Short Fill = Short Dive

[ItsBruce]

Yesterday, a friend and I were diving in So Cal. We did a surface swim to the point where we were to descend to about 15 feet. When we did, my buddy signaled for me to look at his SPG. He had only 1500 pounds of air. We surfaced to discuss the situation. His dive shop apparently gave him a very short fill.

Here is what prompts me to post this: My friend explained that his SPG, which is on his wrist via a wireless transmitted on his regulator, does not kick in until he is 10 feed deep. (That is how he was unaware of the short fill until we submerged.) Is that for real? If so, it is pretty scary.

Your thoughts would be appreciated since the total dive lasted 19 minutes at 25 feet!!!

 

[bigken462]

I choose not to use a any form of wireless equipment underwater for obvious reasons. Never owning one, I can't say for sure, but surely he means the computer doesn't start recording the dive till a 10 foot depth is achieved - even that is far fetched as most of the computers I've used starts at around five feet.

Should he be correct with his statement, that would be one gadget that would left in the trash can - where most of those toys belongs anyway, but that's for another day.

Best of luck to you either way, I would hope your buddy soon finds a better way to do a pre-dive check to ensure he has both the proper mix ( if needed ) and sufficient amount of gas to complete the dive with safe reserves, not to mention have some form of proper redundancy.

Kenny

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

He needs to learn how to use his computer; it can tell him the tank pressure when he figures out how to ask it correctly (stupid human!)

 

[NudeDiver]

His dive shop apparently gave him a very short fill.

Um, he should check the tank pressure at the dive shop before he takes the tank. They have a little gauge there customers can use just for this purpose. If, for some reason, a shop does NOT have one available, and refuses to provide one - I would not take the tank.

Here is what prompts me to post this: My friend explained that his SPG, which is on his wrist via a wireless transmitted on his regulator, does not kick in until he is 10 feed deep.

This strikes me as very strange. I have a wireless - it tells me the tank pressure at the surface, the moment the wrist computer is paired with the transmitter, before getting anywhere near the water.

That is how he was unaware of the short fill until we submerged.) Is that for real? If so, it is pretty scary.

What's even scarier is not checking the tank while it's still at the dive shop.

Did a pre-dive check of your buddy's equipment and setup take place before the dive?

 

[Charlie99]

I think your buddy is either confused or is fibbing to you to save the embarassment of admitting that he either 1) never looked at his pressure, or 2) had freeflowed while swimming on the surface and had never noticed it. The other possibility is that your buddy is so clueless about his own gear that he doesn't know how to measure the pressure of his tank on the surface before a dive.

Do you really want to be diving with a guy that doesn't know if he is leaving the boat or shore with a full tank or an empty tank?

 

[spectrum]

He obviously missed the boat on the pre-dive check though the free flow during the surface swim could be the culprit.

I always try to check tanks when picking them up. I always check them at home when they settle and tag the pressure (adjusted for 70F) so I know that I leave for the dive site with adequate fills. Tagging them also lets me cherry pick the best fills for the most demanding dive or diver.

The good news is that you went on and had a dive and probably both learned a few things. Only :19 at 25 feet? That's another opportunity for improvement.

Pete

 

[roakey]

Sounds like a PEBKAC or ID-Ten-T Error

Roak

 

[TSandM]

My husband tells me his Vytec will give him the pressure on land, but he has to turn it on . . .

I always gauge my tanks at the shop, because with the number of tanks that go in and out of there, it wouldn't be surprising for something to get put in the wrong stack. (On the other hand, I've never found a short fill. I HAVE found wrong mixes.)

 

[tfsails]

For that very reason, I have an SPG in addition to my hoseless computer. The SPG is much more accurate than my computer's pressure readout. I got the SPG when I almost had to abort a dive off Hatteras because the transmitter and computer wouldn't communicate for a while. I was about two breaths from aborting when it finally hooked up and was ok the rest of the dive.

Now, I don't worry about whether my computer communicates at all. And, of course, it's worked perfectly ever since I got the SPG...

 

[SteveAD]

Definitely an operator head space issue. Operator failed at multiple points.

1. RTFMA on the computer I am not aware of any that cannot display presure on the surface.

2. Check the tank before leaving the shop. I have a check guage on the door under a stop sign labeled "check your fill". No one can leave my shop without being reminded to check.

3. Check air after gear setup.

4. gonna be mean to the OP now --BUDDY CHECK prior to entering the water.