Pre-dive routine?

[alo100]

Yeah, V for valve . A modified valve drill is simply reaching back to ensure you can reach your valve if you need to. There won't be a DIR diver drowning because the valve is off, they should all be able to reach and open the valve if necessary (never mind the above water pressure check).

and Mod S is?


I compare the checking procedure with some of the suggestions you guys offered and from magazine. I think the PADI book should have covered it more.
e.g. 2nd stage checking, exhaust valve. A gentle here reported a minor accident about it before.

When I read the book again, "Check the exhaust valve by exhauling into the regulator. Exhalation should be easy. If not, the exhaust valve may be stuck"
Nothing wrong, but from here and from something I read from Diver Magazine ("Mind your own gear", I recommand this article too):
"... gently suck through the mouth piece. If any air gets in, chances are it's the exhaust mushroom leaking..." which I think some people here also suggested.

"1st-stage creep/IP creep" it talks about how to check it with the IP gauage and the method you can use without the IP gauage -- "...leave alone for more than a few breathes, will slowly start to hiss air from the 2nd stage..."

Then thanks for all the input from all of you too. It's kind of unexpected when I heard of 1st stage failure causing people's death in shallow water....

Ok, are there any resources you guy can suggest which talks about all these kinds of suggestions???

 

[TSandM]

Mod S is just deploying the long hose without actually doing an air-share drill -- It's for the purpose of making sure you haven't gotten anything twisted or caught that would impede deployment in an emergency. It can be done on land or in the water.

 

[Melicertes]

I'm glad to see this thread on here because I've noticed the same thing about AWOL pre-dive briefings and gear checks; why just yesterday's dives with a couple of new buddies my concern about the issue was once again confirmed.
My pre-dive outline covers:

1. *brief* introductions of everyone in the group - name, cert level, number of dives, when last dive was done

2. Dive Site Details - Objective/Value of diving this site? Topography & Depths; Expected conditions; Entry & Exit locations; specific site hazards that all divers should be aware of, if any

3. Safety Procedures - Descent/Ascent Rates, Deep & Regular Safety Stop Depths & Times; any boat practices specific to the type of boat if a boat dive (e.g. pontoon boats, be sure to put feet in feet strap loops to ensure don't get "bumped" off on the way out to the dive site); Environmental Dos and Don'ts

4. Dive Logistics - Agree on dive max time & depth for dive; Minimum air pressures; buddy team assignments; *brief* hand signal review

5. Emergency Procedures - Lost Buddy proc. overview; Out of Air proc. overview; Assign Rescue Divers in Group as backup to DM; Discuss a Recall signal that would indicate an abort of the dive (boats usually revving engines three long intervals); First Aid Kit and Oxygen kit location on boat/shore/wherever so everyone knows.

This leads us into BWRAF's both on the shore (buddies do a quick inspection that each other's gear is setup correctly), and then a final BWRAF in-water prior to descent.

This sounds like a long drawn out process but with practice this can be done in under 3-4 minutes on the beach (excluding the BWRAFs) and provides IMHO enough information so as to *not* hear "I don't know what I'm suposed to be doing" like I did from one of another instructor's students the other day. *sigh*

Well, just my 2 bars of air venting...

 

[Charlie99]

i was always taught the Lovely Burger With Relish And Fries...Look over equipment Buoyancy, Weights, Releases, Air adn Final Ok which includes hand signals.

After walking to the exit gate with no fins on and a few other embarrassing incidents, I gradually developed my own checklist and mnemomic:

My Friends Are Way C-Cool

Mask
Fins
Air -- reach back and check valve
----- BCD inflator. Press and listen. Check for smooth operation
(this does NOT check the bladder & valves, but that I checked earlier when packing)
----- octo - breathe
----- primary - breath sharply while looking for SPG needle movement
----- SPG reading check
(I've already checked the system for leaks by pressurizing it and then shutting off the valve for several minutes and checking the pressure drop).
Weights -- did I remember to put my weight pockets in / weight belt on?
Computer -- on and set to right nitrox mix. NDL check if needed
Camera -- did I forget it again?
I bought the camera after starting to use the above mnemonic, so after forgetting the camera a few times, I just added it in as a stutter in c-cool.

This is not meant to replace dive briefings, discussion with buddies or anything like that, but is simply my "last thing before hitting water" systems check. I do use that same system, though, to do a check of my buddy. Most of the time, an insta-buddy will never realize that I've checked him out, unless I call something to his attention. I've also found that simply calling out my checks verbally will often get my buddy to follow suit.

 

[Dive-aholic]

Mod S is just deploying the long hose without actually doing an air-share drill -- It's for the purpose of making sure you haven't gotten anything twisted or caught that would impede deployment in an emergency. It can be done on land or in the water.

I use this in smaller shallow basins where too much activity might stir up some silt, like at the Peacock systems.

 

[Thalassamania]

What I do before a dive depents on two things: the level of the dive and who my buddy is. If it's a thirty foot, let's take a peak dive in a place I've been a hundred time before and it's with an Instructor who I trained at every level of his progression that I've dove with a hundred times before, it'll be very different than if I'm making a challenging dive dive with a relatively new buddy. But one thing happens on every dive, no matter what: a short bout of air-share.

 

[grazie42]

Standard "plan":
-Max depth/time
-Ascent (I like to spend 5mins and go really slow from the last stop)
-"Checkpoints" (½ air/time, ndl´s or thirds, things like that)
-Dive site details/objectives
-Emergency procedures

With regular buddies we have a SOP and only talk about deviations from that...

This is my predive check:
-Breathe from both regs while looking at spg
-Watch buddy do the same
-Test bc (with new buddies I pay attention to how their inflator works)
-Weights (how to ditch them)
-Check that longhose is deployable (in the water)

That´s mostly it...