Spiegel Grove Incident

[anarekey2000]

It was his own gear. The DM examined the reg and helpfully suggested that he crazy glue it prior to his next dive. I don't know about you but I would not dive on a reg that is being held together with crazy glue.

 

[RJTY]

Crazy Glue? Is this the same DM that left you at the bottom?

 

[TheRedHead]

It was his own gear. The DM examined the reg and helpfully suggested that he crazy glue it prior to his next dive.

Some DMs truly scare me. The DM should have made it clear that he needed to take his regulator to the shop for service and if he planned to do another dive, he should rent a regulator. :shakehead

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Good job in helping the guy out. What else could you have done? And I agree with Red: Krazy Glue is the wrong answer. The correct answer would have been to rent or borrow a different reg until he could get his equipment serviced properly.

By the way, the current probably had less to do with the failure than the pressure at depth.

 

[BSea]

how did his regulator his crack?

Most 2nd stages are made of plastic, so it could easily have been cracked without him knowing. He could have cracked it on the boat, and it worked fine on his previous dive.

The tank problem is 1 reason I like BC's with 2 tank straps.

Sounds like you dive everything right.

 

[sskasser]

:shakehead It's scary that that DM has students learning from him about buddymanship and equipment care.

 

[Fish_Whisperer]

Most 2nd stages are made of plastic, so it could easily have been cracked without him knowing. He could have cracked it on the boat, and it worked fine on his previous dive.

The tank problem is 1 reason I like BC's with 2 tank straps.

Sounds like you dive everything right.

The straps with metal buckles (Dive Rite) are even better. I had a persistent problem with the plastic cam-strap on my Cressi-Sub BC. I finally sold it and I'm sticking with the Dive Rite BC. I'm not sure if the cam straps wear out, the velcro wears out, or the buckle just can't be cinched tight enough, but I've seen lots of divers have problems with them in the short time that I've been diving.

 

[anarekey2000]

The straps with metal buckles (Dive Rite) are even better. I had a persistent problem with the plastic cam-strap on my Cressi-Sub BC. I finally sold it and I'm sticking with the Dive Rite BC. I'm not sure if the cam straps wear out, the velcro wears out, or the buckle just can't be cinched tight enough, but I've seen lots of divers have problems with them in the short time that I've been diving.

I agree. My Scubapro BC has the metal buckle and my buddy's BC had, you guessed it, the plastic cam. I don't think you can get those things as tight as the metal ones; if you tried you would probably break the plastic. My tank was as tight when I came up as it was when I entered the water.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I think the problem might have been the buckle design or having been damaged in some way. I have always had plastic buckles and never had a problem. That said, metal ones are obviously less prone to damage.
You did a good job in this situation although it might have been a better idea to abort the dive and surface to get things straightened out up top. The Crazy Glue solution? Well, it's best not to McGiver things like brake cables and regulators.

 

[eclipse785]

The tank problem is 1 reason I like BC's with 2 tank straps.

Funny, my regular buddy dives with a Zeagle BC (Ranger, I beleive) which has two tank straps. My Dacor BC only has one. While I like his BC better in general, about 1 in every 5 dives his tank slips out (usually just before getting into the water). Mine has never had that problem.

Point is,.. two straps don't gaurantee anything.