Odd event at depth

[Quero]

That's the usual. Destroy the evidence and move on...

I wouldn't consider it 'evidence' unless there was a legal investigation. I saw (and still see) the dive center's actions as appropriate to protect anybody else who might get a bad tank. Leaving all those tanks full and simply handing them out to divers would have been negligent. The only practical alternative was to drain the tanks and service the compressor.

 

[marinediva]

This is a report about an electric compressor and bad gas.

Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site
Oil Taste in Air

In July 2005 I had to replace one of the filters that I had purchased from a person well before I thought I should as I could taste oil. I should state that I am fairly sensitive to things like oil in air (just as I can pick up that milk is nearing its expiry date well before others do). No-one else had noticed it.

 

[shoredivr]

In July 2005 I had to replace one of the filters that I had purchased from a person well before I thought I should as I could taste oil. I should state that I am fairly sensitive to things like oil in air (just as I can pick up that milk is nearing its expiry date well before others do). No-one else had noticed it.

Perhaps you are a "Supertaster", someone with an above average sense of taste. In this case, a good sensitivity to have...

Supertaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[TSandM]

rx7diver, had my regulator malfunctioned, I would have signaled Bob, and put Peter on his long hose. That's why we dive in teams of 3!

What would actually have been more likely in this case would have been for the two of us, who both picked up our tanks at the same place and the same time, to have both had bad gas. In which case, we were fortunate enough to have two buddies, but had we not, I think we would simply have made a direct ascent, perhaps with one of us on someone else's gas. Or we could have buddy-breathed Bob's long hose. Had we been alone, sharing gas wouldn't have been an issue at all.

 

[Peter Guy]

Thal -- I apologized to Kelly for not going to him which I think surprised him (the apology, NOT the decision to go to Lynne). He clearly understood the reason I went to Lynne (who was closer to me than Bob) -- and while he had plenty of gas, he had the least amount of any of us (I was monitoring his gas as he is a new diver).

The shop opens in 1/2 hour and I will be taking the tank AND the reg in (BTW, I am familiar with the "newly serviced reg" taste and it wasn't it). Interestingly, I could still taste it from touching my tongue to the mouthpiece once the gear was back in the car (I haven't checked it this morning).

I am really wondering if, perhaps, it wasn't me and not the gas -- something I ate earlier in the day reacting? Or, since we were in an area that is, shall we say, not pristine, maybe I ran into a patch of oil (or something) floating in the water and that is what got to me?

I thought about getting on O2 but I didn't feel out of breath or any such -- and once on Lynne's reg, the taste went away immediately and didn't occur again until I breathed off my reg later.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

That's the usual. Destroy the evidence and move on...

What evidence? If one of my DM's, divers, or instructors noticed this, I would do exactly the same. I would pull every tank, pop them and clean them, check all filters, check and clear the compressor, and then look for other possibilities. That is very responsible behavior for a report that is really undetectable at surface.
I think the shop did the right thing all the way around.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Lynne,
After reading it all, I absolutely understand why Peter went to you. My hubby would have gone to me over the new diver. Habit and trust built tend to outweigh other things. In any event, all communicated and safely made it. It not the emergency, it's how you handle it, that defines you as a diver. It sounds like you all handled it very well.

 

[DandyDon]

What evidence? If one of my DM's, divers, or instructors noticed this, I would do exactly the same. I would pull every tank, pop them and clean them, check all filters, check and clear the compressor, and then look for other possibilities. That is very responsible behavior for a report that is really undetectable at surface.
I think the shop did the right thing all the way around.

While it is indeed responsible to drain all suspected tanks, you never know for sure unless tested. The scarcity of CO analyzers is the real problem, but that is changing. Only one boat has the Clear inline monitor but Anaolox is introducing a new portable unit in November.

 

[tkdgodess]

Lynne, you executed solving a problem with the goal of everyone surviving the dive. It amazes me that you are picking apart what you did "wrong"

Quote "And finally, any weaknesses in your dive will show up when something goes wrong. In this case, I did not identify the fastest route to shore. I was headed in, but too far south. The site is one I don't dive often, and we were off the routine navigation markers, and I didn't have time to look for them. Because Bob and Kelly stayed with us, we had better navigational information, because Bob practically lives at this site, and knew precisely where we were.

What made Peter sick is unclear. If there is anything wrong with the gas (which I doubt, since I'm pretty sure my tank was filled at the same place and at the same time) it wasn't apparent until we were at the deepest part of the dive. Is it possible that there is something in the gas that isn't a problem until it's concentrated? I suppose. But that still doesn't explain why my tank was fine.

It was a strange episode, not handled perfectly, but certainly handled well enough to get everybody home in good shape."

You also called donating ooa as "clumsy".

Give yourself a break, you reacted well with your training. Training drills are expected scenerios. You were in a real situation and reacted to how you were trained, the additional stress of it being a loved one is real. Clumsy, weakness, not handled perfectly?

Real emergencies are rarely graceful, strong or perfect.

 

[FritzCat66]

Given that it was a "bad gas" situation, however, it seems like he wouldn't want to go to you for relief, Lynne, since it sounds like you both got fills at the same shop. Seems like an available buddy with a tank filled elsewhere would be preferable, but maybe there's something I'm missing?

Either way, this has made me consider: If I were to run into a "foul gas" situation solo, I would of course simply switch to the pony and ascend. But that wouldn't help if I had received the same quality fill from the same place as my primary cylinder, nor would it help if I filled the pony with a transfiller.

I'll have to think about that - I already keep a different mix in the pony (plain air, all the time) and since it's rarely used it typically has been filled many weeks before my primary, but still... any Near Miss post that gives us all pause is a good one!