Equipment failure during a dive! What now?

[Cave Diver]

Ok, it's time to play the failure game. I'm looking for serious answers, but a little fun is ok as well.

The rules are simple. Below is a list of equipment. Pick one item from the list and either tell how you would deal with a failure/loss of that item during a dive, or ask how someone else would handle it. Include information on how it will affect the rest of your diving.

This is a Basic Scuba Discussion so answer accordingly. For the purpose of this exercise we are going to assume recreational warm tropical single tank diver halfway through a 5-7 day vacation. The loss/failure could happen during a dive, or be discovered pre-dive.

• Mask
• Fins
• Booties
• Exposure suit
• Weights/belt
• BCD (Jacket or BP/W)
• Tank
• 1st stage
• 2nd stage
• SPG
• Inflator
• Computer/depth gauge
• Compass
• Knife
• SMB (Surface marker buoy)
• Other (please specify)

Example:

Equipment: Weight integrated BCD
Failure: Lost weight pocket
Occurs: During dive
Resolution: Not sure/need help figuring out.
Reasoning behind this choice: Newbie diver/dont know.
Effect on rest of trip: ???

Edit, adding: Prevention for future:

 

[mike_s]

but a little fun is ok as well.

Equipment: White Garbage Bag SMB/surface marker
Failure: cheap White Garbabe bag ripped during deployment
Occurs: when bag over inflated on the way to the surface.
Resolution: buy heavy duty White Garbage bags to use for future use.
Reasoning behind this choice: DD didn't specify to use the heavy bags..
Effect on rest of trip: none. I bought a box of 48 of them at Walmart, so had a spare

 

[kathydee]

Equipment: Mask

Failure: Partner kicked me in the face and broke it ;-(

Occurs: During dive

Resolution: Reach into the right pocket of my X-shorts and pull out the spare mask already prepped with anti fog, slip it on & enjoy the rest of the dive

Reasoning behind this choice: Always carry a spare mask just in case

Effect on rest of trip: No worries, just need to buy another back-up mask to keep in my pocket


Edit: It's important to pratice basic skills like mask removal/replace regularly--so if under stress the action is familiar.

 

[Scott L]

Equipment: Mask

Failure: Teammate kicked me in the face and broke it ;-(

Occurs: During dive

Resolution: Reach into the right pocket of my X-shorts and pull out the spare mask already prepped with anti fog then enjoy the rest of the dive

Reasoning behind this choice: Always carry a spare mask just in case

Effect on rest of trip: No worries, just need to buy another back up mask for my pocket

I hear ya! No mask would be unthinkable...

 

[Cave Diver]

Equipment: Mask

Failure: Partner kicked me in the face and broke it ;-(

Occurs: During dive

Resolution: Reach into the right pocket of my X-shorts and pull out the spare mask already prepped with anti fog, slip it on & enjoy the rest of the dive

Reasoning behind this choice: Always carry a spare mask just in case

Effect on rest of trip: No worries, just need to buy another back-up mask to keep in my pocket

Prevention for future: Dive side by side when possible and maintain contact/communication with buddy to prevent being kicked. (Or dive solo )

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Equipment: 1st stage of single AL80
Failure: Failure of 1st stage high pressure seat, resulting in violent freeflow and total loss of gas in about 60 seconds.
Occurs: During dive, open water, depth 80 feet. Still within NDLs.
Resolution:
1. Find your buddy; ask politely to share air, surface normally.
2. Find someone else's buddy; ask VERY politely to share are, surface normally
3. Begin controlled swim to surface, breathing off freeflowing reg; feather tank valve if you can reach it; CESA from point air runs out; decide you need to improve buddy skills
Reasoning behind this choice: Need to survive
Effect on rest of trip: Very grouchy with ex-buddy if needed to perform #2 or #3.

Best wishes.

 

[stakanak]

Equipment: Snorkel
Failure: Lost snorkel
Occurrence: Get tangled in kelp, lose snorkel while freeing my self, and find it on the bottom without the mouthpiece attached, which is clear rubber.
Resolution: Enjoy the freedom of not wearing that irritating tube on the side of my head!
Effect: I don't wear a snorkel anymore...

 

[elan]

recreational warm tropical single tank diver halfway through a 5-7 day vacation.

2 questions:
1. what's a tropical single tank dive
2, what is a vacation


Anyways.

lost Mask - signal the buddy , if I have a spare will try to feel the position in the column and try to see a reference, if close to the bottom will try to stay close and replace the mask. If I have no spare mask will try to reference the buddy and take his hand, then surface using his hand as a reference.

Fins - I used to swim with no fins for 25 years Can figure it out here

Exposure suit - flood, terminate the dive .


Weights/belt - lost - fin down and try to catch it, deflate the BC and the suit. On our dive a week ago a guy in the group lost the belt. He was close to the bottom so he finned down and managed to catch it. If that point is missed deflating the suit and BC helps, the buddy can "lay on top" of the guy deflate his BC and use his negative buoyancy to help the other to compensate, during that particular dive the 3rd member of our team once he saw the guy loosing his belt literally jumped on top of him with the full weight of his doubles and the stage gas and pinned him to the bottom , poor guy could barely move Once he saw everything is fine, the belt is found he gave him some freedom As a compensation a second stage was always waiting for him close to his face in case of any probs. (the temp was 37F and the guy was hyperventilating)



BCD (Jacket or BP/W)

rupture, position the hole on the bottom as much as possible.
torn elbow. go head down
stuck inflator - disconnect the inflator, if really stuck , dump air closing the valve and head to the buddy, if buddy is far close the valve to reduce the flow as much as possible while still getting air, take the buddy's alternative source and close the valve completely disconnect the inflator and reopen the valve , with doubles just switch to the backup closeing the post while dumping excess air.

If buddy is not available just surface dumping air from the BS not bothering with the valve

Tank falling out of the straps. Ask your buddy to fix it. If the buddy is not nearby take the BC off and fix it yourself

1st/2nd stage - free flow show your buddy that you get the prob. Swith to his alt source and close the valve , wait some time and reopen it , if it still leaks or much air is lost just surface

* SPG hose rupture or if the needle is stuck just surface

 

[Crush]

Equipment: Booties and/or exposure suit
Failure: Catastrophic - little or no thermal protection
Occurs: During dive
Caveat: buoyancy is not affected
Resolution 1: Depending upon the temperature, keep diving, get out of the water before you get chilled to the point of shivering, plus make sure you are well below your NDL.
Reasoning behind this choice: I am Canadian, eh! Not one of you wusses who uses a drysuit in warm water! I can handle the cold, but I understand the following:

• If you start a dive warm and end a dive warm, standard dive tables and dive computer algorithms apply to you;
• If you start a dive cold and end a dive cold, standard dive tables and dive computer algorithms apply to you;
• If you start a dive warm and end a dive cold, standard dive tables and dive computer algorithms do not apply to you - you are at a heightened risk of DCS;

Resolution 2: If you are at all chilled (or even not so much) stay out of the hot tub - you are just asking for (DCS) trouble.
Effect on rest of trip: Damn it, if I paid for the trip, I plan to dive! Keep diving, even if you have to wear your one-piece wool undies.
Edit, adding: Bring waterproof wool undies. [/QUOTE]

 

[Crush]

Resolution: Reach into the right pocket of my X-shorts and pull out the spare mask already prepped with anti fog, slip it on & enjoy the rest of the dive

I just got some X-shorts and really like them.