How do you check rental gear?

[Gombessa]

Basic question - if you don't own your own stuff, or for some reason find yourself using renta BC/reg/tanks, etc., what's your usual safety-check regimen? I assume there's the basic spg, o-ring, and second-stage check at the shop, but is there anything else you've learned should be worth examining that you want to share?

 

[fisherdvm]

Same routine as I do on my own gears. I don't know if the tech diver and DIR have a routine, I am sure they do.

I start with a visual inspection of the BC. Find all the dumps. Tighten all the caps on the dumps and the cap on the base of the inflator hose. Next, I orally inflate the BC as tight as possible. I leave it inflated - then I test the dumps and make sure they vent fine.

Next, I check the reg with the valves closed. Breath them till they suck dry, and make sure they have a good vacumn and no leaks. I check the cap on the regulator and make sure they are tight. Check the mouth pieces on both regs and make sure they are not torn. Check the hose attachment, and make sure they are not loose on the reg.

Next, I open the valve on the tank. Listen for hisses. Inflate the BC tight, and leave it inflated on the tank. I breath through both regs at least 4 breaths. Shut off the valve, and breath through the regs again until they form a vacumm. I leave the BC inflated until we are ready to dive, and listen for leaks.

I am sure that others are more careful than I am, but I have not been told I am missing anything yet.

 

[diverdownAg]

It depends who I rent from. If I rent from my LDS I hook up the regs and computer to a tank, take a few breaths, then I turn the valves off and breath the air out of it to make sure that the seal is good. After that I inspect the computer, inspect the o-rings and the VIP/hydro date on the tank and thats it. If I rent from the club here I do all of the above then I tear down both of the second stages and inspect them and after that I hook it up to a tank and jump in a pool with it and test it underwater.

 

[fisherdvm]

Oh, I forgot, also check the purge button a couple times just to make sure that they don't stick.

Oh, just in case you didn't know. Many rental regs don't have dumps.

You simply have a pull dump at the base of your inflator hose, and the deflate button next to the power inflator.

The deflate button vent the fastest.... Emptying your BC, but you have to keep it higher than your back or shoulder.

The dump at the base of your inflator hose is activated by pulling on the inflator hose no more than 1/2 an inch. A cord inside the corrugated hose will pull a valve that slowly release air from the built in dump at the base of the hose. You should test this feature too, especially if your rental BC does not have a shoulder dump.

 

[Charlie99]

Oh, I forgot, also check the purge button a couple times just to make sure that they don't stick.

And even more likely to be screwed up, the BCD inflator button. Sticking inflator buttons and runaway ascents is a fairly common problem.

Your 1st post has a pretty extensive, but easily performed set of tests.

The only other thing I've found of value is to charge up the system, turn off the valve, and either leave it at full pressure, or purge it down to some known pressure (such as 2000 or 1500psi). Look at it 5 minutes later. Excess drop shows a problem with the yoke connection or BCD inflator leaking or an IP creep problem on the 1st stage. The IP creep problem on the first stage will show up as a very slow hiss from one of the regs, but only several seconds after the last time you breathe from it.

Oh, and another simple visual check is to look at the filter on the reg. Grossly corroded green inlet filter is the sign of a reg that hasn't been serviced after it was flooded or rinsed with the dust cap off.

=====================

Not really a check out of rental gear, but something important for a diver using rental gear --- RENTAL GEAR USUALLY DOESN'T COME WITH SOME IMPORTANT SAFETY EQUIPMENT.

You should consider getting a few key accessories:

1. A couple of snorkel keepers. A snorkel keeper is a good way to hold the octo in place. Some rental gear doesn't have an octo keeper. Some gear has an octo keeper that doesn't securely hold it.

2. Mirror and whistle. Both are small and cheap, but can save your life if you need to get someone's attention on the surface.

3. Surface sausage. At the beginning, I'd just get one of those garbage bag plastic type of emergency surface use sausage that rolls up tightly into a small cylinder. They are prone to getting ripped or scratched, so I keep mine inside a length of skinny bicycle innertube.

4. Knife and/or shears. If just one item, then shears/EMT sissors is my preference.

5. Compass. Not all rental gear comes with a compass. It doesn't have to be fancy. A $10 hiker's compass will work, as will the $2 little 1" spherical compasses.

6. Light. A small 4AA cell light such as the UK Q40 is both good for looking into holes and crevices during the daytime, and if for some reason you end up drifting at sea until after dark, it would aid immensely in signalling your position. It is also useful as a backup for the rental light on night dives --- dive ops normally only supply one light per diver.

7. Perhaps a small slate. What I find more convenient, however, is to just take a couple sheet of waterproof paper and rubber band them and a pencil to the mirror.

You will eventually buy all of the above and the total cost isn't very high, so I strongly suggest that you get the above items sooner, not later.

Charlie Allen

 

[fdog]

<snip> but is there anything else you've learned should be worth examining that you want to share?

I have learned, from seeing lots of rental gear and helping friends check theirs out, that I will only dive with my own gear...exceptions being cylinders and chunks of lead.

All the best, James

 

[fisherdvm]

The baddest bunch of rental gear I saw was Freeport, Bahamas. Not only the regs were old and beat up, so were the BC. My nephew had a BC that leaked and the mouthpiece torn to threads on the regulator. Fortunately we caught it before he dove, and he used the DM's set instead.

 

[Buoyant1]

I guess the best advice would be to inflate the BC make sure it works (and stays inflated) make sure the dumps work, make sure the weight pockets (if integrated) are secure and pull out for emergency situations. Check the straps etc.

For regs look at them breathe through them etc.

When you get in the water have your buddy (or insta-buddy) do a bubble check at like 10-20 feet before it's too late, and you're too far from the boat.

I've used some pretty crappy rental stuff on trips so I bought my own, so I know when it was last serviced etc...

Enjoy!

 

[Guba]

The only problem I've ever had with rental gear was a tank (Like most of us, I take my own gear on trips). There was corrosion in the tank and it plugged my reg at depth. How does one go about "testing" a rental tank before a dive? Anyone have a good procedure? (I have some ideas, but I don't know if they're practical or reliable.)

 

[DeltaWardog]

Thanks for this. I will definitely use these procedures when I hit Cozumel in a couple weeks.