Checking your Octo at depth

[Remy B.]

Beside the surface check before diving, I check the Octo at depth and sip from it acouple of times, then in almost all my dives at the end of them I switch to the Octo just to give it some use if it is my Octo, not so much if it is a rental.

It suppose to be a simple design, diaphram, spring, lever and gate/seal, it is said that they normally fail open and pass gas, but I don't want to be that one where it fail close when I needed the most or maybe my dive buddy.

In two occations I was doing my rutine checks while following an Instructor one time and DM the other, with the DM, it happen that the he saw me with the Octo and kind of freakout, even when I signal OK, he rushed to me and check my air and signal if I was OK again, I just switch to my normal Regulator and we continue, with the Instructor, at shore he just ask me why a switched to my Octo, just told him I was checking it, he replied did you not checked at surface, as I confirmed, he didn't say nothing else I guess it was Ok by him.


Now I don't tell anyone before I dive that I do this checks, because I don't want to be in a possible senario, where I may be in a problem and switch to my octo gasping for air and looking at my gauge, and the Instructor, DM or insta-buddy may think that I'm just checking my gear in a quick glance and keep diving thinking I'm OK.


Note that in both occations I didn't have my raddler with me, that I use as my signaling devise, as I was not diving with my gear, Yes I have the option to go to who ever is diving with me and tell him I'm out of air for assistance, but putting this apart.

What will you as a avid DM or Instructor prefer, do I tell you what checks I do while diving, or just keep doing what I do, or do you have other suggestions.

 

[Rand]

I think it is a good idea to periodically breathe off your backup reg (octo). It's a bad day when your out of gas buddy finds out your octo isn't functioning correctly. And since the octo is one of the most abused and neglected pieces of gear, I think more people would do good to breathe off it more often like you do.

In your previous situation, I'm taking it that the DM checked your SPG. I'm not sure what good that would have done assuming you were using a single tank. Both 2nd stages come off the same 1st stage and the gas you have is the gas you have, regardless of what 2nd stage you are breathing.

If I saw a diver I was guiding breathing off their backup reg, I'd take a look at them and make sure they had everything under control and maybe shoot them an OK sign and make sure I got one back. I'd then just continue the dive. If the diver was very new or a student in a class, I'd probably pay a little closer attention to them and maybe write some questions on a slate for them to answer so I could figure out what they were doing.

If you make this part of your routine, and the DM/Instructor/your buddy isn't familiar with you, I'd let them know your plan to do so and at what point in your dive you usually do it, so if they see it, they are not alarmed by it. I'd suggest doing this check on your safety stop at the end of your dive, but be prepared to switch back to your primary so you could donate your octo if another diver needed it.

When I do a drill or need to check a piece of gear, I signal my buddy or team before doing so so everyone knows what is going on.

Cudos to you for being proactive.

 

[TSandM]

I think it is always better to alert guides to anything you are going to do that they will view as unusual. My husband and I often share gas for a period of time early in the dive, if we are obligated to dive the same size tanks, because I use so much less than he does that that way we equalize supplies. It terrifies dive guides, so we have learned to warn them that we will do this. If you are in real trouble, I would hope you would be doing something more than just breathing off your octo -- something that would actively alert your companions to the fact that you had an issue.

 

[g1138]

Professional divers hear so many horror stories, especially on Scubaboard that when we see something that's unusual it strikes our chords.
I'll second, it's a good idea to tell your guide if you're planning to do something out of the ordinary.
Not a bad idea to test your octo, but unless you're hugging the ground, it'll probably still be working after your initial gear check.

Now, some people will check on you with more gusto than others. It comes down to experience. When I first started as a DM, I had mini moments of "panic" whenever I saw a student doing something odd.
Now I'm a bit quicker to recognize what's just unusual but not emergency and make my UW approaches more calmly.

 

[Hickdive]

Brief your guide that you will be testing your octo underwater at the beginning of the dive (why wait 'til later? The incident when you need it might happen before your test) and brief them that you will signal them at the start and at the end of the test.

 

[tbone1004]

what hose setup are you using? I don't usually breathe on it for long, but if I'm in backmount I'll check it before I hop in, will check it on descent, and check it again when I'm at depth, but usually it's only 2 quick breaths and then it goes back down, it's also not bright yellow on a yellow hose that is obvious if I'm using it.... I don't usually breathe off of it for the rest of the dive because it is identical to my primary and breathing off of it doesn't follow my prescribed gas sharing plan, there's ways to do it i.e. GUE S-Drill if you have a suicide strap with your octo around your neck that shouldn't confuse most people because it is all right there in front of you. Hell it will look more "normal" when you are on your octo than your primary

 

[Subcooled]

Yes I have the option to go to who ever is diving with me and tell him I'm out of air for assistance

Have you ever been out of air and watched as your buddy happily swims away? Your buddy should look at you every 30 seconds or so, or you are in trouble.

Another thing:

It is a good habit to occasionally test the octo. Or you could use the octo 50% of the time and swap regs every ten minutes. Whatever makes you comfortable.

Teach your buddy to grab the regulator that is in your mouth: It is guaranteed to work, and a fish has not made it a home. In this case you do not need an octo with a yellow hose or face plate. Your both regs could be black. Your DM would freak out less, too.

It is a good idea, as stated in the previous posts, to discuss your procedures in advance.

 

[Steve_C]

Teach your buddy to grab the regulator that is in your mouth:

I prefer not.

 

[TSandM]

if you have a suicide strap with your octo around your neck that shouldn't confuse most people because it is all right there in front of you. Hell it will look more "normal" when you are on your octo than your primary

Suicide strap? Are you referring to a regulator on a long hose here?

 

[tbone1004]

sorry, I learned necklace=suicide strap, so I've always referred to them as suicide straps. So yes, short hose+necklace then long hose