I Want My Valves All The Way

[Teamcasa]

To me it is trust and education of a good buddy. My buddy (my lovely bride) has been schooled in how to insure my valve is open. I, in turn insure her valve is open. If your buddy does not understand how to check the valve, enlighten them. It is not that difficult of a concept to understand. Whether your valve is fully open or a 1/8 or a ¼ turn of the stop is not relevant, knowing it is in fact open, is. Ask your buddy to check it.

 

[DandyDon]

The real problem I have seen is when someone, who doesn't get the righty tighty stuff, turns the valve off then a quarter turn on. This will give a good reading on the spg and will give a satisfying hiss when you purge. You can even get good breaths on the regs -- at the surface.

BUT once you have gotten down a bit, you are left with a reg that doesn't breath.

I want my valve lightly on the stop. Then purge it and watch the pressure on then SPG. IF its closed I'll know. If not its full open.

That's it exactly.

To me it is trust and education of a good buddy. My buddy (my lovely bride) has been schooled in how to insure my valve is open. I, in turn insure her valve is open. If your buddy does not understand how to check the valve, enlighten them. It is not that difficult of a concept to understand. Whether your valve is fully open or a 1/8 or a ¼ turn of the stop is not relevant, knowing it is in fact open, is. Ask your buddy to check it.

Yep, except for the times it doesn't work with the partial turn. Buds and Mates who do know also do screw up.

 

[Buoyant1]

I back it off, but probably not even a 1/4 turn. I open it until it stops then just keep it loose.

After a trip where they swapped my cylinders out on a boat, I've always gotten into the habit of standing facing my gear, looking at the gauge and breathing off of my reg to make sure the needle doesn't budge. Then when I'm ready to jump in, I look at it again, and give my BC a quick burst and breathe and if it doesn't move I take my step.

I appreaciate that there are charters that swap out your gear, but I'm diving it, and want to make sure that it's where I want it before I'm in the water. If the deck hand is swapping out 6-8 tanks, there's always that chance he'll miss one, it's the law of averages. (I just don't want ot it be mine!)

 

[D_B]

If someone, anyone, touches my valve I simply reach up behind me and open it. It should open 1/16th to 1/8th of a turn and hit a stop. Then I pull it just a tiny bit closed.

If you plan on keeping your valves all the way open, your method of checking should always be to close the valve a bit, rather than to check to feel that it is fully opened. Then after you have closed the valve a bit, then run it back full open.

The potential problem is that if someone, without you knowing, has cranked the valve closed really hard, you might think that it is stuck hard open when in reality it is stuck closed. Testing the valve by spinning it clockwise until you get movement will avoid that potential error.

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The key is that when you test a valve, you should both get it to move and also get it to hit a stop. Both your method and mine will work if you do the proper test.

Charlie Allen

This happened to me during certification dive, during buddy check, I thought that his air was all the way on to the stop, when in reality, it was turned off so forcefully that it was stuck .. it took two hands by the instructor to open .. we both learned from that
I never turn my valves hard to the stop, just to it, then back the tiniest bit, just enough that it's not butted against it
... off is just far enough to stop airflow, then a bit more, no tighter

 

[Walter]

I agree, you don't have much control over those, but then you are much more a gentle person than I am. I have a habit of telling people, " Don't touch my tank/gear....." I just hate it when someone else thinks they have to try to double-check or follow behind me. And I do enough diving with commercial and deep divers on our boats, that I follow the,"Stay the hell away from my gear rule," with everyone.

Darlin', the more of your posts I read, the more I like you.

 

[oreocookie]

I think that Padi taught me to open my valve slowly at first, Spg turned away, then crank it open, then back 1/4 turn to prevent valve some problem - see a few quotes selected from an old thread below. Do other agencies still teach this? Is it really important?

For what it's worth, it doesn't seem that Padi is really teaching this anymore, or at least not stressing it. Here's what the current OW manual says:

When setting up your equipment, open the valve slowly, all the way until it stops turning. (Note: It used to be common to open the valve all the way, and then close it a quarter to half a turn. This isn't necessary with modern valves, though it doesn't hurt anything if someone does it.)

 

[DandyDon]

For what it's worth, it doesn't seem that Padi is really teaching this anymore, or at least not stressing it. Here's what the current OW manual says:

Danged good to hear. That should help today's students and may help the general problem in time. Thanks for looking that up.

We joke about Padi enough, but if they don't teach it, that kinda makes me wonder why anyone would. Now about that pocket snorkel....? :lol2:

 

[Walter]

We joke about Padi enough, but if they don't teach it, that kinda makes me wonder why anyone would.

Don, I never based what I taught on what PADI did or did not teach.

 

[charlesml3]

I'm with you Don. My tank valve is all the way open and my pony tank valve is all the way open. When I took my OW class they did the "1/4 turn back" thing so "the valve wouldn't jam open if you hit something."

I really think that's just nonsense. I've never heard of a valve sticking open.

I also don't get these DIR divers feathering their pony valves during the dive. None of their arguments for that make sense either.

-Charles

 

[HenrikBP]

<snip> looking at the gauge and breathing off of my reg to make sure the needle doesn't budge. Then when I'm ready to jump in, I look at it again, and give my BC a quick burst and breathe and if it doesn't move I take my step. <snip>

That's pretty much exactly how I do my check. Any needle movement, and we're looking for the cause.

Henrik