Small issue with my Calypso IV today.

[Scuba Lawyer]

I rebuilt this Calypso IV about a year ago, dove it a few times and then put it away until last week. I checked the IP - all good. Demand lever not sticking on 2nd stage poppet as it had once before - check. Did a dive last week and about half way through the dive at around 1600 psi I felt a noticeable increase in breathing resistance. Seems like I just had to inhale harder as tank pressure dropped. Since the IV is a balanced first stage, I thought that odd. I did reach back and check to make sure the tank valve was all the way on and it was. Of course, after that dive I promptly forgot all about it until today’s dive.

Again today, I started noticing the work of breathing getting harder as tank pressure dropped. At the end of the dive I was down at 30 feet at 500 psi and had just looked up to start my ascent. All of the sudden my second stage started free flowing voluminously. I took a hard breath and water was coming in from somewhere; and no air was coming out of the mouthpiece. I took the reg out of my mouth, pushed the purge button a few times, banged the front cover against my hand to try and dislodge whatever might be stuck (yes, brute force is a recognized cure-all for dive equipment malfunctions ) but nothing worked. I reached back and turned off the tank valve to at least stop the tank from emptying and getting sea water flowing back into the tank. And yeah, I know that in an emergency the prudent plan is to save yourself with saving your equipment secondary; however, tumbling tanks to remove rust is a royal pain in the butt. I did the old blow and go and swam up to the surface. After switching to my snorkel - aka, my Surface Safety Backup Device (SSBD) since I’m too fricking cool to wear a B.C. - I did one of those giant arm sweep regulator recovery moves and immediately figured out what the problem was. Can you spot the problem in the following photo?

My second stage was completely gone! Damn thing fell off and was lost! Evidently it had simply come unscrewed and as the volcano orifice was fully backed off the second stage seat the free flow started. Anyway, in 57 years of diving this was a first for me. Guess I gotta make sure things are tight from here on out. Good dives to everyone. M

 

[johndiver999]

LOL. I read the account of the performance issues, and I have to admit, I did not come up with the actual problem.

Still not going to dive with an octopus or a BC? Either one of those options would have made the situation more serene. It is surprising that you did not hear or sense the hose whipping around and blowing air. Old divers ARE kinda deaf it seems.

 

[lowwall]

My second stage was completely gone! Damn thing fell off and was lost! Evidently it had simply come unscrewed and as the volcano orifice was fully backed off the second stage seat the free flow started. Anyway, in 57 years of diving this was a first for me. Guess I gotta make sure things are tight from here on out. Good dives to everyone. M

Where's the problem? Just feather the valve and carry on.


My favorite part of the video is when you're trying to figure out what he's going to do after the no first stage bit. The answer is a little bit of a let down though.

Does anyone know if you can control output by kinking the hose instead of feathering the valve?

 

[Pressurehead]

I rebuilt this Calypso IV about a year ago

Off topic, if you ever want spare parts for that rig , I have 2 ammunition boxes full of spare parts.
And for the J valve if you want it. Only divers of our age know what the J is about.
Postage would be a 'killer' though.

 

[Scott G. Bonser]

EGADS… I have never seen that happen. I had my ‘j’ valve get flipped on a working dive and had OOA. 45’ to surface in adverse conditions as I remembered ‘what to do’ from OW & AOW classes. ….good for a case of the ‘shakes’ on the boat once adrenaline started going back to normal. Now, I will have to check connections on reg before diving as I have Dacor Pacer for my SHR setup. …won’t tell you my partner’s reaction.…

…Thank You for sharing this w/readers. …also never lost a DHR hose. …yet…

Where's the problem? Just feather the valve and carry on.


My favorite part of the video is when you're trying to figure out what he's going to do after the no first stage bit. The answer is a little bit of a let down though.

Does anyone know if you can control output by kinking the hose instead of feathering the valve?

…although pressure would come into play. It might be worth trying. …

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

A frame-grab or two from my buddy's GoPro video. The last pics of my USD 1085 2nd Stage before it was lost to the abyss.

 

[lowwall]

Cool pics.

You don't use the J-valve pull rod? Is it because it could get pulled by (or entangled in) the kelp?

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

I put on a J-Rod sometimes. Frankly it is just as easy to reach back and flip down the lever. Kelp is never really a problem as I was trained to reach back and feel the rod in the "up" position throughout the dive. I was using an SPG so on that dive I started out with the lever in the down position anyway.

 

[lowwall]

I put on a J-Rod sometimes. Frankly it is just as easy to reach back and flip down the lever. Kelp is never really a problem as I was trained to reach back and feel the rod in the "up" position throughout the dive. I was using an SPG so on that dive I started out with the lever in the down position anyway.

OK. It all makes sense now. I kept second guessing myself after posting. The internal dialogue went something like this:

"That's a J-valve! But where's the rod? Maybe kelp? Are you sure it's a J-valve? It's gotta be. But isn't that an SPG? Why have both? Maybe it's something else and you are going to look like an idiot. Naw, that has to be a J-valve. Let's Google it. Hmm, is it worth sitting through an Alec Peirce video to verify? Nope. It's Scuba Lawyer, we'll get an answer soon enough."

 

[happy-diver]

You know we go underwater in the ocean you know and cruise around, unbelievable