Valve Drill- When to do it?

[limeyx]

I am maybe a little bit of a tech wannabe, so may I participate? I have never entered water valves closed. I open valve/s before donning, and verify them just before I turn my back to the rig and pull it on. Just before that I verify my buddy’s valves are on too because I’d hate to rush for help with doubles on my back

Not sure what the etiquette is where you dive, but I let no one touch my valves unless I am present and verifying exactly what they are touching (this includes "divemasters")

If I ever manipulate someone elses valve on the surface, I tell them "I am shutting off x or y" and they confirm that, then I say "I am turning on x or y" and they then need to confirm that.

In water, if I touch something, I make sure the other diver does a flowcheck after, so they know what the state of things (compared to what it is supposed to be) and I will tell them if a post is "broken" so we all undrstand what is supposed to be open/shut

I really dont want someone "verifying" my valves for me when I am not looking.

 

[SparticleBrane]

I really dont want someone "verifying" my valves for me when I am not looking.

Agreed.

For the first dive of the day I'll turn everything on, verify pressures, then turn everything back off if I'm not immediately getting in. That way I always know everything is off, plus, if something blows (had one dive trip where our group lost 3 DIN o-rings in a 10-minute period), you only lose so much gas.

I turn my valves off when I get out of the water, and turn everything back on when it's time to gear back up. It's my routine and it doesn't change. Good to have a routine.

As I drop down I'll usually do a flow check. If it's a skills dive, obviously we'll do a few valve drills; if not I might do one towards the end of the dive on a 20ft or 10ft stop just to make sure things aren't getting rusty.

 

[piikki]

Not sure what the etiquette is where you dive, but I let no one touch my valves unless I am present and verifying exactly what they are touching (this includes "divemasters")

If I ever manipulate someone elses valve on the surface, I tell them "I am shutting off x or y" and they confirm that, then I say "I am turning on x or y" and they then need to confirm that.

In water, if I touch something, I make sure the other diver does a flowcheck after, so they know what the state of things (compared to what it is supposed to be) and I will tell them if a post is "broken" so we all undrstand what is supposed to be open/shut

I really dont want someone "verifying" my valves for me when I am not looking.

There is no etiquette where we dive. (Are there even other divers, one sometimes asks). The two of us always dive together. I do not check anyone else's, and hate it if on boats anyone goes near my stuff (or grabs my valve when I am about to stride in etc) - but the two of us check each other's while the other one looks over. That's just how it has always been. After that check one does the final check on themselves anyway, so it's just an extra step by a very trusted person. Never break a routine that has worked 100%, eh.

 

[limeyx]

There is no etiquette where we dive. (Are there even other divers, one sometimes asks). The two of us always dive together. I do not check anyone else's, and hate it if on boats anyone goes near my stuff (or grabs my valve when I am about to stride in etc) - but the two of us check each other's while the other one looks over. That's just how it has always been. After that check one does the final check on themselves anyway, so it's just an extra step by a very trusted person. Never break a routine that has worked 100%, eh.

Yeah, if it works between you & it's cool, then fine, but if even my best buddy messes with my valves on land, I'm not going to be very impressed. Maybe I am just too territorial, or think they dont trust me all of a sudden

 

[Meng_Tze]

I really dont want someone "verifying" my valves for me when I am not looking.

Yeah, had that happen once on a boat. Helpful DM thought he needed to open all my valves.....shutdown my righthand valve.....

 

[Rick Inman]

My logic which has been proven correct time and again suggest that too many times divers do a vlave drill at the start of the dive and discover for some reason that they made the dive with partly or worst yet, fully closed valves.

Yeah... guilty.

The bummer was, I went to do another one near the end of the dive, closed my right post, breathed it down, popped my backup into my mouth and breathed a hard wall of nothing. Now I have both closed down and all hoses empty.

Not the end of the world, but there was definatally a moment of, oh oh...

 

[do it easy]

Yeah... guilty.

The bummer was, I went to do another one near the end of the dive, closed my right post, breathed it down, popped my backup into my mouth and breathed a hard wall of nothing. Now I have both closed down and all hoses empty.

Not the end of the world, but there was definatally a moment of, oh oh...

Aaaahhhh yes, the infamous double valve shutdown!

As far as other people touching my valves go, I guess I don't care, but I don't trust anyone either, since they might "help me out" without my knowledge. Generally, just before I splash in, I make sure I can breath off the backup and that my wing inflator works. This will allow me to survive on the surface while I (usually) check my valves by physically touching them. I have to admit that some days, I check 'em directly before I gear up and then just "kick the tires, an' light the fires!" but this is usually on quarry dives where I'm going to walk directly to the water, do not pass DM, do not collect $200.

Getting back to the original question, I rarely do a complete valve drill, but when I get bored, I will reach back and touch all my valves and ensure they are all on and that I can reach all of them. My thoughts on the full valve drill are to either do it at the beginning or end of the dive, when the deco obligation is the lowest, in case of any problems.

 

[RiverRat]

After I ensure all valves are completely open I put my gear on prior to diving. At the safety stop/deco stop AFTER the dive is over I do a valve shutdown at the stop on each valve to ensure I am limber enough to do them and to stay in practice.

Good points Jim. I'm new in doubles. I already noticed that on my first pool dives I could reach my valves but then in OW, after maybe fiddling with straps, air in the wing, drysuit etc. that I could not easily reach them on a dive. I think your protocol (sounds like close to the same as GUE's) works well especially for us new tech divers like me. Lots of adjusting and task loading going on right now and this plan looks to be a safe way to practice while I'm still getting used to everything. It's also a good task load to add in to practice holding stops while managing other tasks.

One of these days I'll manage to get down your way for a Cavern/Intro class I've been meaning to take. In due time, gotta finish my Adv. Nitrox/Deco stuff first and get comfortable in my doubles. And save more $ I'm starting to blow through some cash now

 

[TSandM]

River Rat, exposure protection can seriously get in the way of reaching valves. I could reach mine in the pool in a wetsuit without any problems, but in either of my dry suits, it was a thrash, and I had to learn a whole set of pre-dive behaviors to ensure that I had worked as much fabric of the suit up around my chest and shoulders as possible, in order to reach the valves at all.

Then I got a Fusion dry suit, and presto! We were back in wetsuit territory in terms of ease of reaching them. I think people massively underestimate the amount that their exposure protection is getting in their way.

 

[Flightlead]

River Rat, exposure protection can seriously get in the way of reaching valves. I could reach mine in the pool in a wetsuit without any problems, but in either of my dry suits, it was a thrash, and I had to learn a whole set of pre-dive behaviors to ensure that I had worked as much fabric of the suit up around my chest and shoulders as possible, in order to reach the valves at all.

Then I got a Fusion dry suit, and presto! We were back in wetsuit territory in terms of ease of reaching them. I think people massively underestimate the amount that their exposure protection is getting in their way.

I agree. I think its a bit part of my current issues. I'm working on how to adjust my fabric of my suit. Also loosened the harness considerably.