How dangerous is this ?

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Not sure I understand...
How do you pre dive check to be sure the tank valve is tight? If the tank is full, the pressure will hold the valve tight, right? Wouldn't it be that only when the tank is empty that the loose valve would be detectable? Making a valve tightness check on a full tank useless?
Well, you could do some kind of test to see if there is a gas leak around the base of the valve. I have seen rental tanks in the caribbean that streamed gas from the valve base faster than my sherwood first stage dry bleed.
 
Well, you could do some kind of test to see if there is a gas leak around the base of the valve. I have seen rental tanks in the caribbean that streamed gas from the valve base faster than my sherwood first stage dry bleed.

Gotcha. Makes sense. Thanks for your answer.
 
Well, you could do some kind of test to see if there is a gas leak around the base of the valve. I have seen rental tanks in the caribbean that streamed gas from the valve base faster than my sherwood first stage dry bleed.

Ahhh, the dry bleed. Can't tell you how many people come up to me saying my first stage is leaking after a dive.
 
Not sure I understand...
How do you pre dive check to be sure the tank valve is tight? If the tank is full, the pressure will hold the valve tight, right? Wouldn't it be that only when the tank is empty that the loose valve would be detectable? Making a valve tightness check on a full tank useless?
You could check for a stem leak on a tank by spraying the mask defogger on the neck of the tank. If you have a leak the baby shampoo will bubble. I haven't tried this method, but soapy water is the gold standard for leaks for just about everything. TBH, I would probably never do this test unless I had some reason to suspect an issue (like a tank being suspiciously short filled or a mysterious hissing sound).

After getting double wammied on a free flowing reg and a faulty tank, I would tell the shop, ask for a refund and see if I could source my gear elsewhere.
 
After getting double wammied on a free flowing reg and a faulty tank, I would tell the shop, ask for a refund and see if I could source my gear elsewhere.

That's exactly what I did. Found another shop and will get my tanks there for now on.
 
Hello all,

Something happened today and I’d like to have your opinion and learn from a surprising situation (for me at least).

I had to abort a dive this morning because of a free flow on my primary that I couldn’t stop (rental regulator). Once out of the water, I was chatting with the site manager about the free flow and he noticed that the tank's valve wasn’t not in the right axis, which I found odd because I am always very careful about setting my BCD straight and I was certain I did it right.

It didn’t take long to find out that the valve was not screwed properly. In fact, I could easily unscrew the valve out of the tank without any effort and that explained why it was no more align with my BCD. We found out that the tank went through an inspection very recently and I was the first one to use it. I guess the technician forgot about screwing the valve back properly.

I’d like to have your opinion on this situation... My first reaction was to be appalled and I doubt I’ll rent gear there but I am confused about the danger level of this.


Your opinion and expertise are greatly appreciated.

It sounds to me like the tank valve was loose and it moved a little after the regulator was attached. As long as it's threaded enough to seal then I would not call it particularly dangerous in itself because it would have to do a few turns before the valve could actually detach, but just a little more turning and it could start leaking and that, under the right circumstance, could be potentially dangerous (running out of air quickly). I've come across loose valves a few times and I just hit the valve with the palm of my hand to make it snug and go on with life.
 

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