Make sure you breath in when you check your SPG

[Pennekamp Fan]

This summer I was diving in Cozumel and did my usual pressure gauge check and then took a breath on my regulator to make sure everything was okay with my equipment before we went in the water. The boat dropped us a bit off the reef and we had to swim hard against the current to get to it. At 100 feet when I re-checked my gauge while breathing I saw it drop from a 2200 down 500 and then back up to 2200 PSI. I was quite shocked but guessed it was a partially closed tank valve. I got the DMs attention and asked him to fully open the valve which quickly solved the problem. The Boat Captain had prepped our equipment and had failled to fully open the tank valve. Fortunately I never felt a restriction in the amount of air available to breath.

LESSON LEARNED: Always check your available air on your pressure gauge when taking in a breath.

 

[cool_hardware52]

LESSON LEARNED: Always check your available air on your pressure gauge when taking in a breath.

Well yes of course. Being able to reach your valve(s) is damn handy too.

Glad you are ok


Tobin

 

[dbush]

Been there, done that! Mine was closed down a little further than yours. I hit about 40 feet on my descent and all of a sudden I was only getting about 1/8th of a breath. I figured that the problem was a partially closed valve. At that point in my dive career, I had never been taught to open/close my tank valve. I debated in my mind whether to try it or not. However, being at 40 feet and never having done it, I decided that bailing out was the safer option. I did my ascent making sure to exhale slowly, ascend slowly (at least as slowly as my air starved lungs would allow) and suck out whatever I could out of the reg (not much). You'd be surprised how far 40 feet is under these conditions! Anyway, It all worked out well and I learned a valuable lesson. Not to stroke my ego or anything, I was really impressed with myself in how I handled the situation. I was glad that I was able to think the thing through, avoid panic (which was knocking at the door), and do the right thing. Now I take several really deep breaths in rapid succesion while watching my guages on the boat. If the valve isn't fully open, the pressure will drop significantly and rapidly. Great tip!

 

[do it easy]

This is one of my pet peeves! I believe that the only reliable way to ensure the valve is open is to physically touch it and turn it. Breathing and looking at the gauge might work in some situations, but I'm not convinced that it would work in all of them. Yes, I think it is a good idea to check in some form that the valve is open, but I don't think huffing on the reg and watching the deflection is the most effective way. Respectfully, your opinion may be different.

I like to check my valves when I am in the water, just before I descend. I put a blast of gas in my wing before I jump in so that I know I won't sink into the abyss and that my valve is not completely closed. Then, in the water, I manipulate my valve to make sure they are fully open. I also don't have to worry about DMs or boat crew touching my valves if I check them in the water.

 

[Shaka Doug]

Thanks for bringing this up. I wouldn't call it a "tip" though. You are supposed to be taught to do that from the get go. It's part of the "Pre-Dive Safety Check". Always take at least three quick breaths as soon as you put your gear on while watching the gauge. You'll know right away if there is a problem with your air: ie: bad taste or smell, valve not open (or partially open), difficulty with regulator inhalation / exhalation, low tank fill, etc.

Always remember...You are ultimately responsible for Your own gear check and Your own safety. It's no use to blame someone else if you're already dead!

 

[REII]

One more reason that I like to set up my own gear, especially if I rented some of it.

Also, my dive buddy (usually my wife) and I always check each others valves once we are geared up.

TOM

 

[TxHockeyGuy]

Do remember as Do it Easy already mentioned that this test does NOT always work. If I turn my valve a quarter turn I can huff and puff on my regulator and my SPG needle does not move, at least at the surface. Also, for those diving an air integrated and no SPG the polling interval *might* be such that you don't notice a pressure change. This brings up the debate of turning air fully on or backing off a 1/4 turn. Personally, I prefer fully on as it avoids this situation. You find out very quickly if you have it completely off vs just barely on. Here's what I usually do.

When I first turn my air on I back it off a quarter turn for my buddy check. When I hit the water and before descending I turn my valve fully on, take a few breaths, then check my spg or computer. This method ensures that I can reach my valve, that it is in the fully on position, and I don't have to hear any grief about me keeping my valve fully open by those that insist on turning it back 1/4 turn.

Works for me anyway.

 

[CBulla]

Hey - here's another check for you - I was jumping in during the Key's Invasion this summer and had the valves on my doubles open. Anyway, one of the crew graciously checks my valves then proclaims nice and loud that I must be more careful, one of my valves was closed and proceeds to spin the valve around. It bugged me because I knew I double checked things before pulling my rig on.

In the water while waiting for my buddy to catch up to me, I check again by hitting the purge on my backup reg which quickly went silent with no air. In reality the helpful captain had CLOSED my left side valve. To open that side, the handle is turned counter clock wise (7 turns with the left hand when I have the gear on).

I followed my gut instinct here and am glad I did, could you imagine my surprise if I had handed off my reg and grabbed my back up to take a breath only to find it off?

 

[Meng_Tze]

... The Boat Captain had prepped our equipment and had failled to fully open the tank valve. ....

LESSON LEARNED: Always check your available air on your pressure gauge when taking in a breath.

There is your answer. Lesson learned should be: Always rig up yourself to make sure it is done right. Ande when done.... no one should touch your rig.

We all learn to rig up when learning to dive... stick with that. Even when the 'service' is offered of getting pre-rigged kit, tell them. No thanks.
:no

 

[Christi]

One more reason that I like to set up my own gear, especially if I rented some of it.
TOM

This problem really doesn't have much to do whether you set your own gear up or not. While the boat is in motion, the tanks are turned off, at least they should be. Once the boat reaches the dive site, depending on your crew...they will turn all of the tanks on. Of course as the diver, you should always check your gear and ensure that the tank is turned on before entering the water, regardless of who set your gear up. If you are on a big boat with 25 other divers, then you're typically on your own anyway.

There is your answer. Lesson learned should be: Always rig up yourself to make sure it is done right. Ande when done.... no one should touch your rig.

We all learn to rig up when learning to dive... stick with that. Even when the 'service' is offered of getting pre-rigged kit, tell them. No thanks.

Again, regardless of whether you set up your own gear, it is still your responsiblity to check it. A crew who provides the service of setting up gear does not give you a pass to assume everything is the way you like it, etc.

Setting up a BCD and regulator is not rocket science and a crew that does this for a living knows what they are doing...but it's still your repsonsibility to check your own gear.

Again, the issue of the tank being on or not is seperate from gear set-up.