Why doesn't SSI teach what action to take when inflation bladder sticks open!!

[oly5050user]

It's actually a "dive flexible" skill for PADI:

Disconnect Low Pressure Inflator Hose — Have student divers disconnect the low pressure hose from the inflator in shallow water (either underwater or at the surface).
By the end of Confined Water Dive 3 for PADI Scuba Divers.
By the end of Confined Water Dive 5 for allstudent divers

I get it over with on CW1 and from then on they get "challenged" to do it throughout while underwater.

Yes there it is..I was going on memory as my cw slates are all at the pool..I usually get it done mod 3 or 4 , depends on flow of class

 

[jwllorens]

I don't know why any school would not want to point this out as appropriate response to take when facing an emergency, such as a stuck open inflation valve. It would not require much to show a student how to react to this and respond quickly so he/ she could avoid shooting up into a dangerous situation.

Dumping the air out of your bladder,while disconnecting the LP hose would be a good thing to have a student do even if it is practiced in the pool.
Can someone tell me why taking time to show this to new divers is a bad idea?

Frank G
Z GEAR - Z Gear Dive Mounts

I was certified by SSI a year ago and we were taught to manage this. In fact, disconnecting, orally inflating, then reconnecting the inflator hose was one of the eight primary skills that we practiced during every pool session. The only reason to ever disconnect this hose is in the situation you describe, where the BC inflator valve gets stuck "open" and we were told that this is the reason for learning this skill.

 

[tursiops]

I'm a bit bothered that it is a required skill in OW classes, but never practiced afterwards, and therefore forgotten. I've had several divers on trips who popped to the surface and had totally forgotten what to do to stop it.

I'm going to begin implementing a "survival skills" orientation on my dive trips that I lead. This skill is on the top of my list. What else do you think I should include?

 

[Dhboner]

There are a few skills that I practice at the end of almost every dive at my local shore diving spot. One of them is to simulate a stuck inflator (drysuit and wing) and practice a quick disconnect. I seriously recommend that folks do a few drills on every dive...shoot an SMB, mask removal and no mask swim, air share drills, valve feathering (it's a sidemount thing). If you spend a bit of time on a regular basis practicing your reaction to a problem then hopefully, if something does go pear shaped then muscle memory will take over.

 

[Z Gear]

I was certified by SSI a year ago and we were taught to manage this. In fact, disconnecting, orally inflating, then reconnecting the inflator hose was one of the eight primary skills that we practiced during every pool session. The only reason to ever disconnect this hose is in the situation you describe, where the BC inflator valve gets stuck "open" and we were told that this is the reason for learning this skill.

Well if that is the case with most who go through an SSI course, than I and others who attended the same class and other classes before me at my LDS where not given this instruction and unfortunately missed out on an important safety practice to be aware of.

Frank G

 

[tursiops]

Well if that is the case with most who go through an SSI course, than I and others who attended the same class and other classes before me at my LDS where not given this instruction and unfortunately missed out on an important safety practice to be aware of.

Frank G

I can believe you don't remember it. But that does not mean it was not covered in your class.

 

[Z Gear]

I can believe you don't remember it. But that does not mean it was not covered in your class.

This was not part of the OW course and not covered in class. It was not only me that supposedly does not remember.

It is the main reason why I am mentioning this, especially since I am not the only one who did not receive this instruction.

I guess one reason it could be that it is not mentioned in class or practiced in pool is because it is not even mentioned in the OW manual. I think it would be a good thing if they at least put this in the next manual don't you think?

Frank G

 

[DevonDiver]

The PADI disconnect skill doesn't deal with a stuck open inflator (it 'by the book'), although many instructors will quote that scenario as the reason for the skill.

However, the skill isn't taught with LPI pumping air... so instructors often miss the other critical attributes needed to deal with LPI sticking open. Namely, the need to simultaneously raise and vent the LPI, allowing gas to flow directly out of the LPI and not into the bladder causing uncontrolled ascent.

However, remove/replacing an LPI s conducted every time a diver sets up or dismantles their kit. So it's not, as such, truly a perishable skill. Unless you're a
vacation-only diver who routinely let's staff setup your kit for you (in which case, all your skills are likely to be poop anyway...).

But, to reiterate, connect/disconnect LPI is only a fragment of the skill procedure needed to prevent a stuck LPI causing excess, or uncontrollable, buoyancy.