What to do if...

[geekthegreek]

Hi all,

I'm new to this board (and to diving) and learning lots from the threads out there. Amidst all the passionate debates on OW classes, a few items have come to mind as notable omissions from my education (or maybe I just wasn't paying attention). Some questions:

1- BC inflator stuck in 'open' position, could shoot you up to the surface with deadly consequences. Sure, this does sound very dangerous. I could imagine you'd want to hold the release button, hopefully to counteract the inflation? Or maybe that would be insufficient, you'd actually want to puncture your BC, maybe with a knife? What is the recommended procedure here? (Is this type of occurrence common?)

2- Access to your air tank valve while wearing your gear. This wasn't mentioned at all. I guess the ideas is that you might accidentally enter the water without air on, and would therefore need to reach the valve to open it? Any other reason? This strikes me as much less severe of an issue if you're using proper buddy procedures (ie, you would notice right away, and should be able to stay on the surface for a sec and get help, or at worst take your rig off and do it yourself). Any thoughts?

Thanks,
-Dan

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

1. Reach over and unplug the inflator. Then you can orally inflate it if needed.

2. I can reach my valves in every configuration of gear I use.. You should be able to reach yours too.. This is really a big deal, if you cant do it, something is wrong.

 

[DeputyDan]

1- BC inflator stuck in 'open' position, could shoot you up to the surface with deadly consequences. Sure, this does sound very dangerous. I could imagine you'd want to hold the release button, hopefully to counteract the inflation? Or maybe that would be insufficient, you'd actually want to puncture your BC, maybe with a knife? What is the recommended procedure here? (Is this type of occurrence common?)

Use your dump valve. My BC has 3 of them. I have never seen this happen - but have only been diving seven years.

2- Access to your air tank valve while wearing your gear. This wasn't mentioned at all. I guess the ideas is that you might accidentally enter the water without air on, and would therefore need to reach the valve to open it? Any other reason? This strikes me as much less severe of an issue if you're using proper buddy procedures (ie, you would notice right away, and should be able to stay on the surface for a sec and get help, or at worst take your rig off and do it yourself). Any thoughts?

This could be a problem. As a part of your pre-dive routine always check your gauge - not only to make sure your air is on but that you have air in your tank. You don't want to get to 60 feet - look at your guage and be at 300 psi!

 

[TSandM]

Dan, I'm sure you practiced disconnecting your LP inflator hose in your OW class. That's the definitive solution for an auto-inflating BC. When you recognize the problem, lift your inflator and begin dumping and use the other hand to disconnect the hose.

A lot of people discount the importance of being able to reach your own tank valve. It is true that, if you are meticulous about your gear checks and your buddy checks, and dive as an attentive buddy pair, you should never need to be able to reach your own valve. However, even after a good buddy check, it is possible to have the DM on a boat "check" your valve and turn it off on you -- I have read stories of that happening posted here on SB. If your BC is full and you intend to bob on the surface for a bit before descending, AND if you test your regulator there, you should still be able to pick it up. But it's really not that big a deal to learn how to position the tank so you can reach the valve, and it's awfully handy on occasion.

I had a freeflow in Puget Sound that we handled neatly -- my husband donated to me, and he shut the tank off. As we swam in, I reached up and tried opening the valve, to see if this had been a freezing issue that perhaps would have resolved, but it hadn't. It was really nice to be able to do that with no fuss. Had it turned out to be a freezing issue, we could have turned around and continued our dive.

 

[ScubaRich]

1-Disconnect your inflator hose.
2- reaching your tank valve is not that hard to do. If you can't, take the bc off and turn the air on.

 

[ScubaRich]

Wow! everyone jumped at this one!

 

[geekthegreek]

Right - thanks for all the replies!

Of course - we did practice removing the inflator hose. It just wasn't clear why we were doing it (or maybe I missed that part). We also checked the BC dump pulls. Ok, I feel kinda dumb for asking, but I guess I learned something!

 

[ScubaRich]

Don't feel dumb, You're learning!

 

[Kevin Carlisle]

Right - thanks for all the replies!

Of course - we did practice removing the inflator hose. It just wasn't clear why we were doing it (or maybe I missed that part). We also checked the BC dump pulls. Ok, I feel kinda dumb for asking, but I guess I learned something!

Ask when you dont know and dont feel dumb about it.. We all started knowing nothing about it. The inflator hose sticking is not uncommon and both were good questions.

 

[timle]

Hi all,

1- BC inflator stuck in 'open' position, could shoot you up to the surface with deadly consequences. Sure, this does sound very dangerous. I could imagine you'd want to hold the release button, hopefully to counteract the inflation? Or maybe that would be insufficient, you'd actually want to puncture your BC, maybe with a knife? What is the recommended procedure here? (Is this type of occurrence common?)

If you took a PADI OW you should have had to demonstrate disconnecting the inflator hose. It is a good bet the other organizations require the same skill. According to my PADI OW manual it is covered in Confined Water Dive #2.