Pull Dumps — lose them

[StefinSB]

If the story in this thread was about a pull dump causing a BCD failure and included enough documented cases to make it an issue, that would be one thing.

But a panicked diver improperly using their gear as a reason to never use that particular feature?

I like the pull dump on my Seaquest Balance and it's a lot more convenient than having to lift that freaking hose over my head.

I'll stick with it, thanks.

In case you are not aware of it: you only need to hold the mouthpiece of the “freaking (inflator) hose” higher than the exit port of your air bladder. So unless that exit port covers your ears, there is really no need to raise the inflator over your head to vent.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

What color is the sky?
Blue?

No

 

[SWrong]

Sounds to me like you dont properly vet the customers you take. Side affect of being the local cattle boat, perhaps?

I wonder if this is an instructor that came through your IDC mill in the first place....

 

[The Chairman]

I've seen a lot of failures over the years but I've seen this happen only once. Truly, it was my fault as I had replaced the cable with one that was a bit too short. It was easy enough to repair and the BC was still diveable. All my BCs have these and frankly, I like them. Train with your gear. Know your gear. I have seen a few elbows come off of BCs and it's important to dive a balanced rig. Before BCs we had to keep kicking to get to shore or wait for the boat. It was horrible and I applaud the inventor of the BCD.

 

[Soloist]

This is obviously a personal preference kind of thing. However, I immediately removed the pull dump from a brand new Dive Rite Transpac (I no longer own) and installed an elbow. My HOG wings never had this feature. Personally I am not comfortable with the repercussions of “pulling” on an inflator that is simply attached with a few zip ties. Jim makes a good point regarding the potential failure of the diaphragm thus creating an additional leak point (or the possibility of mechanism not seating correctly). Moreover, if the internal cable fails and if the diver is accustomed to yanking on that inflator to dump, more issues could arise (or descend). Here again, if you maintain and understand your equipment this is probably a nonissue.

 

[grf88]

The scary part about this thread is that it was an OW Instructor. If they are close to panic in a minor situation such as this how would they assist a student in trouble at depth.

 

[BRT]

My BCD's have pull dumps on the inflator. Never use them. I use the one on the right shoulder or the butt dump. Pulling on a hose that I don't want to come off seems like a bad idea. I never use the inflater hose to dump either. No way to make it dump all the air without a dance into a position that I don't want to be in. I believe that all the problems created by people not completely dumping their BCD's are a result of inflater hose dumps.

 

[fmerkel]

This just goes from bad to worse. You should consider filing a complaint with his agency, perhaps they will pull his card.

!!!!!!
Either the info/explanation was not quite adequate or this guy has problems at a basic level.
FWIW I've never seen a pull dump fail in 20 years. I HAVE seen significant leaks because the elbow nut on either pull or non-pull were not tight causing anything from annoyance to serious distress.

 

[AfterDark]

He is an open water scuba instructor, and has made a few dives on the Spiegel Grove, Duane and Vandenburg.

Is his nickname Lucky?

So here's how I filled in the detail gaps in your post: Diver hits the water without the reg in his mouth, and his BCD deflated with 100+FSW under him. He can't keep his head above water he begins to panic grabs his inflator, and in his panic pulls at the hose. Is that about right?

He's an instructor, well that makes other matters a little clearer doesn't it?

 

[clownfishsydney]

Obviously today is 1 April, April Fool's Day. No, it's not? Well, this must be the most incompetent dive instructor ever to do this. In over 4,000 dives I have yet to see or hear of someone doing this. Perhaps as others have stated, you should report him to the agency that he is certified with as an instructor, the dive shop that employs him and also perhaps review your own vetting of customers.