Tank Failure in Cozumel

[FishOutUvH2O]

Also, unless I'm mistaken, there is only one suppler of tanks and compressed gas to the dive operators on Cozumel.

You're close. There is only one primary fill station. The tanks are the individual dive operators, not the fill stations. They do offer VIP and will sticker the tank if they do one, but you need to request the inspection. However, there are a couple of hotels and larger dive operations (sorry, I forget which ones) that fill their own tanks.

 

[Cudabait]

You're close. There is only one primary fill station. The tanks are the individual dive operators, not the fill stations. They do offer VIP and will sticker the tank if they do one, but you need to request the inspection. However, there are a couple of hotels and larger dive operations (sorry, I forget which ones) that fill their own tanks.

Look for a VIP sticker on the tanK. 10 to 1 you'll not find one.

 

[Web Monkey]

Look for a VIP sticker on the tanK. 10 to 1 you'll not find one.

Does that mean they aren't getting inspected, or just that the tank inspector isn't stickering them?

Terry

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

Look for a VIP sticker on the tanK. 10 to 1 you'll not find one.

I don't keep a running tally, but off of the top of my head, I would venture to guess that the number of un-stickered (did I just make up a word?) tanks in your odds is probably a lot higher, maybe double or more. I have seen them, just not often. But, that's not my point. My point is that the opportunity for a professional VIP is there, dive ops just need to request that Meridiano 87 do them. In many cases the tank probably hasn't been inspected in a while. In some cases the stickers were there, but constant use has quickly worn them off, and yes, there have been many cases where they simply just didn't get a sticker after the VIP (it's not unheard of for the price of a VIP to be higher if it includes the sticker). My best advice is to chat-up the dive op you're planning to use and talk to them about their tank inspection program. The better one's love singing their own praises and will have no problem pulling out the inspection book to show it off. While most of the dive shop owners are friends, they don't hesitate to one-up each other for your biz.

Renting equipment can definitely be a role of the dice.

 

[Splitlip]

I have seen it where a recently hydro'd tank (they put that blue masking tape over them) ended up with a little piece of tape restricting flow through the valve's dip tube.

 

[deepstops]

I had a similar problem in Cozumel this January (2009).

I checked my reg and found it to be breathing perfectly fine, so I drained my BC and started a head first decent to the bottom. On my first inverted breath I got more water in my mouth so I surfaced and had the DM check my tank to see that my first stage was seated properly and that there was an 'intact' o-ring on the tank.

Everything checked out, so I hit the water again and decended foot first to the bottom. The decisicion to change to a foot first decent was totally unconscious, and at this point I was assuming that the first stage had not been seated correctly.

I immediately signaled the DM that I was aborting the dive and I surfaced and got back on the boat.

So you really thought water could "get in" at the first stage connection on a fresh tank with close to 3000 psi that was still delivering air??

 

[smellysocks]

So you really thought water could "get in" at the first stage connection on a fresh tank with close to 3000 psi that was still delivering air??

Yeah, hindsight always being 20/20 and having time to consider, of course that was not the cause. But this was the first dive of the trip, and I had all my own - recently serviced and always reliable - equipment, so I was thinking it had to be something simple. And really wanted to be diving rather than sunburning on board, so I wasn't thinking. I would have thought that would have been obvious by the fact that I tried several times to make the dive rather than abort after the first hint of trouble - which I should have done.

Now, anytime I am not diving with my own tanks, I flip them upside down and open the valve for a quick check. So, lesson learned and a warning to others.

 

[Strima77]

I had a similar thing happen several years ago in T&C. At about 30' the breathing seemed like a tank at below 500 psi. The pressure gauge swung wildly with each breath. I went back up and on board the crew noted the tank was full, the valve opened, and guessed there was problem with the valve on the tank. I was a very new diver and a little concerned but the DM said this was very rare and 120 dives later I've not seen that problem again thankfully.

 

[bjexpat]

My favorite expereince with tanks in coz was a guy with a reg that delivered almost no gas when he was in a normal swimming position and breathed wet, but did fine when he was vertical in the water. He blamed the reg, but there is nothing in a reg that causes this.

I was diving on rental gear in Rainbow River Fl. last week and whenever I inverted, my regulator (and subsequently my mouth) would fill up with a little water. Could that water be coming from the tank?

I suspect that lots of folks run their tanks to empty in the springs because they are such shallow dives. I wish I had inverted the tank and released some air to test it.

 

[InTheDrink]

I was diving on rental gear in Rainbow River Fl. last week and whenever I inverted, my regulator (and subsequently my mouth) would fill up with a little water. Could that water be coming from the tank?

I suspect that lots of folks run their tanks to empty in the springs because they are such shallow dives. I wish I had inverted the tank and released some air to test it.

I've come across various second stages that breathed wet when inverted. Had nothing to do with the tank or first stage. Just crappy regs.