Scubadawg
Contributor
How else are you supposed to get the air out of your BC when you first decend... i was taught to have your BC full when you enter the water...
What do you thnk of pull dumps?
- Thread starter rickyd
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ElectricZombie
Contributor
Inflator pull dumps are unnecessary and prone to failure.
I was on one trip where a guy had the inflator come off in his hand. He panicked and shot up from about 40 feet. He totally freaked out and his buddy had to haul him in. Inflator pull dumps only cause trouble.
As for having your BC full of air upon entry, I do just the opposite. I have no air in the BC at all. Seas are usually rough here so we don't linger on the surface.
I was on one trip where a guy had the inflator come off in his hand. He panicked and shot up from about 40 feet. He totally freaked out and his buddy had to haul him in. Inflator pull dumps only cause trouble.
As for having your BC full of air upon entry, I do just the opposite. I have no air in the BC at all. Seas are usually rough here so we don't linger on the surface.
Scubadawg
Contributor
OK... For rough seas thats fine.
I hope that no one jumps in and is overweighted and goes plummeting to the bottom. no one would think anything was wrong with your way of going in BCD empty.
I was taught in OW that its a good idea to keep BC full when you first enter , So you and your buddy are both ready to descend "no last second problems"IE. properly weighted, didn't blow your mask off during entry, why would you want to roll off and head right for the bottom.... if you have a problem during your entry you are going to be S.O.L
Just my .02 worth
I like to let the divemaster know that im ok after entering.
Scubaddawg
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY
I hope that no one jumps in and is overweighted and goes plummeting to the bottom. no one would think anything was wrong with your way of going in BCD empty.
I was taught in OW that its a good idea to keep BC full when you first enter , So you and your buddy are both ready to descend "no last second problems"IE. properly weighted, didn't blow your mask off during entry, why would you want to roll off and head right for the bottom.... if you have a problem during your entry you are going to be S.O.L
Just my .02 worth
I like to let the divemaster know that im ok after entering.
Scubaddawg
BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY
ElectricZombie
Contributor
Well, you should never be in a situation where you are severely overweighted anyway.
Most people will just wait at the hang line for their buddy, make sure every thing is ok, and then procede down.
I don't signal the DM, not needed.
Most people will just wait at the hang line for their buddy, make sure every thing is ok, and then procede down.
I don't signal the DM, not needed.
R
redacted
Guest
That can probably be said about any redundent BC dump valve. But they really are very reliable which is probably why 2 or more is the norm on a good because of the convience they provide at little to no cost in terms of reliability.
When an inflator valve accidentally parts from the BC, the problem was greater than a pull dump valve. Even if the unsupervised cable had come loose, the corrugated hose should not seperate from the BC. It is normally a bit of a wrestling match to remove one on purpose. For this to happen, either the hose or the connection had to be faulty. When those faults go uncorrected, it's just a matter of time before the failure would occur even if it had been a simple elbow.
Stone
Contributor
I don't use the shoulder pull dump, but I use the rear dump occasionally. When spearfishing, a fair amount of time is spent looking under ledges and into holes in wrecks. This is usually done with head down and fins high (keeps fins out of sand or away from coral on wreck). If I start to get a little buoyant while in this position, I can release air without changing my orientation.
This has been a debate before...personally, I'm against it. The only reason you would be taught this is because you aren't being taught how to control your bouyancy.
When you hit the water, you should be neutral, and with residual air in your BC, you should sink a few feet and come back to the surface with no worries
I feel that having the BC full is a potential danger for a couple of reasons. 1, what if you are diving in heavy seas....you hit the water and bounce around like a bouy. 2, on a normal stride entry your body will want to go down due to gravity, but the BC, because it is full of air, isn't going anywhere. You run the risk of personal injury. 3, if you do a back roll off of a boat it would be like landing on a concrete pad, or whatever tank you have strapped to your BC, because you aren't going to sink at all!!!
JeffAustin
Guest
You do a backroll, you aren't going to be landing on a "brick" - more like a cushion 
You just won't sink much if at all on the way in.
I typically go in with air in my BC if I'm doing a giant stride. For a backroll maybe not. You should be negative due to the weight of the air in your tank if you're trimmed properly with no air in the wing at the start of the dive.
I go in negative (intentionally) if the seas are heavy and I'm worried about getting bashed against the boat. In that case I want to be 5-10' under as soon as possible in order to guard against a close encounter with the hull or running gear. I also want to go in as a giant stride in that situation explicitly so that I am in a "minimal drag" posture to help me get down far enough to be under the "surge zone" at the surface.
This is, BTW, nearly impossible in a drysuit. When diving dry it takes time for all the air to bleed out of the open dump; go in with no gas in your wing and you'll still end up positive until that air bleeds out; you'll never get it all out on the surface BEFORE going in. Diving dry I'm lucky if my face gets wet on the giant stride until the air bleeds out, which takes a few seconds after going in. This means that in heavy seas you have to be VERY careful so you don't become "one with the boat"!
You just won't sink much if at all on the way in.
I typically go in with air in my BC if I'm doing a giant stride. For a backroll maybe not. You should be negative due to the weight of the air in your tank if you're trimmed properly with no air in the wing at the start of the dive.
I go in negative (intentionally) if the seas are heavy and I'm worried about getting bashed against the boat. In that case I want to be 5-10' under as soon as possible in order to guard against a close encounter with the hull or running gear. I also want to go in as a giant stride in that situation explicitly so that I am in a "minimal drag" posture to help me get down far enough to be under the "surge zone" at the surface.
This is, BTW, nearly impossible in a drysuit. When diving dry it takes time for all the air to bleed out of the open dump; go in with no gas in your wing and you'll still end up positive until that air bleeds out; you'll never get it all out on the surface BEFORE going in. Diving dry I'm lucky if my face gets wet on the giant stride until the air bleeds out, which takes a few seconds after going in. This means that in heavy seas you have to be VERY careful so you don't become "one with the boat"!
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