Water in regulator at depth causing panic

[Salt]

Thanks for all the input.

It was quite a scary moment for me.

I’m not happy with the dive shop for the lack of maintenance on their gear. But being rusty on the basic skills, not taking a refresher, etc. is on me.

 

[lowwall]

I think the physical exertion of kicking through 60 feet of water without new air would have been quite difficult. Heck, I thought it was going to be challenging (but doable) just to make it over to the nearest diver!

Since the air in your lungs expands as you ascend, you let it bubble out and there isn't the feeling that you need to take a breath. It is a totally different thing than swimming horizontally underwater.

In the early decades of scuba, this was something that was practiced during training and was a fairly common occurrence during dives too. Especially before the SPG became commonplace. Over time the CESA has become deemphasized to the point that few of us have ever done it for real. The horizontal simulation we do in training today removes the risk of embolism, but at the cost of giving divers an incorrect understanding of how an actual CESA would feel.

 

[rexman24]

Most advice above is excellent and adds to your experience a great deal. One other bit of advice is getting your own equipment starting with your regulator system. The majority of rental equipment in dive destinations is low grade and lacking in maintenance as is very clear with the rental equipment you had in this dive. Consequences could have been worse, much worse.

Invest in your own kit, maintain it and dive it a lot You don't have to get the top of the line model, a middle of the road kit will do just fine.

I wish you lots of safe awesome diving with great vis and fantastic marine life in calm seas!

If money is an issue check out Seac regs. They are high quality, made in Italy, and can be had for a fraction of the price of most others. I have my normal reg rig and a pony bottle rig using all thier stuff. I havevhad it for 4-5 years, have hundreds of dives on it, never an issue and maintain it regularly. I haul it all over the world with me and don't like using rentals anymore. Since I am remotely located now om the Philippines i brought 2 back up rebuild kits for each piece with me. The parts and service for them can be slightly more difficult to find than more popular brands. However, shortly after arriving here I made friends with the Seac rep. I also have a bcd(230$) and fins(40$) from them that i really like.
You should be able to get them still from Pirahna dive online. I Paid in the area if 120-140$ each for my primaries.
Glad you handled your issue and happy diving!

 

[rexman24]

Right idea, terribly worded

You don't hold your breathe on ascent, ever. The air in your lungs will expand as you go up and you're blowing bubbles. That "added" volume gives you access to more O2 and your body will utilize it...

Yeah exploded lungs are not a good answer

 

[happy-diver]

With some experience you develop a breathing technique that starts with shallow intake of gas at the beginning and when no water sensed you inhale fully.

Is this only when you initially put a flooded reg in your mouth underwater and after purge or exhale chief

 

[berndo]

The sort of real life circumstances that force a diver to lose suddenly their primary would often make its immediate retrieval difficult, even in open water – currents, DPV slipstream, fishing lines, reef protrusions, buddy’s equipment and/or body parts, you name it

I find that pretty far fetched. Every diver should be able to make it 10 seconds without a reg without going into panic mode. If you really can't find it you still have plenty of time to take your own octo.

It was quite a scary moment for me.

I’m not happy with the dive shop for the lack of maintenance on their gear. But being rusty on the basic skills, not taking a refresher, etc. is on me.

Some kind of malfuntion can happen even with a brand new reg. Just make sure you practice basic skills after a break and that you are familiar with the gear and stuff like this is a non-issue.

 

[Litefoot]

Thanks for all the input.

It was quite a scary moment for me.

I’m not happy with the dive shop for the lack of maintenance on their gear. But being rusty on the basic skills, not taking a refresher, etc. is on me.

Thanks for posting your experience. It was a good reminder to me about staying calm and thinking clearly when things go sideways.

 

[Wibble]

I find that pretty far fetched. Every diver should be able to make it 10 seconds without a reg without going into panic mode. If you really can't find it you still have plenty of time to take your own octo.


Some kind of malfuntion can happen even with a brand new reg. Just make sure you practice basic skills after a break and that you are familiar with the gear and stuff like this is a non-issue.

Whenever I dive using open circuit, I always check both of my regulatorS several times; when turning the gas on; when climbing into the kit; just before jumping in. Then I'll switch regulators in the water to make sure all's well.

So far, so simple.

The reason I do this is familiarity makes everything so much easier; I naturally reach down for my backup regulator and, voila, it's there. Life without surprises is lovely.


I've very little experience of diving with recreational divers -- I normally dive on independent technical boats with mixed gasses and rebreathers. However, when I do dive on a recreational boat, I don't notice them doing the above. None of my business; their lives, their dive, they must know what they're doing, etc.


As you're a DiveMaster and know about these things, what is the standard way that recreational divers should do their gas checks? 3 times on the surface and at least once underwater?

Just curious.

 

[johndiver999]

I’m not happy with the dive shop for the lack of maintenance on their gear. But being rusty on the basic skills, not taking a refresher, etc. is on me.

As people have tried to explain, if the regulator "fixed itself" while underwater, this does not mean that there was necessarily a failure to maintain the regulator. It is up to YOU, to try to inhale from the regulator BEFORE it is pressurized and ensure that the integrity of the second stage is in tact and there are no (or negligible) leaks when you suck a gentle vacuum.

I know everyone wants to pat you on the back for not bolting to the surface and handling the problem at 60 feet, but the reality is that you need to check this stuff on any regulator before jumping in. Even over zealous rinsing of regulator can cause an exhaust valve to get folded a little or it can happen in rare instances when jumping into the water and water slamming into the exhaust.

I wonder if many people actually do the vacuum test before diving, I generally do it every time I load the regulators into the gear bag (the night before) and sometimes do it on the boat- but it should be done every time before a dive - even on brand new regulators.

 

[berndo]

However, when I do dive on a recreational boat, I don't notice them doing the above.

I'm not sure what you're asking or saying. How would you see if anyone has done an update or not after a 2 year break?

I've very little experience of diving with recreational divers -- I normally dive on independent technical boats with mixed gasses and rebreathers.

Just FIY, I have seen countless rec divers who are much better divers many of the so called 'tec' divers. When people goof on bad divers on the internet or in real life, it's often new divers they goof on and laugh at. The biggest difference in my experience is that 'tec' divers tend to be more full of themselves and have spend a more money. I see plenty of 'tec' rebreather divers with bad trim and bad bouyancy even in caves.
Either you know how to properly use you kit or you don't.