Drysuit Emergency

[Web Monkey]

Is that because it's the "company policy" from PADI?

I know I've been much happier and in-control since I started diving "shrink-wrapped." It's a lot harder to get an uncontrolled ascent if there hardly any air in your suit.

Terry

My PADI instructor strongly disagrees with me, feeling that managing one air bubble is far less complex than managing two, so there are differences of opinion on this subject.

 

[Diver0001]

Is that because it's the "company policy" from PADI?

I don't think it's as much a matter of policy as it is a matter of philosophy. Both their didactic philosophy and their pragmatic philosophy. The didactic philosophy is based on the most efficient possible knowledge transfer (explaining a catch-all is easier than explaining a nuance) and the pragmatic philosophy (explaining one clear way is easier than explaining two options) means that every student has one way to deal with every situation and that every situation boils down to the same narrow set of actions.

R..

 

[jiveturkey]

Most "free-flows" are hardly perceptible. You'll be diving along and you will realise that you have to continually dump small amounts of air even if you aren't changing depth.

R..

I'm glad you pointed this out because this wasn't what I had imagined. I was envisioning something similar to a regulator freeflow with larger volumes of air.

 

[spectrum]

I only have 3 dry dives under my belt. With just enough air in the suit to hold a little loft I dive my bc and it's not very different form wet at all, just a bit bulkier. If I notice "the bubble" I''ll vent some suit air and add it back in the BCD simultaneously.

If you're neutral to begin with letting your feet go up a few feet shouldn't be the end of the world. If the suit is chock full of air there is more potential to loose control. As I decend I alternate puffs of suit and BCD air.

Pete

 

[TSandM]

I don't know, Rob -- it wouldn't vent, and it wouldn't dump when I used the button. My sleeve was ballooned up under the valve, but no air came out. It wasn't my suit. I came home and wrote about it on Scubaboard, and the USIA suit guy gave me some ideas for treating the valve, and I used them, and the next dive, I could get the air out, although it was still slower than my own suit to which I was accustomed. Admittedly, I was also using a Weezle, but they say the vent jamming problem with that was unique to a single type of valve and this wasn't one of those. I do know that nothing I did dumped any air, and it was a really scary experience -- luckily only from 20', and I didn't get hurt, but I don't want to be there ever again.

 

[Diver0001]

I don't know, Rob -- it wouldn't vent, and it wouldn't dump when I used the button. My sleeve was ballooned up under the valve, but no air came out. It wasn't my suit. I came home and wrote about it on Scubaboard, and the USIA suit guy gave me some ideas for treating the valve, and I used them, and the next dive, I could get the air out, although it was still slower than my own suit to which I was accustomed. Admittedly, I was also using a Weezle, but they say the vent jamming problem with that was unique to a single type of valve and this wasn't one of those. I do know that nothing I did dumped any air, and it was a really scary experience -- luckily only from 20', and I didn't get hurt, but I don't want to be there ever again.

Wow! It's hard to imagine what would cause that unless the rubber part of the valve had somehow gotten glued or stuck onto the casing.... I think I would have whacked it a good one to see if I could pop it open....LOL :14:

It's interesting that they guy recognised the problem and knew what to do about it, though. What did he tell you?

R..

 

[creamofwheat]

Very imformative topic...thanks for posting this.

I have only done my OW cert dives so far, but I did all 4 in a dry suit. The instructor never told us to peel back the seals, but instead, taught us how to do a sommersault type of thing if we started ascending inadvertantly (feet up, mind you) When we practiced this, all the air just burst right out of my neck seal, and voila, the ascent stopped. But perhaps this is only feasable in certain sitations. I know I should consider taking a dry suit course to learn more about this.

TSandM, that would be a very uncomfortable and scary situation. I am glad you didn't get hurt by it at all.

 

[jeckyll]

Creamofwheat: If you're diving in a drysuit and are comfortable, I doubt that you'll pick up all that much in a drysuit course. Go diving with experienced drysuit divers and talk to them about what they do, watch them, and adopt what they do to suit your 'style' and ensure you practice it.

Just my $0.02

Bjorn

 

[DiverLaura]

that every valve is "good" should NOT be assumed. Valves are man made, and sometimes the tolerances are a bit off. I've had one suit come with a bad valve, my dive buddy of a few hundred dives couldn't figure out why i'd turned into a total buoyancy spaz overnight, as it took me a while of fighting with it to realize that the problem was not me. I've met many other slow exhaust valves in my career. In one memorable case I pinned myself under a big rock until i could vent my suit via the neck seal (with a bit of adrenaline, you'd be surprised how easy it is to dump from any seal) and pop the inflator off (it was compounded by a sticky (slowly leaking) inflator - a rental suit, go figure) But slow valves do happen. Consider yourself lucky if you've NEVER had to dive with one. any resistance in the outflow makes a huge difference in the "bubble" in the suit you have to deal with.

My suit basically vents itself. I set it to the point at which I need it to 'retain" the bubble for lofting my drysuit underwear, and then fill it accordingly as i descend. On ascent as the gas expands, it just vents from the suit as needed, i am not sure i even think about it anymore. My buoyancy and weighting are such that the BC is only used to offset the gas in my steel doubles... With enough gas to stay warm (underwear lofted correctly) I'm neutral to only slightly negative (unless carrying the video system, and then all bets are off)

Current suit has ~2600 dives on it, I probably have 60 maybe 70 dives in a wetsuit. I've replaced the valves... It came with sitech, and the only reason I replaced them was for the "swivel" and the low profile.

 

[creamofwheat]

This is true, Bjorn. I already am fairly comfortable in a dry suit and couldn't even imagine diving wet around our area. I do know, however, that I am not a dry suit expert and can definitely do with a lot more practice. I do know the basics though, which, diving with an experienced diver, should be ok (they can show me a thing or two and keep an eye out...). Not sure how comfortable I'd be with another fresh OW diver though. I have heard though that some places wont let you rent dry suits unless you have the cert for it? I can easily rent from the LDS that I go to, as they know I took my OW course in it. But what about other dive shops? I don't want to be stuck in another place with cold water, wanting to dive a dry suit and not being able to rent one simply because I don't have the cert for it. Or will most places let me rent anyway?