Back up tank!!!!

[PhotoTJ]

Inclined to agree. Problem is, this was in "Lessons for Life" in Rodale's. Making stories up to prove a point seems against the grain for such an otherwise reputable article in such a crappy mag. A great illustration of how bad this could hurt their credibility is the issue two months ago when they apparently made up a story about a guy buying a reg online and the first stage blowing out on his first dive because he didn't have it inspected. The lesson: don't buy your scuba gear online, be a good little diver and buy it from your LDS. :shakehead

Sorry...I used to consider LFL required reading. Now I consider it bathroom reading, good for a cheap laugh.

I'm curious as to how you know the story was made up?

 

[havnmonkey]

it does seem far fetched but as you can see some of the previous posters have heard of this before (legitimate practice of said unsmart activity). And I've read this article section before and it is not always so ludicrous.

 

[FredT]

When installng the weather and water quality monitoring station on Sand Key Light off Key West we were using dozens of tanks a day while hand excavating the conduit trench to the water quaility instruments. My ears finally got the better of me and started protesting the repeated ascents. The solution was to have the boat pass tanks down to me so we kept a few full tanks on the bottom both to run our tiny airlift and to provide the diver (me) with air. When I started to suck the bottom out of a tank I'd grab a breath from the full one and then swap the reg over. The empty tank less the reg floated up on a messenger line for recovery into the boat. No problem at all. The last couple days of the installation effort I only came up for lunch and to get on the boat to go home. Even through gloves we wore the fingerprints off our fingers moving coral rubble chunks.

No problem with the regs as the SP MkV first stage rigs were rinsed out every night and blown dry, then rebuilt at the end of the effort. Please note this was WORKING, not rec scuba and not the first time I'd changed rigs underwater by a long shot. It can be done, and it's easier if the "empty" tank is really empty. It saves that bleed down step, and several seconds.

FT

 

[Mambo Dave]

FredT, that's pretty cool stuff. I'd like to get into commercial underwater work just like that some day. But that sounds like a load of bottom time - was it shallow, or was there a massive deco stop involved?

 

[FredT]

About 15-20 ft down depending on tide. We did the same thing under Fowey Rock Lght, Sombrero Light and Molasses Reef Light. but at Molasses you need a shovel to get to 8' at high tide. All should have been done on surface supplied rigs just to save hauling all those dam* tanks.

BTW working under water is generally in the category of Braille diving & NOT FUN. Those were the nicest work dives I've done as the fish seemed to think us digging in the bottom was an excuse to go into feeding frenzy mode for several hours a day.

FT

 

[stevetim]

Out of curiosity...could the diver have had the Oceanic Delta 4 with the FDX 10 first stage and been able to complete the switchover without damaging the first stage? Just curious if anyone thought of that possibility?

 

[jonnythan]

The first stage would not be "damaged" underwater. The damage would come as the water, which will get forced into the first stage when left open underwater and then pressurized, will corrode the internals over time if it is not thoroughly stripped and cleaned afterwards.

It doesn't matter what kind of first stage you have, as water will enter through the air entry port.

 

[FredT]

Note that the tank valve on the new tank is floded. This water is forced through the reg when the tank valve is turned on even with the "dry" reg gismo.

 

[gangrel441]

I'm curious as to how you know the story was made up?

This story about changing tanks underwater? I don't. I am guessing based on how far-fetched the story is and the precident that has been set of late by LFL.

The story about the internet reg blowing up because the diver didn't buy it from an LDS? Come on, are you really asking me to support my position on that one? That was one of the worst examples of scare fiction I have ever read.

 

[jpsexton]

Inclined to agree. Problem is, this was in "Lessons for Life" in Rodale's. Making stories up to prove a point seems against the grain for such an otherwise reputable article in such a crappy mag. A great illustration of how bad this could hurt their credibility is the issue two months ago when they apparently made up a story about a guy buying a reg online and the first stage blowing out on his first dive because he didn't have it inspected. The lesson: don't buy your scuba gear online, be a good little diver and buy it from your LDS. :shakehead

Sorry...I used to consider LFL required reading. Now I consider it bathroom reading, good for a cheap laugh.

I totally agree. I think the LFL articles could be a great source of real world education, but these couple of articles really hurts their credibilty.

I'm not saying this last article is not possible but the presentation just seems too contirved.