BCD Failure

[johndiver999]

We are going to argue about a set screw when many BC's use a cheap plastic zip tie to attach a hose - when a proper clamp would cost a dollar and be much safer?

 

[CT-Rich]

We are going to argue about a set screw when many BC's use a cheap plastic zip tie to attach a hose - when a proper clamp would cost a dollar and be much safer?

The part in the OP that was at issue was unscrewed. A clamp or zip tie is irrelevant to this case.

 

[BlueTrin]

This happened to one of my buddies and surprisingly we had done a bubble check and I didn’t see bubbles.l when I had checked him.

It’s possible I missed them or maybe the wing was not inflated enough …

Fortunately we were only in a lake for training but I was surprised by the speed at which he fell to the bottom, I only caught him when he actually touched the bottom at 5m … (and he was still trying to inflate when I caught up with him)

 

[CT-Rich]

This happened to one of my buddies and surprisingly we had done a bubble check and I didn’t see bubbles.l when I had checked him.

It’s possible I missed them or maybe the wing was not inflated enough …

Fortunately we were only in a lake for training but I was surprised by the speed at which he fell to the bottom, I only caught him when he actually touched the bottom at 5m … (and he was still trying to inflate when I caught up with him)

Slightly over weighted (a pound or two) will accelerate you decent the deeper you sink.

That is why I haven’t harped on over weighting. Deciding to ditch your hood after the first dive should not warrant a complete reconfiguration of your weights and most people wouldn’t think to bother. I think most divers get their ballast dialed in and then go with that. Being properly trimmed out is important, but the question here more about handling the failure than admonishing him about a bouncy check that we have no information on.

 

[rx7diver]

This happened to one of my buddies and surprisingly we had done a bubble check and I didn’t see bubbles.l when I had checked him.

It’s possible I missed them or maybe the wing was not inflated enough …

Fortunately we were only in a lake for training but I was surprised by the speed at which he fell to the bottom, I only caught him when he actually touched the bottom at 5m … (and he was still trying to inflate when I caught up with him)

Was he using a single, "regular-capacity" cylinder? If so, then this suggests (to me) that he was quite over-weighted. It is so important for recreational divers to dive properly-weighted with weights configured/distributed properly.

rx7diver

 

[BlueTrin]

Was he using a single, "regular-capacity" cylinder? If so, then this suggests (to me) that he was quite over-weighted. It is so important for recreational divers to dive properly-weighted with weights configured/distributed properly.

rx7diver

He was with a twinset.

The thing that didn’t make sense to me when I think about it is that, he should have sank during the bubble check if the air was coming out of his wing …

 

[AfterDark]

He was with a twinset.

The thing that didn’t make sense to me when I think about it is that, he should have sank during the bubble check if the air was coming out of his wing …

Could be that it was just snug enough not to leak, then maybe the compression of depth then the decompression of the ascent and the probable at 1st the intentional deflating of the wing (I always dump a small amount of air as I start up maybe others do also) resulted in the loosening somehow?

As an aside I always care a lift bag when diving doubles with a wet suit. As @CT-Rich pointed out by the time he got one deployed he'd have traveled a long way. IMO dumping weight was his best option. The lift bag is good if you are at the bottom and have a failure, mid-water failures not so much. Which is why I've often posted I like options, depending on one tactic is thin indeed.

As I recall I did my AOW deep dive off Castle Hill Newport, RI with a faulty dump valve, it wasn't a mad free flow type leaking but enough so I had little buoyancy control at 100FSW. I kept adding air and then bouncing off the bottom a few minutes later. I called the dive while I still had air and the instructor fixed it for me on board his boat. He passed me, we had dived together enough as buddies this was just another dive.

 

[rx7diver]

He was with a twinset.

Yes, a twinset requires a different approach in open water, for a recreational diver to be safe, I think. Either lightweight doubles (i.e., doubles, like Al 80's, that aren't too negatively buoyant when full) or redundant buoyancy are two approaches that might work, depending.

rx7diver

 

[Jafo19D]

this. I'm surprised how few people carry an SMB.

I carry one but a couple of weeks ago I left in my room for some stupid reason even though it’s no effort to just stick it in my pocket. On that dive the DM/Guide showed me he was low on air (he had forgotten to switch tanks) and signaled that he was going to surface and that I should pair up and take the other guy around the wreck (he knew I was familiar with it). During the dive I thought how stupid it had been for me to leave the DSMB. What if something unexpected happened? Luckily nothing did but I learned my lesson.

 

[Boglefish]

I dont know if this is the proper subforum but here's the story. Was doing a dive last week with an experienced dive buddy. Surface chop was a bit rough. The boat did not use a tag line for divers waiting their turn in the water. My buddy and I both ascended and I proceeded to board the boat. After sitting down, I looked and saw a different diver boarding. I figured the guy just skipped ahead of my buddy (as happened to my on a previous dive). I didnt see my buddy but figured it was the choppy water and my angle of vision obscuring him. He did board a minute or two later and turns out the rear shoulder dump on his Mares BCD came completely unscrewed allowing the air out and water to fill his BCD. He didn't realize what had happened and kept sinking despite repeatedly inflating his BCD and finning. After dropping 30ft, he dropped his weights and surfaced. Once on the boat, the failure became apparent. The BCD is only a few years old and had been serviced about a year ago. How often does this occur and how does one prevent it from happening?

Same thing happened to me in Oman while descending. The screw became loose and I sunk like a rock even though I kept adding air. Luckily my dive buddy noticed and tightened it.