Safely testing new gear - How to ?

[Roy_W]

Hi Folks,

I have recently acquired a lot of new gear, Regulators, Semi-Dry wetsuit, SPGs, BCDs( Second Hand for the Wife and myself).

What would be the correct or at least safest way to test all of this material. Do I or should I just use one piece at a time in combination with material that I know is already good.

The regulators , spg et wetsuit are all brand new so I would presume that a simple immersion test for leaks would be the correct 1st test. But then how do you test at depth without taking unnecessary risks?

The BCDs however are not new and I am unsure as to the best procedure to follow.

I am a little wary of testing only in a swimming pool at 2 meters which obviously is not the same conditions as a a cold lake at 20m.

Any ideas or advice welcome.

Cheers Roy

 

[almostDIR]

I would preferably test one new piece at a time. with the suit first testing the fit on dry land and then in a pool and familiarise yourself with the valves etc. before going into open water.

I would have the buddy with all known and familiar gear when testing new gear myself, then only one is struggling and it is easier to help if needed.

I have no experience with semi dry suits but if they are somewhat similar to full dry suits then I would not go all the way down before first familiarising myself with the dump valve position and buoyancy control with the particular suit type so that shooting to the surface from 20m is less likely. Maybe would test it in the 3 to 10m range first before going deeper so that buoyancy problems are easier to notice and correct immediately because of the larger pressure differential per m .

do bubble tests in the pool for the bcd:s etc, easy to see if there is something wrong with them

 

[GrafCanuck]

Start off in the pool with all of the gear on. Think safety first and also comfort. The pool test should give you and your wife an idea on whether there are any leaks as well as you will both get a comfort feel on the gear and how it works/fits. Cheers.

 

[GrafCanuck]

Also quite common here in Canada to do a pool dive in the winter before heading to warmer climates.....

 

[Marie13]

Pool or quarry.

 

[Vicko]

Try it at the cheapest safest location that you can. So A) you don't get hurt, and B) you don't mind calling the dive and will do it without hesitation because you literally have nothing invested in that dive. Local pool would be great.

 

[runsongas]

1. setup gear and check for leaks/freeflow/stuck valves/buttons. IP and cracking effort for regs. check bcds hold pressure over time and inflator does not get stuck / overinflate.
2. take gear to pool. if no pool available, then shallow dive site.

 

[Roy_W]

The BCDs inflated manually and left overnight in the bedroom. In the morning both of then were reasonably well inflated, probably around the 80% mark, so I would presume that they are relatively Ok.

If something works well at 2m of depth how safely can we assume that it will work well at 20m.

Is there any tests that can be performed on any of the equipment at 2m that could "stress" test any of the equipment, ie to try and "simulate" deeper depths ?

I completely understand the need to start with a pool or shallow dive but are there also other tests that anyone uses that can help detect possible problems. For example how does one go about testing an new SPG for example, do you dive with a known working one and the new one at the same time or are there other means?

I know that some of these questions appear a bit basic but it's not something I have learned during training.

 

[Rred]

You can't really "test" anything, if you're not putting it under real use conditions. So from that point of view, the only way to test gear for a 100' dive, is to get in the water with it. At 100'.

But what I suspect most of us would do, is take the gear--all of it--on a pool dive or similar "shallow sheltered waters" dive, where you can easily abort and no gear failure should be a material issue. Double-check that you CAN ditch everything, and take advantage of your buddy's eyes and brain. This is one time I wouldn't want to solo dive, since someone else can often see things (like leaking fittings) that you simply can't see yourself. And if they signal you to abort, just do it.

Obviously just jumping off a boat and taking new gear down to 100' makes it a wee bit more difficult to abort a dive with complete safety. But, hey, if someone is comfortable with that...redundant air, buddy at home, whatever you feel safe with. Personally, I'd probably make it a fairly shallow dive, with no great investment to be lost if I had to abort and have a problem fixed.

 

[Divectionist]

Short of a test facility you can only do what you can do.

I acquired a whole new set of everything some months ago. In your situation, my focus would be on making sure the reg breathes well and finding the proper weight and trim for your gear:

I put the reg on a tank and took it into my pool to check for leaks and ensure it breathes as expected.
I then geared up for a salt water shore dive in a sheltered area, purged down to 50bar for a weighting and trimming exercise, during which I made sure the wing worked all fine. I ended up moving the cam band down in the STA and turned the first stage upside down because I hit my reg easily, which would have been really annoying on a real dive, but was easily enough adjusted after the initial dive.
Then it was time for a boat dive and some final harness adjustments after and all good since.