Why you want to interview instructors

[rjack321]

You forgot a shut off valve on each second stage... Critical components I think.

Truth lol

gas choice ok but it is not really the point of his article. same for labeling; and he does not mention color coding.what is wrong with h valve?

75%? 37ft 1st stop?

 

[PEDiver]

What good does interviewing an instructor do if you don’t know what you don’t know?

If I don’t know what I don’t know, I sure as **** don’t know what you don’t know.

I ain’t on board with anything this dude is doing but I don’t think we’re doing much to help any newer divers reading this thread.

This would be hilarious if he wasn't out there teaching actual students.

I think this comes back to certifying agencies maintaining and enforcing standards for instruction and best practices. So many students are set down the wrong path by lackluster instructors wielding untenable and unchallenged ideas.

 

[Etmutt]

Truth lol


75%? 37ft 1st stop?

ok but again his point is more on the h valve, he wants to illustrate redundancy, so i m curious to understand what is wrong with an h valve

 

[PEDiver]

ok but again his point is more on the h valve, he wants to illustrate redundancy, so i m curious to understand what is wrong with an h valve

1. An H valve does not provide true redundancy
2. Using an H valve means you now have two first stages and two second stages, thereby doubling the number of potential failure points attached to a single gas source
3. If your concern is redundancy and losing your deco gas, you would be better served by carrying a second deco gas that is actually redundant
4. I’m not saying an H valve does not have any applications at all; I’m saying in this instance, this is not considered a best practice for many reasons

 

[Etmutt]

1. An H valve does not provide true redundancy
2. Using an H valve means you now have two first stages and two second stages, thereby doubling the number of potential failure points attached to a single gas source
3. If your concern is redundancy and losing your deco gas, you would be better served by carrying a second deco gas that is actually redundant
4. I’m not saying an H valve does not have any applications at all; I’m saying in this instance, this is not considered a best practice for many reasons

on the 1st point… well ok but why? the failure point that is kept common is the tank it self and the valve oring; it is quite a reduction of single fail point isn’t it?

on the second point; you can just keep one of the 2 closed > problem solved

on the third point; yes i agree. however it might not be practical depending on the scenario

on the 4th ok but at the moment i see only your 3rd point as a valid reason what would be the other ?

 

[rjack321]

ok but again his point is more on the h valve, he wants to illustrate redundancy, so i m curious to understand what is wrong with an h valve

It's a mess and solves far fewer problems that just diving 2 deco gases in the first place. Lord help you if you are on an actual 2 or 3 deco gas dive and end up with 6 deco regs!?! Good luck tracing those hoses coherently.

The H valve is in absolutely zero agency standards, this dude is just making stuff up with zero practical experience doing big dives this way

 

[Vicko]

If for some reason you really want to carry only one deco tank and your primary tank is not enough to complete the deco in case of a lost deco stage.... then this still makes very little sense.

Why the shut off valves? It's a single regulator, you shut it of by closing the valve, that's what the H-valve is there for. If you add a inline lp shut off you also need to add a over pressure valve to the first stage, which are prone to fail...
My brain hurts from trying to rationalize his gear choices.

 

[Etmutt]

yeah the shut off cannot make any sens no matter how you look at it….

on the h valve however i m not convinced it is a necessarily bad choice. on your 2 points @rjack321 :

tracing reg to h valve cannot be harder than to 2 deco tanks and in case you have a lot of mixes it certainly help to have more mobility

on the fact that is not standard with any agency, it does not mean that there is something inherently wrong with it. plus i know quite a few cmas diver who use an h valve on back gas. my understanding is that they see it as a key safety point in case of reg failure.

 

[VikingDives]

This would be hilarious if he wasn't out there teaching actual students. Interviewing instructors is all well and good, but most students don't even know the right questions to ask. I was lucky that I found some good resources early in my diving career but it could have easily gone the other way.

When I started my path to tech training I had a list of questions I'd memorized that I wanted to ask potential local tech instructors.

I remember interviewing one particular instructor and thinking, "This person is either lying to me or doesn't know the answer to this question and is making things up."

Either way, the interview proved extremely valuable.

I wish I could remember the questions now, but I think I came up with them from suggestions here, on Scubaboard.

Not knowing what's important and not knowing the right questions to ask are "The Problems" in the dive industry, IMO. If most people knew the right questions to ask, they wouldn't be shopping for training based on price - well at least more wouldn't - they'd be looking for instructors who taught in NB/T etc. . .

Unfortunately, the diving industry/most dive shops are just retail shops with training as a loss leader.

 

[NothingClever]

I ain’t on board with anything this dude is doing but I don’t think we’re doing much to help any newer divers reading this thread.

What to Ask Your Potential Instructor Before You Sign Up for a Course

Finding the right scuba diving instructor is crucial to the success and safety of your diving. Here are 8 tips for questions to ask your potential instructor.

extreme-exposure.com