Near Panic

[DCBC]

Thanks for sharing this experience. This has happened to me a number of times (while diving and mountaineering). This is often caused by not getting enough air, or situational anxiety (which can be a natural reaction to a situation).

I've found that Divers will often experience these symptoms when their anxiety increases as a result of: increased levels of narcosis, going into an overhead environment, or when visibility is unexpectedly reduced. I talk about this in detail during student preparation for these environments.

 

[ozzydamo]

Cheers for the support guys!

Yeah it was rental gear, i've only really been diving regularly for the past few months and haven't yet invested in my own gear other than the basics!

I read a little into this CO2 build up, the incident happened at around 10 minutes after reaching the bottom, do you think that is long enough to cause a build up?

If I could only buy one thing first and have to use hire gear the rest of it- the regulator would be my first piece of gear; as it's the most important part to have in excellent working condition.

 

[flots am]

If I could only buy one thing first and have to use hire gear the rest of it- the regulator would be my first piece of gear; as it's the most important part to have in excellent working condition.

It's always good to own your own regs, but ownership doesn't prevent problems. Work-of-Breathing is something all divers need to be aware of when "something doesn't feel right".

I have a handfull of really good regs, but every few years I'll notice that one is getting harder to breathe. It can happen to any equipment. As long as you're aware of it, all it means is that it needs service.

In fact, being aware can keep it from becoming a problem. There's a lot more anxiety in the unknown: "What's wrong? I feel anxious" than in: "Crap. This reg is really breathing hard. I should end the dive."

flots.

 

[ozzydamo]

ownership doesn't prevent problems.


flots.

I will repeat this for those of you that miss read my words.

Ownership does prevent problems.

To make a statement to the contrary, is nothing less then an oversight/misinterpretation of the facts- you would do well to think about that for moment or two. If I had of said- "Ownership does prevent ALL problems" I would concede to my error-it would be best that you do that with yours and cut your loses. Pardon me, if I come across as sanctimonious, but one' does try to do their best for the sake of all.

*back to my point-

I would also like to suggest to any recreational diver, having just completed their OW ticket(at 12ms) and they are enjoying diving, are wanting to do more, to buy a good and new regulator.

 

[flots am]

Ownership does prevent problems.

To make a statement to the contrary, is nothing less then an oversight/misinterpretation of the facts- you would do well to think about that for moment or two. If I had of said- "Ownership does prevent ALL problems" I would concede to my error-it would be best that you do that with yours and cut your loses. Pardon me, if I come across as sanctimonious, but one' does try to do their best for the sake of all.

All regs are owned by "someone". I own my regs. Customers own their own regs. The shop owns the rental regs. They all fail periodically and all require service.

The legal state of ownership confers no mechanical immortality and the only problem that ownership sometimes eliminates is abuse, and in any case, it makes no difference to the diver, since the diver needs to be ready for anything to fail at any moment and have a plan for handling it.

My $700 Atomic M1 which gets all the required service and is rinsed after each use and treated very well, can become instantly non-functional with nothing more than sucking up a bunch of crap from a contaminated tank. It makes no difference if it's mine or it's rented.

Rental equipment might get properly cleaned after each use and serviced according to manufacturer's recommendations, or it might just get tossed into a bag and left until the next time it's needed. Just like the "owned" equipment.

"New" is also pretty much irrelevant. If you buy a used reg that has good parts availability and good service facilities, it's every bit as good as one that you bought in a shiny new box. In some cases where manufacturers have swapped out metal parts for plastic, the used reg might actually be better. And once you've taken it in the water, it's "used" anyway. Proper service involves complete disassembley, cleaning and replacement of anything that's worn, damaged or included in the parts kit. One of my favorite regs was made in the 1960's and I paid $50 for it. I still dive with it.

flots

 

[ozzydamo]

All regs are owned by "someone". I own my regs. Customers own their own regs. The shop owns the rental regs. They all fail periodically and all require service.

The legal state of ownership confers no mechanical immortality and the only problem that ownership sometimes eliminates is abuse, and in any case, it makes no difference to the diver, since the diver needs to be ready for anything to fail at any moment and have a plan for handling it.

My $700 Atomic M1 which gets all the required service and is rinsed after each use and treated very well, can become instantly non-functional with nothing more than sucking up a bunch of crap from a contaminated tank. It makes no difference if it's mine or it's rented.

Rental equipment might get properly cleaned after each use and serviced according to manufacturer's recommendations, or it might just get tossed into a bag and left until the next time it's needed. Just like the "owned" equipment.

"New" is also pretty much irrelevant. If you buy a used reg that has good parts availability and good service facilities, it's every bit as good as one that you bought in a shiny new box. In some cases where manufacturers have swapped out metal parts for plastic, the used reg might actually be better. And once you've taken it in the water, it's "used" anyway. Proper service involves complete disassembley, cleaning and replacement of anything that's worn, damaged or included in the parts kit. One of my favorite regs was made in the 1960's and I paid $50 for it. I still dive with it.

flots

Really struggling to see some congruency of what your argument point is and then your own personal actions, in relation to what I have said of which quote me on.

Namely, you bought yourself a new regulator, $700 worth, which you own.

I don't see error in me suggesting, having an opinion that; a new diver buys a new regulator or that it will bring them confidence to use their own, new regulator.

Maintenance shouldn't get to failure point, you should have a scheduled in which your maintenance proceeds the equipment's potential failure- meaning follow the manufacturers manual on maintenance(like your own regulators 2 year service interval).

Seems your having an egg in each basket on the matter.

Cheers,
Damon

 

[flots am]

Really struggling to see some congruency of what your argument point is and then your own personal actions, in relation to what I have said of which quote me on.

OK. It doesn't matter if you own your reg or not. What matters is whether or not it's working properly. Any reg can fail.

Namely, you bought yourself a new regulator, $700 worth, which you own.

I also bought a 40 year old used regulator.

If you like buying new, that's fine, but it doesn't make it better or safer.

flots.

 

[Pearson90]

In more recent news, i dived the same site again on sunday, however with another regulator. It was the same model as before, but must have been in better condition because i could breathe very easily, it didn't seem to resist at all!

Thanks again for all the support and advise guys, it really means a lot!

 

[buddhasummer]

In more recent news, i dived the same site again on sunday, however with another regulator. It was the same model as before, but must have been in better condition because i could breathe very easily, it didn't seem to resist at all!

Thanks again for all the support and advise guys, it really means a lot!

cool, a happy ending?

 

[Pearson90]

cool, a happy ending?

Yeah man, It was a brilliant dive!