Equipment My first out of air situation

[JMarc]

Since we were using DIN regulators, is it possible for the o-ring to have fallen during the setup process without me noticing? I can't remember if it was on the reg when I disassembled my gear.

A missing o-ring would have been noticed by everybody around when you opened the tank.

 

[stepfen]

Since we were using DIN regulators, is it possible for the o-ring to have fallen during the setup process without me noticing? I can't remember if it was on the reg when I disassembled my gear.

It is possible to screw the DIN regulator in without the oring, but you would have noticed it immediately upon opening the valve as huge amount of gas would leak. You can't start a dive without that oring.

 

[gamon]

Almost all of the gear was mine own. I was only renting the regulators and the tank. My BC was brand new and that was my 3rd dive with it.

You've got 30 dives, and all your own gear, yet you consider yourself a newbie and you act like one.

Not monitoring your air, not taking the DM's octo when you were already breathing hard were huge mistakes, offering your primary reg to the DM to see if you were doing something "wrong" when you were obviously OOA, completing your safety stop when you AND the DM are BOTH out of air were others, although that last one is on the DM although it's hard to believe there is such a level of incompetence in a supposedly trained professional that would require both of you to make an emergency ascent from safety stop depth and risk an AGE because you just HAD to complete that last 60 seconds of safety stop following a relatively shallow dive. I don't think I've seen this level of combined ineptitude in a single dive.

Where was your dive buddy when all of this was happening?

 

[Still Kicking]

You said that you looked at your computer and found you were almost out of air. By this, I assume you are diving with an air integrated computer. You should set your computer to give you a warning when you reach a conservative reserve pressure (set a pressure you feel comfortable with). In this way the computer will mind your gas consumption if you get distracted in the future.

Otherwise, good job handling a stressful situation. I agree you should abbreviate or skip the safety stop if you run extremely low on air again.

 

[ispasov]

You've got 30 dives, and all your own gear, yet you consider yourself a newbie and you act like one.

Not monitoring your air, not taking the DM's octo when you were already breathing hard were huge mistakes, offering your primary reg to the DM to see if you were doing something "wrong" when you were obviously OOA, completing your safety stop when you AND the DM are BOTH out of air were others, although that last one is on the DM although it's hard to believe there is such a level of incompetence in a supposedly trained professional that would require both of you to make an emergency ascent from safety stop depth and risk an AGE because you just HAD to complete that last 60 seconds of safety stop following a relatively shallow dive. I don't think I've seen this level of combined ineptitude in a single dive.

Where was your dive buddy when all of this was happening?

Of course I am. You just pointed out couple of mistakes and I absolutely agree with those. That's the reason why I posted here, so that experts can point out to my mistakes and I and others like me can learn from them and we all become better divers.

Edit: In my defense - I monitor my gas every couple of minutes. Please check the graph that I posted. That happened almost instantly. I handed over my primary to the DM, because on it there was a breathing adjuster. Now I know what that is, back then I didn't. Part of was hoping that he will rotate that I could start breathing out of it again.

 

[gamon]

Again, where was your buddy while all this was happening?

 

[ispasov]

Again, where was your buddy while all this was happening?

As soon as I couldn't breathe I went straight to the DM. My buddy was behind us, but I think he didn't realize what was going on because we were in bad visibility.

 

[ispasov]

The topic changed a lot. My intention was not to point fingers at other divers and judging their competences and reactions. I was trying to understand which peace of my gear failed and what can I do to reduce the chance of that happening again. So far the main suspects are either the tank or the regulator correct?

 

[gamon]

As soon as I couldn't breathe I went straight to the DM. My buddy was behind us, but I think he didn't realize what was going on because we were in bad visibility.

Well you can chalk that one up to yet poor decision. Ideally your buddy was closer to you than the DM, and the air in your buddy's tank is as good as what's in the DMs tank, and your buddy doesn't have a bunch of other divers following him so the two of you could have immediately ascended at a maximum safe rate without waiting for the rest of the group to follow.

I was trying to understand which peace of my gear failed and what can I do to reduce the chance of that happening again. So far the main suspects are either the tank or the regulator correct?

You need to reduce the number of mistakes the next time something goes south. Not understanding how a diver with 30 dives and all their own equipment including an air integrated computer can make so many mistakes on a single dive.

 

[rongoodman]

The topic changed a lot. My intention was not to point fingers at other divers and judging their competences and reactions. I was trying to understand which peace of my gear failed and what can I do to reduce the chance of that happening again. So far the main suspects are either the tank or the regulator correct?

It looks like it. Even if you buy and maintain your own regulator there's no way to protect against crud and water in the bottom of poorly maintained rental tanks. That's why you have a buddy or some other form of redundant gas supply.