My first "Emergency"

[Riger]

... I will be honest and say that I had a tough time getting past this comment to continue reading. What exactly is this saying? Is this saying that the surface of the water was "boiling" 6 feet in the air from the expanding air from your HP hose?

To be honest, I told them they were talking crap, that there was no way that it could have been that high. Apparently there were three of them in the zodiac and they all backed it up. The one guy even stood up and indicated with his hand. Was it "boiling" air or a single explosion?? I honestly don't know, but their description of the event certainly gave me cause to doubt (as you have) and also to wonder just how much air it would take to do that. (BTW, it was the low pressure inflator hose)

Beyond that, I agree that I am shocked that a surface check did not point out the problem. If the thread was all but 1/8 unscrewed, I would not expect it to hold much of a seal. Does your surface check include for both power inflating as well as orally inflating your BCD?

When we got back on the boat, my buddy showed (simulated) me how much he had "turned" on the connector before it came off in his hand, it looked no more than 1/4 turn (this seems accurate based on me watching him underwater). There are about 6 or so threads on the connector so I am not sure exactly how much it was on/off when I went into the water. 1/8 of the complete thread seems close enough but it may not be scientifically accurate.

My checks on the surface always include a burst of air (not oral) into the BCD. I have never scrutinised the actual connector during these checks, always assuming I would hear (or see if wet) any substantial leak. Also, in this instance, we did visual checks at 5m after a negative entry, neither of us saw any leaks.

I am not a fan of the Air2 but know people dive them safely so I will not comment on the product but will say I am glad you and your buddy maintained your composure and surface safely. That is always the best ending to an underwater problem (or issue).

I have about 50 dives on this Air2 (and my wife has the exact same equipment with no issues to date). I have had had no prior issues at all but wonder now about all the little issues and am considering the alternates. In fairness to the product, the re-consideration is triggered more by the event as a whole than the product itself.

... but will say I am glad you and your buddy maintained your composure and surface safely. That is always the best ending to an underwater problem (or issue).

My buddy must get all the credit here; from the moment he offered to check out the problem throughout the "problem" to the moment I surfaced, he controlled the whole situation and for the most part, I was only along for the ride.

Thanks for you input,

Best Regards

Richard

 

[Web Monkey]

1. Because of the relative uniqness (read: not commonplace) of Air2, there is a risk that any breakage or significant failure of the reg set and/or bcd, could leave one in a situation of no available spares and thus no diving. This is more pertainent on a liveaboard or in remote locations. - I am now considering the possibility of retro-fitting a regular regulater as an octo and placing it on a long hose.

Air-2s are quite reliable, however there's no reason you couldn't bring a spare octo (or a spare Air-2 and hose). On a liveaboard, I'd probably bring an entire spare reg including whatver I was using for a backup second stage.

2. Becasue there are more parts associated with an Air2 there is a greater risk of failure and in such a situation it places the inflator hose, the regulator and the air supply at risk. - As with #1 above, considering the retro-fit to a regular inflator hose and connector for the bcd.

An air-2 has more parts than a simple inflator, however it doesn't have more parts than an inflator and seperate reg (octo). Adding a separate octo is fine if you want one, however it won't prevent future failures. The octo or it's hose could fail just as easily as the Air-2 or it's hose.

4. I was under the (false) impression that HP and LP hoses that rupture would give a huge amount (20 minutes +) of freeflow before depleting the (full) tank. It appears that this may be true for HP freeflow, but it is certainly not the case with a LP freeflow. Initial findings (my own google searches) seem to show that this is more like 2 minutes at less than 5m/15' for a LP freeflow.

A blown HP hose could take hours to drain a full tank (the exact time depends on the size of the hole the manufacturer put in the HP fitting and the regulator fitting). A blown LP hose on a good first stage can empty a tank in a couple of minutes or less.

Your best bet is to do a good pre-dive check, dive with a well-trained buddy, handle it just like you did, and if you're going to be on a liveaboard, you might want to bring a spare regulator.

Terry

 

[Riger]

Your points are all valid and well made, thanks for your input.

Best Regards
Richard

 

[DandyDon]

Good save. I had a connector come lose on the surface with a new BC once, forcing me to orally inflate - fortunately on a calm sea. I since take a wrench to tighten all such nuts myself.

 

[mikerault]

Just as a point of configuration (not that I am an expert by any means) usually the primary regulator is on a 7 foot hose (well, for rec purposes usually a 5 foot) and the secondary (octo) is on a short hose when you use a long hose/short hose setup. You then donate your primary and breath off of your secondary if needed. This is because usually when someone is OOA they will grab the primary right out of your mouth. Putting a bungee or necklace on the the secondary and hanging it around your neck makes giving the primary and grabbing the secondary for your use a very easy and quick operation.

Mike

 

[Riger]

Just as a point of configuration (not that I am an expert by any means) usually the primary regulator is on a 7 foot hose (well, for rec purposes usually a 5 foot) and the secondary (octo) is on a short hose when you use a long hose/short hose setup. You then donate your primary and breath off of your secondary if needed. This is because usually when someone is OOA they will grab the primary right out of your mouth. Putting a bungee or necklace on the the secondary and hanging it around your neck makes giving the primary and grabbing the secondary for your use a very easy and quick operation.

Mike

Hi Mike, That is exactly the way my buddy has/had it set up, I ended up with his long hose/reg and he took the short hose/reg from a bungee around his neck.

Regards
Richard

 

[TSandM]

I wouldn't be surprised if the column of water was several feet high. I was at a dive site a few weeks ago and looked out into the water and saw a fountain about a foot high -- turned out it was someone purging a regulator to do a weight check. The flow out of an unobstructed hose would be much faster.

I have had leaks from partially backed out valve assemblies on inflators before, although nothing this severe. It is worth occasionally checking the parts for security, although it's not something one easily remembers to do.

The argument about spares is a good one for those of us who travel, I think. If something goes wrong with the Air2, you have to rent both a regulator and a BC. In fact, if something goes wrong with your regulator, you have to rent a BC, because most rental regulator inflator hoses won't connect to an Air2.

The long hose/bungied backup system is very easy to use, as you learned. But do put the long hose on the primary and the short hose on the backup, and do practice donating gas that way until the procedure is smooth. There are quite a few threads here about how to set up that kind of system, what hose lengths to use, and how to make a necklace -- look in the DIR forum.

 

[Teamcasa]

I have just returned from a liveaboard in the Red Sea and had my first underwater "emergency". It involved my ScubaPro Air2 hose connector;

Before going on the trip, I had my reg set serviced and did 2 dives on a daily boat as a means to be sure that all was working fine.

This situation strikes me more about proper gear maintenance than about any particular gear type of configuration. Had the gear been serviced properly, you would have never needed to make this post.

People tend to get their gear serviced just prior to needing it. This opens them up to problems unless the gear is thoroughly tested before the planned trip. I tell my (automotive) customers to service their cars 5000 miles BEFORE their planed vacation, just in case the mechanic makes a mistake. The same thing goes for dive gear. Get it serviced then make a half dozen dives locally or even in a pool before heading out on an expensive dive trip.

The argument about spares is a good one for those of us who travel,

Dive travel means planning and preparation but a long distant trip also means pack lightly and know your destination. If they rent gear and their rental selection has what you need/like to dive with then I see no reason to bring too much in the way of redundant gear. However, if you don't mind paying overweight fees and dragging around the extra gear (like me), just pack the spares and go have fun!

 

[charlesml3]

I have recently removed air2 from my wing (I do a lot of solo diving) and replaced this with the long hose and necklaced octo. After reading about your experience I am more pleased that I've done so.

Very well, but the fact that the fitting came off the end of the hose has nothing to do with whether or not it was an AirII. It could have just as easily come off the end of your long hosed octo.

-Charles

 

[ameneon]

For anyone wanting to see the difference between free flow from hp and lp hoses there is a quite informative clip on youtube: