Do you check your pressure gauge BEFORE getting in the water?

[Rich Keller]

I check the SPG when I check the reg. That happens before I leave home or before the boat leaves the dock. I am doing that to make sure the reg is working properly not just to look at tank pressure.

 

[JamesK]

I check it all the time so i can calculate turn pressure, or have notes for my sac, or just to complain about the crappy fill I got.

 

[yarik83]

I have developed an obsession with checking both my computer and my tank pressure. I check tank pressure right after my tanks are filled, once more when I connect all my gear, another time when I am about to put it on and another time right before I get up to shimmy to back of the boat to dive. As I descend I hold my gauge in front of me all the way to the bottom. At bottom I check it every 5 minutes. I always begin to surface with 1000psi in my tank and always hold my console when I ascend and do my safety stop. At the boat I always take a mental note of how much I have left in the tank.

#2 reason for safety accidents is complacency. I do not want to become complacent... ever... not after 5 years, not after next 60 years.

 

[jmneill]

I check everything once, except the SPG, which I probably check 2-3 times on average before making the stride.
EDIT: I admit that on rare occasions the octo gets neglected.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My normal gear-up routine has me checking my tank pressure and my valve position multiple times before getting into my rig.

That said, diving's a very routine-oriented activity. Take someone out of their routine ... or distract them while they're in the middle of it ... and they're likely to forget something.

Gotta wonder if that isn't what happened to the DM in the OP's scenario ... maybe he got interrupted at the wrong time and jumped back into his routine a step or two past where he'd left off ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TSandM]

That's what happened to me . . . I have three places in my routine where I check my gauge, but on the day I failed to do it, I was rushing because I was very late. I learned that routine is great if you follow it, but it's fragile.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I have to admit that I can pretty well "check my air" just by listening to the air pressurize the SPG gage hose... I very rarely forget to check the guages on my pony and the main tank, but it has happened...I am also in the habit of checking it on descent or upon reaching the bottom, in case i did forget on the boat.

Another huge reason to check your pressure is that if you are using nitrox that was made by partial pressure mixing, you could possibly end up with a bottle containing 5-600 lbs of pure oxygen if somebody forgot to actally fill (top off with air) and then check the tank.....It is a small risk and would only pop up as a result of multiple sequential errors, but the consequences could be very severe. It helps to motivate me to check my air pressure.

I myself have been filling mulltiple tanks on a bank with 8-9 whips and forgot to turn one valve and add air and then dragged the tank off to be checked... I've caught myself heading down this path of having a tank with only oxygen in it...

 

[Peter_C]

Gotta wonder if that isn't what happened to the DM in the OP's scenario ... maybe he got interrupted at the wrong time and jumped back into his routine a step or two past where he'd left off ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Dunno if that is the case or not, but I can tell you on this boat they swapped everyone's tanks but ours. I set our gear up for the first dive and they didn't even ask if I wanted them to swap tanks, as I assume they figured we would do our own since they passed right over one set of our gear. So our DM or one of the other two had swapped his tank, as it had less pressure then the previous tank.

I swapped my own tank, turned the air on to check pressure, then turned the air back off and bleed the pressure out so I wouldn't be able to breathe off the tank with the valve closed, as a routine. Tank valve is always full on or all the way off, there is never an in between...EVER! (Should I mention I forgot to turn my air on before putting my kit on? I did remember my air was off before ever trying to put my reg into my mouth though. No biggie since I can just reach back and turn the air on, which is what I did.) We all make simple mistakes, but that routine check list is what prevents the simple mistake from becoming an accident.

There were many other things that I didn't like. I never saw a complete roll call with FULL names after each dive. It was kind of hap hazard with "Oh I saw Peter", check! I walked up to the bridge to see if they had a DSC equipped radio and a GPS...NOPE! Makes my Nautilus Lifeline not work as well. Camera's and DM's? Should not happen. He spent most of the dive trying to get "the shot" so he could make a few extra bucks selling the evenings video, not paying attention to the newly certified divers, let alone us.

The best thing I heard all night was the newly certified diver complaining about using all their air without seeing the Manta Ray until the last few seconds before they HAD to go up. Then when the DM brought up going to the surface as asked he said "Yeah I probably should have listened to (Points to me) him and surfaced". I kept my mouth shut, as my concern was for my partner and myself. I was not there to baby sit anyone else, nor lecture people for not obeying a command (Thumb and clearly written note) to surface. My partner is still a new diver herself and gets my full attention. We had an interesting debrief in the car on the back to the villa. It was great to hear her say, "I sure feel better about my diving after watching those others".

The boat crew did wash everyone's gear, and offered to wash ours. I had one kit washed before they had put anything in the trash can though, with the other not far behind. Then we washed our wetsuits once back at the villa. Found the washing machine worked for rinsing gear all week as the only option, since we didn't have a bath tub.

It was also the first time I have never left a tip. The DM running out of air took away the tip.

 

[Insta-Gator]

I've changed from SPG to AI computer. Once my gear is assembled, the first thing I do is turn on my air and check pressure reading and note that computer is functioning properly. After donning gear, I purge octo, breath off second stage while watching pressure gauge (computer). If I'm on a boat, I'll repeat a glance while reg is in mouth before stride. If shore diving, I'll repeat check as soon as I'm beneath the surface.

 

[TMHeimer]

When I get the full tanks home I check PSI and put it in my log as the starting amount. Then at the dive site I check it again and breathe from the reg to make sure everything's set to go. Just like they told us to in OW course.