Dry Suit Death?

[Scubaroo]

For those people saying drysuit squeeze is not such an issue, I would hazard a guess your experience is limited to a neoprene drysuit. Trilam drysuit squeeze, uh, "sucks".

 

[TwoTanks]

*I* am going to get the heebie jeebies the next time i take a dump after that mental image...

Me too !!!

TT :11:

 

[MikeFerrara]

Proper training in diving the suit and a little practice on shallow dives should be all you need to prevent all of the above-mentioned problems. A runaway suit inflator is about as common as a runaway BC inflator--I've known a couple people who had one that creeped and slowly added buoyancy, but have yet to hear of one that suddenly went out of control. It's possible of course, but so are monkeys flying out of my butt. I don't bet on either to happen to me in my lifetime--but I'm prepared for both!

theskull

I've seen several of each. In fact when I had the shop we had a bunch of zeagle bc's for rental. We eventually tossed all the zeagle inflator valves because they would gum up and stick. You could clean them and they'd be ok for a while but it seemed we were always messing with them. They used a bent washer spring and it just wasn't enough.

I was teaching an AOW deep dive when my zeagle inflator stuck. I disconnected it without a problem but I could still hear air...with the valve still open it was then letting air out of the wing. I stopped the class so I could look things over and one of my students noticed my inflator was disconnected and while I was looking at something else the nice lady connected it for me, starting things all over again.. LOL another class with real lessons for students.

I had one stick on an OW student and I got to him and got it disconnected.

I was teaching an advanced nitrox class and we were doing shallow skills part of which was shooting a bag and ascending while doing timed stops on the way. One student had his inflator stick nearly full open and what a sight it was. It happened as soon as he hit his 20 ft stop and if he had owed real deco time he would have been in trouble. Tou guessed it, another zeagle inflator.

Use an inflator with a reasonable amount of button travel and a good spring to return it...none of that silly crap that uses a schrader and a bent washer for a sring.

We were at Gilboa once teaching an OW class when an ambulance came for a guy that was shot to the surface by a stuck inflator. He had no idea how to deal with it from the sounds of it. If I remember right he wasn't injured but the ambulance was called anyway as soon as he hit the surface screaming. It was a great wakeup call for my students. I don't know what kind of inflator he had or what the condition of it was.

I've had more trouble with dry suit inflators letting water in than I have air but somewhere I have a video of me on an early dry suit dive using a rental suit where the inflator stuck wide open. I was descending in shallow water and the valve stuck wide open on the first tap. In that shallow water I was almost back on the surface before I even knew what was happening.

Several times I've had dry suit deflators jam and not vent, usually after crawling through small sandy caves. Having to vent through a neck or wrist seal can make for some cold deco even in 70 degree water after a longish dive.

Runaway inflation is something that a diver had better be prepared to deal with.

Do you have a lot of monkeys flying out of your butt?

 

[detroit diver]

Well, what you believe and what I experienced are two different things. Scubaroo may have a point-what type of drysuit do you use? I have always used a trilam suit. It becomes so tight that it is very difficult to bend your arms, especially at the elbows.

I don't beleive you could lose the ability to move your arms at any recreational depth. I know for certain that I can still move pretty much everything at 80' with no added air in the suit. Although it's uncomfortable, it's still possible to move and breathe.

In any case, the immediate and generally obvious solution would be to either ascend or add air to the suit.

If you're somehow completely hosed up, that's what your buddy is for.

Terry

 

[DiveGolfSki]

....The worst that would happen is you would get out of the water and look like you had a serious relationship with the creature that tried to suck the salt out of Capt. Kirk in Startrek.

Terry

I remember that! If I recall, the creature had unique camouflage abilities morphing into the scientist's dead wife (sucked dry of salt of course). Perhaps, in today's world, it would morph into Pamela Anderson! Yeah that's it. Honey, the reason I've got all those hickies was I was ...uh, uh ... I forgot to put air in my drysuit ... yeah that's it.

Seriously, Terry thanks for the clarification. I've been thinking of going dry (and will check out some of the discussion on this forum) and I'm glad I won't "die" from failing to inflate the suit.

 

[Web Monkey]

Seriously, Terry thanks for the clarification. I've been thinking of going dry (and will check out some of the discussion on this forum) and I'm glad I won't "die" from failing to inflate the suit.

No problem.

You won't forget to inflate the suit. It reminds you to add air by trying to crush you.

The different opinions on suit squeeze may have something to do with the kind/amount of underwear you use, or the amount of extra fabric in the suit. I have reasonably slippery weezel underwear, and thanks to last thanksgiiving, christmas and new years, don't have very much extra room in the suit 8-(.

Enjoy diving dry! Once you make friends with your suit, you'll never go back to wet (at least not anywhere in the north).

Terry

 

[markfm]

I think all the joys of trilam are making me glad I went the crushed neoprene route. Nicer form fit, warm, and I get the feeling I would have to really work at it to do a legs-up uncontrolled ascent. (I tried a trilam only once, in my LDS pool)

 

[Mandy3206]

It's possible of course, but so are monkeys flying out of my butt. I don't bet on either to happen to me in my lifetime--but I'm prepared for both!

theskull

Did you saw the movie "Bruce Allmighty"

Be careful what you ask for !!!!

lololol

Sorry I couldn't resist the temptation

 

[pt40fathoms]

Ahhh, the drysuit hicky, and the telltale look of a diver who just had his testicles squeezed. All fond memories of past dive seasons, soon to be witnessed once again this summer.

If you have to endure serious squeeze just to keep from surfacing too soon, then you are not properly weighted. Add some lead, and save your family jewels........

 

[triton94949]

lol... if the title of this thread didn't do that, nothing will

(yes.. shame on me... i was thinking "what will get their attention?")

next: giant octopus found whose diet consists solely of dry suits

Well those be the dangers of the brass hard hat. It could conceivably become your fishbowl. Just make sure you wear a hood with your own drysuit, and not a hardhat.

The worst I ever got from a drysuit was leopardskin. It looked kind of cool though. At least, my girlfriend thought so.