Instructor closing valves?

[LiteHedded]

GUE instructors are absolutely prohibited from closing valves. My husband also tells me that PADI instructors are prohibited from closing valves. But it is not the case for all agencies.

I vividly remember a dive that began a relationship with an instructor that was incredibly developmental for me, Peter, and my friend Kirk. Kirk and I had already been through a completely unprecedented failure scenario we had not handled to the instructor's satisfaction. We then descended and I shot a bag and tied it off. Kirk moved off with the reel, and ignored the fact that I wasn't following him, because I couldn't -- my manifold had been wrapped in the upline. So, of course, Kirk got put out of gas, and came hightailing back to me to get some. I donated, and put my backup in my mouth, and there was nothing there. I had a moment of adrenaline rush, and then I looked at Kirk, who was clearly breathing off my right post regulator, so the only logical answer was that my left post was closed. I reached back and opened it, and felt enormously proud of myself for having thought the thing through.

It was a challenge with no precedent in my experience. I found it to be a growth event, causing increased confidence in my ability to cope with the unexpected. But I think you ought to know the people you are working with VERY well before you throw that kind of question to them, because I could easily have failed that scenario, and ended up in panic AND entangled. I completely understand why some agencies would prohibit the practice.

this is very true until you get to rb80. the valves aren't turned off but the injectors are closed and they will unplug your drive hoses so the effect is the same.
rebreather stops working and stops delivering gas into your pie hole

 

[rx7diver]

So, of course, Kirk got put out of gas, and came hightailing back to me to get some. I donated, and put my backup in my mouth, and there was nothing there. I had a moment of adrenaline rush, and then I looked at Kirk, who was clearly breathing off my right post regulator, so the only logical answer was that my left post was closed. I reached back and opened it, and felt enormously proud of myself for having thought the thing through.

Here is what would have been my reaction (I think) and the reaction of all my fellow students from my initial open water class, ingrained as a reflex from the type of open water training I describe above: So, of course, Kirk got put out of gas, and came hightailing back to me to get some. I donated, and put my backup in my mouth, and there was nothing there. I immediately signaled "out of air, need to buddy breathe!" Kirk and I immediately began buddy breathing as we sorted out my kit issues. No adrenaline rush nor panic required.

Safe Diving,

rx7diver

 

[Doppler]

It used to be written into TDI standards that an instructor cannot shut of a student's primary gas source when they are using OC kit. And it may still be so. In any event, I have never done so and would not consider it safe in most circumstances. However, nothing in there about closing an isolator. Amazing how many "aware" divers with hours and hours diving doubles swim around for ages before it dawns on them... I have seen a couple "run out of air!"

Also, nothing in there about shutting off the O2 or Diluent during a CCR class. It is fun to see those alarms go off!

 

[loquat149]

Let's see, my instructor turned my wife's gas off and while I was bolting to her rescue secretly turned off my left post. We were both OOG for a moment but quickly sorted it out. This was simply demonstrating how to deal with roll-off and occurred during both our Cavern and Basic Cave classes. Better to experience these issues first in a classroom setting. We always referred to those first classes as "underwater bootcamp" and feel we're better divers because of it.

 

[boulderjohn]

My husband also tells me that PADI instructors are prohibited from closing valves.

It used to be written into TDI standards that an instructor cannot shut of a student's primary gas source when they are using OC kit.

The dive shop I used to work for assigned me a student who had come to them traumatized by a different shop that had done all sorts of harassment activities in the pool, including shutting off the air. The shop that did that to her was PADI.

The air shutting off experiences I described above was originally TDI, although it later shifted to UTD without change. When we changed to UTD, we were told the standards said that students' air could not be shut off during the deep experience dives, so we never had it done to us when we were below 100 feet after that change in agency. Before that we did.

So, an agency may have one standard of behavior and its instructors may have another.