Do you turn the air off or leave it on after setting up on a tank?

[Baker_Dive]

1. Set up the equipment and check.
2. Turn off the gas because the tank would have to be transferred to the boat.
3. A slight leak on a dive boat might not be noticed by everyone. 2hrs later!!!!
4. An misplaced elbow/hand on the purge valve can result a substantial lost of your precious gas.
5. Turn on the gas and check(buddy) before you are ready to jump.

1. We agree
2. We agree
3. Remove reg from tank if you are so worried about a few psi lol.

Like I said, having a short dive or even a cancelled dive is better than jumping in negative with gas turned off. If my reg is hooked to tank it is turned on at all times.

Live to dive another day.

 

[Baker_Dive]

Transmitter batteries last long enough, turning off to save the battery is a joke. Plenty of stories of people leaving them pressurized for weeks and not hurting the battery performance.

But but what if someone bumps into my reg and I lose psi???

 

[Baker_Dive]

LOL, it is not a few PSI. You should (probably) set the tank up while still at the dock - so if there is a problem you may be able to address it. Anyway, you should set up your tank an check it early.

Leaving the tank on for the ride out (20 minutes or 3 hours) while the seas are rough, waves are pounding stuff is shifting around.. very easy for a regulator to get bumped and start purging a little, You can lose a good bit of air like that. Better to have the tank off when running the boat to and between dive sites.

If you are concerned about a few psi disconnect reg then. It’s not worth risk to have reg hooked to tank and valve off. Read some of the people on here casually saying they jumped in a few times with valve turned off.

Would it suck if I lost 1000 psi, yes. Would it suck more if I forgot to turn valve on and did a negative entry and proceeded to die? I say yes. You say saving psi is more important.

That’s my thinking, safety above all else, when reg is hooked to tank, valve is fully open.

Most DM on boats here have seen this situation play out, someone about to jump in and DM checks tank and cracks it open for them. Ask any DM who works on boats how many times they’ve had to open peoples valves. It’s because of the reckless thinking that completing the dive and saving psi is above all else.

 

[broncobowsher]

But but what if someone bumps into my reg and I lose psi???

Why are you letting people bump into your reg while you are not around?

 

[davehicks]

Good thing you didn't read scubaboard back then, because you would have known that you never, ever drop a weight belt except on the surface. To do otherwise will cause an explosive ascent and surely kill you instantly.

He might also have learned that you never take your regulator out of your mouth during a beach entry. For exactly the reason described. People have drowned in 24 inches of water with a full tank of air on their back due to this form of carelessness.

 

[davehicks]

1. We agree
2. We agree
3. Remove reg from tank if you are so worried about a few psi lol.

Like I said, having a short dive or even a cancelled dive is better than jumping in negative with gas turned off. If my reg is hooked to tank it is turned on at all times.

Live to dive another day.

This is ridiculous. Don't remove your regulators from the tank. It is good practice to set your gear as early as possible in the dive platform. Turn everything on and make sure all is working and not leaking. Regs, BC inflator, etc. I would turn everything off, but that is for each person to decide. Removing the reg means you need to retest it, and with less time to respond in a relaxed manner.

Personally, I think it is bad practice and builds dangerous habits to ever assume your air is on and ready to dive before gearing up to get in the water. The reality is that if you turn on your tank early on and leave it on, you don't know what happens to it in the interval until you return. Perhaps it was leaking, and someone turned it off. Perhaps a well-meaning fellow diver or crew member turned it off knowing there was a long boat ride. Maybe you forgot to leave it on this one time.

• You should always assume your air is off when you gear up.
• Look at your SPG and turn on your air. I want to see the needle / computer go from 0 to Full. This avoids the charged but off or partially open valve scenario that has killed many divers.
• Test your BC and Drysuit inflator to ensure the LP hose is connected properly and they inflate without sticking.
• Test both of regs by breathing and at least purging the octo.

 

[waterone]

Some forget from the excitement. Instead of purging why not disconnect reg? At times I’ve checked air, purged and removed reg from cylinder.

Why would I disconnect a reg I just attached and knowing that the gas is off? The gauge clearly shows 0, I know it is now off and 0 and I know that my setup is functional.

Transmitter batteries last long enough, turning off to save the battery is a joke. Plenty of stories of people leaving them pressurized for weeks and not hurting the battery performance.

You only have so many hours of up time somewhere between 100-300 hours and has multiple variables such as battery quality, TX type, etc. If I dive for a week on a boat with 4 to 5 dives a day and leave it on during my intervals would affect the battery life.

Would it suck if I lost 1000 psi, yes. Would it suck more if I forgot to turn valve on and did a negative entry and proceeded to die? I say yes..

That would indeed ....suck. Maybe if it is such a concern of not doing a gear check pre negative entry that maybe you should you leave your gas on but also practice and be able to work that valve while it is on your back.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

All of this discussion about jumping in with your air off, which I agree it is absolutely critical to have self-check procedures in place to ensure does not happen, does make me ask a question though. Can you not reach your valve? It has always been important to me to ensure that I can reach back and turn on my own gas. While I have NEVER jumped in with my air off, I regularly reach back and feather by valve during a dive. That reinforces the muscle memory to be able to reach and turn the valve if the need every arises. If you've not done this, it's a good idea to give it a try.

 

[Fishdip]

Just because one person dies, does not mean I should risk loosing my air from the tank on the ride out.

People die going out to pick up the kid's birthday cake, does that mean none of the kid's will ever have a birthday party?

True but this is not the only person who has die with a full tank valve off situation. And no you would not stop having the part but me personally I would evaluate why the ppl are dieing and what I can do to help lower my chances. What you are saying is more closer to “just because a few ppl have die from not having a seatbelt on why should I be uncomfortable for my short trip down the block to get the cake.”

 

[Baker_Dive]

You do you man. If my reg is attached air is on. Ask any DM how many times divers tried jumping in with air off and the DM caught it. The only reasons I hear for turning it off is to save precious air and possibly battery if integrated, Neither of which Outweighs the risk.

My point about removing regs is to ensure you turn air on, if you are like me and if reg attached it means tank is on. Also, like all good safety scuba training, we ensure redundancy. Three giant deep breaths while staring at SPG