile.

I think Jen nailed it. But if I service the darn thing then maybe I can get past the mental hurdle. Crossing the channel...all kinds of stuff, I just feel a little paranoid sudenly.

Obviously, like in Jen's case...you don't get your car parts all serviced.

I wonder if a sudden shut down like what people do in OOA drills has any effect on the reg though. That is what has me wondering. I think I will call Mikey, the repair guy! I am brilliant, aren't I?

oh...and I welcome off topic rapport. :10: very..therapeutic.

Well, there could be something to your issue (other than mental). I had one that "seemed" to be acting funny, but kept diving with it (it was just serviced and could not possibly be off).

That was, until I went below 100 ft and could not breath. At 60, it just seems odd. After having it checked out, the reg had somehow gotten out of adjustment.. over three times the static pressure of specification. How??? don't know. Was it easy to tell? No... It just did not seem right.

You can get water into the internals in an out of air condition, and that can increase breathing resistance.

Also, I notice that some regs change over dives.. I am now on the second adjustment to bring it back in spec.. but don't have a clue why.

You will feel better and be more comfortable if you:

Try another reg out and have yours checked out.

Even if it is all mental... it is the correct thing to do.

 

[Cacia]

You can get water into the internals in an out of air condition, and that can increase breathing resistance.

hmm..that's interesting. Yes, I will. Thanks Puff. "out of adjustment" feels intuitively correct. Just waiting for the repair guy to call me back.

hey, how would an OOA condition differ from a drill as far as the regulator goes?

 

[do it easy]

hey, how would an OOA condition differ from a drill as far as the regulator goes?

I think that it's fairly similar- in both cases, the first stage pressure goes to nothing or just about. Although with a valve drill, it is low for only a few seconds.

A bubble check is also a good thing to do, with the s-drill and valve drill. If your first stage connection is bubbling, it will probably let in water during an OOA or valve drill. It drives me nuts when I see slowly leaking regs- especially the tank connection or the SPG. :no

 

[Walter]

After the "incidents" I couldn't tell the difference between panic and effective problem solving. I instinctively knew what I had to do and just did it. There was no conscious thought, just a reaction. Afterwards, I would second guess myself- what if my instinct was wrong? I didn't think about what I was doing or the consequence, I just reacted. How is that different from panic?

Were you aware of your actions at the time or was your mind blank? Aware - you were thinking; blank mind - you were panicked. You may just be a very fast thinker. One of the reasons we practice for emergencies is to shorten the amount of time needed to think. If you have some preset actions for specific situations, you're more likely to react correctly and less likely to panic. Once, I was in the ocean with no gear at all, wearing only a swimsuit. A diver popped to the surface right in front of me in full panic. She grabbed me and suddenly I was underwater with no air source inside a bear hug. I thought, "OH FECAL MATTER!!!!!!" then I thought, "she's using me to stay high in the water, the last thing she'll do is follow me down." I then used her body like a ladder and descended. As I dropped down, she released her hold. Within 2 seconds of her grabbing me, I came up behind her where I grabbed her tank valve with one hand and the tag line with the other. You don't have to take a long time to think.

 

[grazie42]

Originally posted by DIE
I think that it's fairly similar- in both cases, the first stage pressure goes to nothing or just about. Although with a valve drill, it is low for only a few seconds.

Maybe I´m nitpicking but I was taught that it´s not a good idea to "empty the hose". Do it a few times to get to know how it "feels" and then don´t do it again during drills would be my advice. As soon as you start closing the valve, switch regs, would be my advice (which is what you should do anyways)...

 

[do it easy]

Maybe I´m nitpicking but I was taught that it´s not a good idea to "empty the hose". Do it a few times to get to know how it "feels" and then don´t do it again during drills would be my advice. As soon as you start closing the valve, switch regs, would be my advice (which is what you should do anyways)...

I thought the idea behind emptying the hose was to make sure that you have indeed isolated the leak. If you empty the hose, but still hear bubbles, then something else is leaking... of course, this only applies when the source of the leak isn't obvious....

 

[JeffG]

I thought the idea behind emptying the hose was to make sure that you have indeed isolated the leak. If you empty the hose, but still hear bubbles, then something else is leaking... of course, this only applies when the source of the leak isn't obvious....

Yep. Thats is what I was taught as well.