Maintain your gear, and be FAMILIAR with how to use it

[Darcimus]

You will find that the 'traditional' system on the wing you will get is fine and there is no need for an i3. With diving, I find that universal and simple often has more advantages over time than specific and more complex or feature rich. Even if it is a situation where someone rescuing you is looking for your inflator and has never seen a jacket with a little lever down there.

I know. I went through OW with a garbage BCD and had tons of trouble with the inflator, so I figured the design itself was flawed. When I got home I saw an inflator that I didn't need to strain to purge, so I bought it. Stupid idea now that I think about it.

 

[Darcimus]

What lessons did you learn? I can point out several significant things but I'm curious what your takeaways are.

I think I highlighted them already. What are your thoughts? Don't hold back. I'm still learning and I have thick skin.

 

[Divectionist]

I know. I went through OW with a garbage BCD and had tons of trouble with the inflator, so I figured the design itself was flawed. When I got home I saw an inflator that I didn't need to strain to purge, so I bought it. Stupid idea now that I think about it.

Once you have your bp/w and with correct trim, you will find that 95% of your diving will be quick pushes on the inflator button (well maintained, perhaps slightly lubricated, serviced annually, it will be absolutely fine) and dumping through the rear dump, which is usually a very quick dump. Instead of raising the hose and blubbering away it will drain the wing very quickly, so buoyancy adjustments will usually be very quick pulls. There is no strain.

I should add that I understand how one could choose the i3 - it seems like an intuitive innovation, so stupid is a harsh word - but it is just not needed and really has more down than upsides over the life of your bcd. Researching on these forums will go a long way in saving you money going forward by making the correct decisions based on the experience of others.

 

[Darcimus]

Once you have your bp/w and with correct trim, you will find that 95% of your diving will be quick pushes on the inflator button (well maintained, perhaps slightly lubricated, serviced annually, it will be absolutely fine) and dumping through the rear dump, which is usually a very quick dump. Instead of raising the hose and blubbering away it will drain the wing very quickly, so buoyancy adjustments will usually be very quick pulls. There is no strain.

I should add that I understand how one could choose the i3 - it seems like an intuitive innovation, so stupid is a harsh word - but it is just not needed and really has more down than upsides over the life of your bcd. Researching on these forums will go a long way in saving you money going forward by making the correct decisions based on the experience of others.

I used the word stupid because it was designed stupidly, with the lever too close to the inflator attachment. I can't help but think it was designed only for warm weather divers, yet a cold water LDS sold it to me. Wearing 5 mm gloves and feathering the lever knocked my inflator hose off. Now I consciously use my forefinger and thumb to work it, almost exaggerating how far I keep the rest of my hand away from it. Works for me, but now I'm used to it and that's automatically where my hand goes when it's time to add or dump. Buying a wing will mean more pool time, but that's okay.

 

[happy-diver]

Well yes, must say having never used my bcd inflator hose to dump air or orally inflate
and currently diving a bc with 8 inch hose where the inflator sits in front of my shoulder

I would definitely welcome the eradication of the completely flawed hose lifting deflation

if only to avoid seeing this

and place weight integration vertically either side of the tank

 

[Neilwood]

I think you have already self identified the solutions but here is my take:
1) Do a proper brief especially if using unfamiliar gear. That includes weight releases and hoses (if different to "normal" whatever that is for you)
2) Practise disconnecting and reconnecting your inflater hose.
3) Practise oral inflation every so often

Had you remembered your training, as soon as you diagnosed the inflater you would have immediately went for the hose and disconnected it. Problem over at that point with oral inflation for the rest of the dive (no need to cut it short as you are still in perfect control of buoyancy). Any time your buoyancy is "running away" you should immediately disconnect the inflater hoses (on BCD and drysuit if applicable).

You will find BP&W better than an I3 (which seems to me to be a solution looking for a problem) imho. Learn to bleed gas out with the rear kidney dump (it is by far the best way to dump while in trim). My personal preference is to grip the string right on top of the valve and, by a simple rocking of my finger/thumb, I can bleed the slightest bit of air out. The bigger the sideways rocking motion, the more gas comes out ( I prefer to bleed it slowly but for longer). The only time I ever pull the dump fully is if I want to dump all my air at the start of a dive.

I only ever use my inflater hose in the last few metres (safety stop to surface) where I should be vertical as opposed to in trim.

 

[Darcimus]

I got a PM from someone that I'd like to share out here, but I'm waiting for permission. Highlights a few things I didn't think about, and it made me want to clarify what I said about renting gear. Would I rent gear like that again? Never in a million years. He brought it to me, I put it on after spending a very short time checking where everything was. Would I rent gear again? Maybe. If I had time to get familar with it and make sure everything was working properly and not prone to failure, and I was able to do basic stuff at depth in an emergency.

Truth is, I never actually diagnosed the runaway inflator. I was still trying to figure out what that sound was while I was finning for the bottom. Both kidney valves were dumping air and the sound they made got my mind stuck trying to figure out what the hell it was. I used the pull dumps during that dive, using that same BC and it sounded nothing like the sound they were making at 20 feet. Inflator problem didn't cross my mind until I was already on the surface and I tried pressing the button and it did nothing because it was still stuck down.

 

[Kimela]

+1 to what @Neilwood said. Also, an errant piece of sand can cause an inflator valve to stick open in rental or owned gear. And I don't think it's necessarily due to poor maintenance. Stuff happens. My husband's inflator valve was stuck open on his first dive after getting his BC back from the annual servicing. This is a good reminder for me to keep in mind that I can disconnect the inflator if it gets stuck open. Muscle memory is pretty darned strong, isn't it!? Your body was telling you how to work with your i3 but you had a different BC. Even if you had cognitively practiced removing the weights you may have defaulted to muscle memory in the middle of a panic.

Glad you're ok.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I'll jump in here, because I had a stuck inflator on one of my early dives (less than dive 50)

In my case It became apparent instantly what was happening, I of course finned down while dumping air from my rear dump and then almost immediately disconnected the inflator - by instinct rather than rational thought (I can't remember being taught LPI disconnect on my OW in 2007)

LPI disconnect should be easily achievable one handed, slip back the sheath and it pops off under pressure

If your LPI hose connector is stick or stiff, either get it serviced or (as I do) change the hose

On PADI OW LPI disconnect is a skill which I get my students to do at the surface , and try underwater (in confined)

When they give me the look of why do we need to do this, I tell them it happened to me

Everyone should be able to disconnect and reconnect their inflator underwater (they can v occasionally get caught and pop off). If you haven't tried recently I urge you to do so

 

[Ana]

And I'm never going to question paying someone (who knows what they're doing) to check my stuff over to make sure it works. Obviously they'll remove the corrosion that made the inflator stick.

Any thoughts?

My suggestion is to become the one that "knows what you're doing"
Pay someone else if you want to, but how do you know if they did the right thing. You pay to rent gear and didn't go very well... the same could happen (most likely you can bet WILL happen) that one day some "technician" will make a mistake servicing your gear.

I think a knowledgeable diver should be able to dive any gear, of course we use what we like, but if one was to visit a place without intentions of diving and suddenly the opportunity comes up with borrowed-rented-stolen gear , a confident diver should take advantage of the chance.