What do you thnk of pull dumps?

[diveski01]

Genesis once bubbled...
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 should "burp" or "purge" your drysuit before completely gearing up. What we do is: don the suit and close zippers. Then while holding the neck seal open with your hand, squat down deep and squeeze your torso with arms to force extra air out. Let go of neck seal and stand up. Then don your SCUBA gear and make a normal positive or negative entry for dive based upon what's appropriate for the dive plan. This enables a much easier and quicker initial descent since you are managing bouyancy primarily through your BCD or wing and have very little air in your drysuit.

Where possible, we will also walk or jump into the water in just our drysuits with exhaust valve wide open and at highest point &/or holding open the neck seal (after coming to a rest at surface - not during the jump!). Usually we will keep our arms raised over the head so that the suit squeeze doesn't limit mobility for s-drills, valve drills, etc.

 

[Genesis]

you can't get all the air out that way, and if you're weighted properly with a single tank you're only ~5 negative with the tank full.

That's not much air in the suit - you won't get it ALL out by doing the "squat"

I dive with my dump wide open, use the suit only for warmth and the inflator only to take the squeeze off - not as a BC. I have my wing for that purpose.

I don't have enough air in the suit when I go in to make bleeding it off through the neck seal significantly faster than just letting it bleed out the dump.... and opening the neck seal in heavy seas raises the very real possibility of taking a nice gusher of cold water through there. No thanks!

The only time its an issue is if I'm diving in heavy seas where contact with the boat (in an undesirable form!) is a real possibility. In that case with my boat I go off the platform and make a point to get well-clear of the stern with my stride; if we're anchored (we usually are) the current will tend to draw me away further. Just "place" your stride so you can grab the stern trail line afterwards in case the surface current is ripping along.

 

[Dectek]

but I do not use it. Ascents and descents I use the Inflater hose. At depth I am usually a little heads down so i use the back exhaust valve.
I wish I had one on either side because I hate doing the roll maneuver to transfer the trapped air from the other side. Actually it is more like a list.

 

[Pez de Diablo]

At depth I use the back dump valve. Never a problem. While ascending, a quick and gentle pull on the hose (which has a steel braided line running inside from the inflator head to the valve on the bladder) and I maintain my buoyancy. My Zeagle is 7 years old and shows no sign of wear.

 

[Quest]

I used to have one...

Some of the dive spots in new england that we used to dive had a rocky bottom. Well vis usually was 0-3ft until you reached the bottom. then it improved to about 15ft. But on occasion vis would be the same on the bottom.

So to avoid decending into a rock mask first we would decend feet first. Because my left arm was pointed downward with my dive light i would use my right hand to control bouyancy.

So i found it a great benefit as i could inflate or deflate my bc with my right hand with little effort.

I havent had this same need in florida so my current BC doesnt have one.

 

[Uncle Pug]

Pez de Diablo once bubbled...
My Zeagle is 7 years old and shows no sign of wear.

A well maintained Ranger has great resale potential... got $325 for mine after 5 years and mucho dives.

 

[jbd]

one dump valve and its integrated with the deflator hose. I use it all the time and have had this BC for 9 years. What I have noticed is that mine is very easy to use--very little effort to pull it. I have noticed that other peolpe have to pull very hard to use their dump valve. I would guess that this would increase the potential for failure.

 

[MakoSince70]

Uncle Pug and Pez, a post that has my attention.

Halcyon Wing or Zeagle Ranger??

I have used a Sea Quest jacket for years but have decided it is time for a wing. I like the Halcyon with backplate but the units in my LDS don't have pull dumps or dumps at the lower part of the wing. I use these features occasionally and don't want to give them up.

I have been looking at the Ranger which has these features. Sounds like Pug is at least an ex-Ranger fan. Seems that if the dump features are well maintained on a quality BC, they are not going to fail.

Opinions on which way to go, Halcyon or Ranger.

I dive wet, mostly tropical and an AL 80. I want a BC capable of handling doubles.

Thanks

 

[Genesis]

has a dump on the bottom, and so does my Explorer 55.

 

[Uncle Pug]

MakoSince70 once bubbled...
Opinions on which way to go, Halcyon or Ranger.

I want a BC capable of handling doubles.

You would be wanting the Halcyon... btw... all their wings have pull dumps at the bottom of the wing.