A little back story to start. I consider myself to be non-certified, but I do have a tiny bit of dive experience. When I was 13, I visited an uncle in Washington who was working at a dive shop. He offered my grandparents and I an OW crash course, so we could dive. (why he didn't just take us on a Discover Scuba, I have no idea) We were only going to be there 4 1/2 days, so we spent one whole day going over the book, taking tests and watching videos. Seriously, 13+ hours. The next day we spent in the pool and the two days after we did 3 or 4 ocean dives. (I only remember 3, but 4 is needed for cert, yes?) I did, technically, get a Jr certificate.
The second day, I was buddied with the shop owner. He had told me before the dive to just follow him and do what he said because of my experience level. I understand where he was coming from, but it also put me in the position of feeling I had no control. Anyway, halfway through the dive, my BCD started self inflating. I stayed calm, vented the air (go 13yo me!) and made eye contact with my buddy, who saw what happened. He checked my gauges and went on with the dive. I continued having that issue throughout the dive, having to vent air every few minutes. He noticed the issues, but still didn't end the dive.
When we were done, he berated me for "not rinsing it well enough" and told me to "do a better job today". Given my age and experience level, I didn't speak up, but even then it didn't seem right. I remember very clearly that I was careful to rinse everything I used exactly the way I had been shown. I even remember being at the rinse station longer than everyone else.
I had dismissed this until recently. If I did make a mistake, I want to know about it so I can take that knowledge forward. I plan to get my OW this summer. Yes, I am retaking the whole thing, given the nature of the last class and the fact that it was nearly 20 years ago.
So, can improper rinsing, one time the day before, cause a BCD to start self inflating or was there likely a larger cause? My gut instinct is that I didn't cause the issue, but I don't know enough about scuba equipment to really know.
I do know that I made a mistake in not signaling to surface when I was having an issue. At the time, I didn't really know, or didn't remember, about lung over expansion, but that could have gotten bad in a hurry. But, given my age and experience level, I also feel the shop owner (who knew full well what our training was), should have ended the dive and even supervised me with the equipment more.
The second day, I was buddied with the shop owner. He had told me before the dive to just follow him and do what he said because of my experience level. I understand where he was coming from, but it also put me in the position of feeling I had no control. Anyway, halfway through the dive, my BCD started self inflating. I stayed calm, vented the air (go 13yo me!) and made eye contact with my buddy, who saw what happened. He checked my gauges and went on with the dive. I continued having that issue throughout the dive, having to vent air every few minutes. He noticed the issues, but still didn't end the dive.
When we were done, he berated me for "not rinsing it well enough" and told me to "do a better job today". Given my age and experience level, I didn't speak up, but even then it didn't seem right. I remember very clearly that I was careful to rinse everything I used exactly the way I had been shown. I even remember being at the rinse station longer than everyone else.
I had dismissed this until recently. If I did make a mistake, I want to know about it so I can take that knowledge forward. I plan to get my OW this summer. Yes, I am retaking the whole thing, given the nature of the last class and the fact that it was nearly 20 years ago.
So, can improper rinsing, one time the day before, cause a BCD to start self inflating or was there likely a larger cause? My gut instinct is that I didn't cause the issue, but I don't know enough about scuba equipment to really know.
I do know that I made a mistake in not signaling to surface when I was having an issue. At the time, I didn't really know, or didn't remember, about lung over expansion, but that could have gotten bad in a hurry. But, given my age and experience level, I also feel the shop owner (who knew full well what our training was), should have ended the dive and even supervised me with the equipment more.