I am disappointed in myself...

[Doc]

The inflator hose came off directly where it attaches to the bladder (not sure if that is called the elbow or not).

Maybe what you are saying is that the QD (Quick Disconnect) fitting on the BC inflator hose got bumped and popped off. That would explain the noise you heard.

This was caused by an incorrect initial installation- either that or you have one that is seriously out of spec. They simply do not come loose like that unless you are involved in a scene from James Bond.

This would be an excellent moment to consider heavy practice on oral inflation at the surface.

As far as your dive buddy, it is absolutely up to you alone to communicate your needs fully. We could talk about how you weren't all that concerned or about the fact that he was distracted with surface chatter after a successful dive- bottom line is that you did not make your needs clear enough to elicit a response.

If you need that kind of help again, verbally get his attention just before you latch on to him for support. It would have been that quick a resolution.

You can't always verbalize to your buddy that you are about to complicate their lives, just at least let them know it's about to happen. If you're really on top of it, as you attach to him, you'll be hitting his BC Inflator at he same time. (We can discuss BPW vs BC overinflation issues as well)

Communicate your needs. All in all, a good experience.

My instructor had the belt in his hand while towing me (6 lbs) and I did have my reg in my mouth. I never spit it out till I am bouyant on the surface.

No reason to do it even then. If you must take it out, it must be because you have something that can not wait to be spoken. Leave it in your mouth until firmly seated on a bench or boat. If you think you have something Earth shattering to say, keep the reg in your hand.

A time to communicate, a time to just keep breathing. Balance in all things.

 

[RasRitz]

Dont beat yourself up.. its not always easy to quickly pinpoint a fault in your gear . Im just glad you are here to report it to the rest of us

 

[DandyDon]

This was caused by an incorrect initial installation- either that or you have one that is seriously out of spec. They simply do not come loose like that unless you are involved in a scene from James Bond.

This would be an excellent moment to consider heavy practice on oral inflation at the surface.

Happened to me on a new BC once, and that's what I did. As long as Panic doesn't take over, great.

 

[spectrum]

I would like to add something on top of what everyone else has said. If you were fighting that hard to stay afloat on the surface at the end of your dive then it sounds like you were seriously overweighted. You should be able to hover at 15ft during the safety stop with no air in your BC and 500psi remaining in your tank.

For many divers, especially those that dive from shore that is a useless configuration since they would need to breathe shallow or carry rocks for the last 1/2 of some dives.
Actually a slow gentle ascent from 15 feet is important for any diver and I don't know why anyone would want to begin to go positive (the neoprene factor) that deep. There are not that many pounds between us but I would not jump to "seriously overweighted". Keep in mind that she was staying afloat.

The OP did not paint a complete picture of the scenario (remaining air, distance to shore, surf action, etc.) but just dropping down and swimming in on the bottom may have also been an option. Again it's hard to say what alternatives were appropriate but there were multiple options.

Pete

 

[Charlie99]

I tell my buddy that I can't inflate my BC and he says that there is bubbles coming out of the bladder. I tell my Instructor (who was on this fun dive with us) that I am having a problem with my BC. He looks and immediately drops my weight belt and begins towing me into shore. As he drops my weight belt I look over and my buddy is talking to another member of our dive group!

If you had any trouble at all in staying on the surface with a completely empty BCD, then you need to check your weighting!

Even at the beginning of your dive, you should have at the most been negatively buoyant equal to the weight of the air you were carrying --- about 6 pounds for every 80 cubic feet of air.

Why in the world would instructor drop your weight belt and start towing you into shore????

Were you panicked? Were you having difficulty staying on the surface?

You need to figure out why this was a "big incident" rather than an simple -- "Oh, my corrugated hose popped off. I'll have to fix that before the next dive."

 

[jeanne001]

I had 1600 PSI left. I was approx. 125 - 150 yds from shore. There was a slight surf. At first I was able to stay afloat by kicking, it became harder. I wouldn't have been able to stay afloat by kicking too much longer. I NEVER thought about descending again and going into shore that way. I don't know why i didn't. FWIW when I got back to shore my bladder was completly filled with water.

 

[Wayfarer2]

I had been considering taking the Rescue class this fall. But at this point, I probably had better concentrate on taking care of /rescuing myself rather than other people.

Take that rescue class! it will teach you so much about your diving and how to protect your self as well as others.

Oh and don’t be disappointed in your self, you communicated you had a problem to the divers around you, a lot of people don’t do that much out of pride or over confidence that they can fix “it” them selves.

 

[diver 85]

I would just file it away as a lesson learned.....ALWAYS remember, everyone makes mistakes, the smart ones learn from theirs...........good luck in the future, hopefully a lesson welled learned..............

 

[Charlie99]

I had 1600 PSI left. .... At first I was able to stay afloat by kicking, it became harder. I wouldn't have been able to stay afloat by kicking too much longer.

Then you were definitely overweighted. Just sucking in a big breath of air should have given you enough buoyancy to stay afloat even without finning. In a 100cu ft tank, 1600psi is only about 4 pounds and is even less in smaller tanks.

If you were so negatively buoyant that kicking to stay on the surface was tiring you out, then you were grossly overweighted.

Not being able to keep air in the BCD means that you can't get positive buoyancy from it, but no matter how much water enters the BCD, that water doesn't affect your buoyancy and will not make you sink.

Solve your weighting problem and then the loss of buoyancy problem becomes a non-issue.

Congratulations on handling the immediate problem. There's no reason to be disappointed about how you handled it. Now you just need to solve the underlying factor that aggravated the situation.

Charlie

 

[Walter]

Went diving today. Even though it was cold, rainy and slightly windy, I had a great time.

This is really important. It's a very good sign.

Until the end of the dive that is...Once I had surfaced, I am kicking to stay afloat while I am putting air in my bc by using my LPIH.

Kicking hard? Kicking slightly? How much you are kicking tells a great deal about your weighting. If it was difficult to stay afloat, you are grossly overweighted, but with 1600 PSI left you should be slightly negative with no air in the BC, so a light kick to stay afloat is expected. What leads me to think you are more than 2 lbs overweighted is when you later say:

At first I was able to stay afloat by kicking, it became harder. I wouldn't have been able to stay afloat by kicking too much longer.

I heard a pop and I immediately thought that I must have over inflated the bc and I thought to myself "how could i have over inflated it, I have only been pushing the inflate button for about 2-3 seconds."

If your BC is overinflated, you won't hear a pop, you'll hear air escaping, but it won't be a pop.

I tell my buddy that I can't inflate my BC and he says that there is bubbles coming out of the bladder.

From where were the bubbles coming?

I tell my Instructor (who was on this fun dive with us) that I am having a problem with my BC. He looks and immediately drops my weight belt and begins towing me into shore.

He may have over reacted, but if so, he erred on the side of caution. Can't fault someone for that.

As he drops my weight belt I look over and my buddy is talking to another member of our dive group! (that is a whole other problem to be dealt with tonight). Anyway, after I am in shallower water i see that where the LPIH has come completly detached from the bladder. Which is why is wouldn't hold air.

Just to avoid confusion, you are talking about the large hose that is actually part of the BC, not the small hose that is part of the regulator?

Getting to my problem... I am really PO'd at myself for not realizing that the problem had elevated to the point where i should have released my weight belt myself. Someone else had to do it for me. I am really dissappointed in myself, especially since it was my instructor that had to do the dropping of the belt. I don't know I'm just really disappointed and just wanted to vent.

Being disappointed in yourself is a good sign. It shows you care about your abilities and will work to improve them. It also shows you've learned your lesson.

You should be able to hover at 15ft during the safety stop with no air in your BC and 500psi remaining in your tank.

She was wearing a 7mm suit and a 7mm vested hood. If she is neutrally buoyant at 15 feet with no air in her BC, when she attempts a slow ascent from her safety stop, her suit will expand causing a much too rapid ascent. Neutral buoyancy with no air in the BC and an almost empty tank should be at the surface (expect for free divers for whom it should be at 30 ft).

I had been considering taking the Rescue class this fall. But at this point, I probably had better concentrate on taking care of /rescuing myself rather than other people.

A good rescue class will teach you self rescue.

Maybe what you are saying is that the QD (Quick Disconnect) fitting on the BC inflator hose got bumped and popped off. That would explain the noise you heard.

It would explain the popping sound, but it does not explain a couple other things, such as:

he says that there is bubbles coming out of the bladder.

i see that where the LPIH has come completly detached from the bladder. Which is why is wouldn't hold air.

The inflator hose came off directly where it attaches to the bladder

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