Blown Tank Face O-ring at 80'

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wreckchick

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Scuba Instructor
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St. Thomas, USVI
So, I'm diving with a charter on a new site that's about 75-80' to the bottom and we've anchored in. All four of us drop down the line with me in the lead followed by the other three divers. When I hit the bottom and look around I see everyone on the line behind me and I'm just scoping out the bottom.

All of a sudden I hear the unmistakeable sound of a freeflow. Immediately I grab my long hose and I'm prepared to donate to whoever is having a problem. I look behind me at the other divers and they're all looking at me. I look up and all I see is an amazing number of bubbles coming from right behind my head. Yep, that's right. It was me.

I reached behind me and start shutting down my valve as one of the other divers swims toward me offering his reg which I gladly accepted. Once we're all situated we have an underwater discussion about who's going up, who's going to continue the dive, whether or not anyone staying want to take my speargun since I won't be needing it anymore. The decision is made that we're all calling the dive and going up. Except for being on the end of a short hose (they still suck, I don't care what you all say) it was a pretty normal slow ascent.

Back on board it was determined that I'd blown the face o-ring and after starting the dive with 3100 psi and total dive time of 6 minutes, I had 2100 left in the tank. Now mind you a good deal of that TRT was with my tank OFF since I shut it down on the bottom after only maybe 2 minutes.

Lesson learned? I was a lot calmer about the whole thing than I thought I'd be if you'd asked me how I'd react. I never thought I'd freak out, but I did think my heart rate would increase a little. Having an alert buddy near by is a good thing. Long hoses kick ***. DIN good? Yes, duly noted, but that's not how most of the world dives.

So, for all you out there that haven't had it happen, it can, it will. Practice, practice, practice. Drill, drill, drill. It doesn't have to be a big deal.

Rachel
 
I've been seeing them let loose both in and out of the water, with what seems to me to be increasing frequency. At first, I thought it was only with the 3442 tanks, but lately I've seen several go on regular old 3000 psi al80's. It also seemed to me, upon further investigation of this trend that the o-rings were made of a softer material. I'm not sure that any of the big vendors really check the durometer (hardness), or the valve specifications. They might just be providing them based on size. Anyway, for what it's worth, I've never seen a DIN o-ring go.
 
As a pilot and diver I really respect the value of training. Biscuit7's experience is one in a long string of examples of why we need to not be cavalier about risks that we take.
 
I remember my instructor always telling us to check our O-Ring. But this usually just meant, take a quick look to see if we had one. After reading your post I am going to start doing more than just give a quick glance. I am going to double check to make sure that it is seated properly & that it is not damaged in any way. Congratulations on staying calm cool & collected.
 
harleyxx, that's not really the lesson here. A damaged o-ring will leak and put off a small stream of bubbles. An ill-seated o-ring will either blow when you pressurize the tank or make a heck of a racket. This o-ring was undamaged and seated fine. There was no air leak before I went in.

The lesson is to PRACTICE emergency procedures until you're comfortable so you have instinctive reactions in case something goes wrong. On your next dive, think about what you would do in the same situation. Can you reach your valve to shut it down? Have you ever practiced breathing from a valve you're feathering? Is your buddy close enough to see and react to a problem? Would your buddy stay calm in the same situation?

This wasn't all about me, the people I was diving with were as calm as I was and it was a nothing but that's not always the case.

R
 
Yay for training! And yes, long hoses rock.

I didn't do nearly as well with my freeflow, although that was a long time ago. I would hope today that I could be as composed as you were.
 
Marie, my first freeflow was a disaster. I was pretty happy with how this one went. I dare say with as much as I know you drill it would be a non-issue.

R
 
Were the other divers your students? Your calm demeanor in the face of pressure (no pun intended there) must have contributed to the state of the divers around you. By immediately going to your emergency plan and having a good buddy diver, you seem to have made all the right moves. We never really know when that emergency is going to happen, but thinking that it will and having the confidence to face and deal with it is key. Congratulations on the way you handled the emergency!

BTW, I just upgraded my octo hose to 72" (6 feet) for just such an emergency. `
 
Not students, just some fun people on the boat I enjoyed diving with. All three were rescue trained and it's not impossible that their training contributed to the calm way the "rescue" was handled.

On a not insignificant side note, the rescuer is contemplating a long hose because of how awkward the ascent was.

R
 
biscuit7:
Marie, my first freeflow was a disaster. I was pretty happy with how this one went. I dare say with as much as I know you drill it would be a non-issue.

R
I seem to recall a little bit about that event. Its really amazing to see how much things have changed for you over the past few years. Congratulations on all your accomplishments!!
 
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