XT1 1st stage failed CLOSED at depth

[snowdog61]

guess I thought first dive meant 1st of the day and using it since purchased in January. 200 must have come from tbones - guess I need to re-read or at least read with comprehension. So NIB and wet for the 1st time? not so much of an enigma now I'm thinking

 

[japan-diver]

I can guarantee you the tank valve was open.

Also, considering a dive time of 15mins before failure, I don't think this "tank not open" theory is even remotely plausible. My friend has good SAC, but not that good.

A partially open tank valve or faulty valve would explain the working at surface and for 15 minutes of a dive, the increase in ambient pressure and drop in tank pressure would then combine to make the reg stop working at some point during the dive. This is the most plausible explanation of the failure of no air. I have been reg technician for over 20 years and am certified on the Dive Rites regs along with most other brands. There are a few outlying possibilities but I would start with the most probable before anything else. I am guessing that DR will find nothing wrong with it but replace in anyway. There is nothing wrong with the DR design of the XT I personally will be taking mine +200ft again this weekend with no worries.

 

[BRT]

A partially open tank valve or faulty valve would explain the working at surface and for 15 minutes of a dive, the increase in ambient pressure and drop in tank pressure would then combine to make the reg stop working at some point during the dive. This is the most plausible explanation of the failure of no air. I have been reg technician for over 20 years and am certified on the Dive Rites regs along with most other brands. There are a few outlying possibilities but I would start with the most probable before anything else. I am guessing that DR will find nothing wrong with it but replace in anyway. There is nothing wrong with the DR design of the XT I personally will be taking mine +200ft again this weekend with no worries.

That will not explain having pressure on the gauge and not being able to purge the reg.

 

[guruboy]

A partially open tank valve or faulty valve would explain the working at surface and for 15 minutes of a dive, the increase in ambient pressure and drop in tank pressure would then combine to make the reg stop working at some point during the dive. This is the most plausible explanation of the failure of no air. I have been reg technician for over 20 years and am certified on the Dive Rites regs along with most other brands. There are a few outlying possibilities but I would start with the most probable before anything else. I am guessing that DR will find nothing wrong with it but replace in anyway. There is nothing wrong with the DR design of the XT I personally will be taking mine +200ft again this weekend with no worries.

So then why didn't it work again when back on the surface?

 

[japan-diver]

That will not explain having pressure on the gauge and not being able to purge the reg.

That is true- just for fun I have tried to duplicate that scenario on my workbench on a few regs and using the wrong seat or on some regs installing the HP seat/carrier upside down you can get that to happen but the reg does not work at all\, so you could not start the dive.
A clog caused by foreign matter or possibly if a new reg, some metal shavings missed in the QA at assembly could be the cause.

 

[lermontov]

subscribe

 

[snowdog61]

A clog caused by foreign matter or possibly if a new reg, some metal shavings missed in the QA at assembly could be the cause.

I'm in the same boat here being that it was in fact, a NIB, 1st dive reg set. Yeah, I know the assembly guys are skilled and very fast and proficient at what they do, but these parts should still have been 100% inspected at final assembly. Sadly everything typically hinges on that final functional test - it either passes or fails. A pass infers every previous operation was a 100% complete success. A failure unfortunately gives the false indication that your test is working and weeding out ALL the bad parts. You might not catch the latent defects - those will show themselves down the road but you should be rejecting all the gross errors such as misassembled parts. Not always the case.

Unfortunately, since the reg 'fixed itself' there probably won't be any hard evidence of what caused the lock up. Whatever caused it, cleared itself, and is now downstream - where it will likely get lost when it gets disassembled and cleaned. I really hope it gets found and we can get the failure mode here. Other than a gross assembly error, I really didn't think you could get a stage to fail in this manner without some significant effort

 

[kelemvor]

guess I thought first dive meant 1st of the day and using it since purchased in January. 200 must have come from tbones - guess I need to re-read or at least read with comprehension. So NIB and wet for the 1st time? not so much of an enigma now I'm thinking

It wasn't just you. I misunderstood that as well. A new reg failing, probably just a manufacturing defect. I'd have taken it back to the LDS and asked for a replacement.

 

[redacted]

It wasn't just you. I misunderstood that as well. A new reg failing, probably just a manufacturing defect. I'd have taken it back to the LDS and asked for a replacement.

Would you really have been comfortable with a replacement, not knowing what the defect was?

Just a defect is a good explanation once you understand the defect.

 

[BRT]

I'm in the same boat here being that it was in fact, a NIB, 1st dive reg set. Yeah, I know the assembly guys are skilled and very fast and proficient at what they do, but these parts should still have been 100% inspected at final assembly. Sadly everything typically hinges on that final functional test - it either passes or fails. A pass infers every previous operation was a 100% complete success. A failure unfortunately gives the false indication that your test is working and weeding out ALL the bad parts. You might not catch the latent defects - those will show themselves down the road but you should be rejecting all the gross errors such as misassembled parts. Not always the case.

Unfortunately, since the reg 'fixed itself' there probably won't be any hard evidence of what caused the lock up. Whatever caused it, cleared itself, and is now downstream - where it will likely get lost when it gets disassembled and cleaned. I really hope it gets found and we can get the failure mode here. Other than a gross assembly error, I really didn't think you could get a stage to fail in this manner without some significant effort

It gets down to the same old thing. The least reliable regulator is one that has just been worked on, even if that means just assembled. It is the same way in the car repair business.