The importance of quarry diving...

*Clare Gledhill* · June 19th, 2006, 10:07 PM

Fraser, Rob Dobson and I went to Vobster yesterday. Fraser and I had an appointment with a lot of bottles and wanted to play scooters too.... more importantly, I had just picked up my regs from a service and wanted to check them out before heading off for a slightly deeper dive this Friday.

I had broken down my regs for the service as I had kept on diving while they were in the shop. We've all heard the stories about serviced regs free flowing or suchlike when first dived, so I carefully re assembled them on Saturday and, whilst doing so, put a new large brass gauge on, which I have had kicking around for a while. It was too big for a stage but had a fluorescent coating which I thought would be handy and a nice 'feel' to it. I pressurised the regs and walked away for a bit, coming back to check that they had held pressure and there were no leaks.

Fast forward to Sunday. We jump in and head off to the 9 metre platform for all the usual stuff (I find towing Rob hard going with all the stages on - and it is not much fun for him). After 50 or so minutes, I look at my gauge and I have 50 bar. Time to think about going soon....but I did aim to come out with about 30 bar for a weight check so roughly on plan.

We gather up stuff, scooters etc., and start to head back to the entry point at about 10 metres. I feel my reg tighten up which gives me a bit to think about. I come off the trigger and check my gas - 20 bar! Hmm.... don't quite know how that happened - 30 bar gone in a few minutes at 9 metres... odd. 20 bar is still 480 litres of gas though so with less than 5 minutes to the entry point I am OK.

Reg is now definately very tight though - it is not my imagination... I am wearing three stages (two of which are breathable) and it occurs to me to switch to one of them - but an unmonitored switch with my buddy, who is ahead on a scooter, unaware that I am low on gas would not be clever - so I signal Fraser and he donates.

My thumb immediate thumb tells him it is not a drill.... and, as a team, we head for the surface.

On the surface I can inflate my wing and the reg breathes OK. I start to wonder if I have over-reacted and maybe all was well after all (despite the missing 30 bar). Fraser drops down to do his weight check and Rob goes with him - I don't but continue breathing from my set and feel a bit daft. Clearly it was just my imagination.

We get out and I take my regs off the set - to find that the gauge still reads 20 bar! It's stuck there

I knock it with my hand and it drops to 15 bar....

Whether my gauge had been stuck at 50 bar and then dropped as we set off, I don't know but when my set was put on the compressor room gauge I had 5 bar - which certainly explains why my regs were tight!

Lessons learned....

Check all new kit on a shallow dive when it doesn't matter.
Dive with competent divers who are happy to assist should you have a problem (Rob had spotted me checking my gauge and when I flashed Fraser he was also ready to donate).
Be prepared to buy lunch if you have to ask your buddy for gas!

It was a fun day though - good dives, good company and good humour

**jb2cool** · June 19th, 2006, 10:21 PM

yep, that's the beauty of quarries for practice/check out dives and again, another good example of where the unified team comes together.
Good call (I think) on not doing an unattended gas-switch. Why bother when gas is just a light flash away.

LCF · June 20th, 2006, 07:13 AM

Team diving . . . It's the deepest strength of what we do.

Took my brand new dry suit diving Friday. No quarries here, but my teammate and I had planned to stay very shallow and do drills. Good thing, as I discovered that the placement of the dump valve was faulty, and the only way the suit could be vented was lying on my back. Uncontrolled ascents from 6 meters are one thing -- had we gone deeper, it would have been quite another.

All new gear, or serviced gear, should be checked out in shallow water -- pool, quarry, or shallow shore dive.

davy · June 20th, 2006, 12:55 PM

ah faulty gauges... story of my life

I already have a nice collection at home.

then someone pointed out to me that although the gauges face plate is marked to 300 bar, they are actually only to be used to 200bar.
And indeed, problems always occured after some cave diving and of course the repeated "cave-fills"

Seems the bourbon tube stretches making the gauge read high and eventually the OPV gives away which floods the gauge.

I never had it happen on stage regs BTW, but then I never overfill ALU tanks...

fraser · June 20th, 2006, 02:56 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by OOG diver)

Be prepared to buy lunch if you have to ask your buddy for gas!

I thought fining you lunch was letting you off lightly

Frase.

MonkSeal · June 20th, 2006, 06:21 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by davy)

the bourbon tube

bourdon or bourbon?

Joe Hesketh · June 20th, 2006, 06:42 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by MonkSeal)

bourdon or bourbon?

Bourbon tubes show how many bars you've been to... <groan>

***Bob Cooper*** · June 20th, 2006, 10:55 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by davy)

Seems the bourbon tube stretches making the gauge read high and eventually the OPV gives away which floods the gauge.

Sorry, but I need to call BS on this one.......

A bourdon tube won't "stretch" unless the gauge is subject to an over-range pressure of at least 25%.

There is no OPV in a bourdon tube pressure gauge.

What make/type of gauge is this..?

Red Sea Explorer · June 20th, 2006, 11:12 PM

Once my buddy Mozi and I were diving and we had a similar case. After finishing his bottom stage Mozi goes to his backgas and checks his gauge. It reads 200 and it was time to ascend since all the back gas was min gas. About 3 minutes later he checks his gauge again to find it at 10 bar. He was shocked, signaled to me and I donated. We continued our ascent as planned and did our deco. All the time he was playing with his regs and they had gas coming out of them. On the boat we checked his tanks and they still had 160 in them... The gauge had just gone bust.

What I like about events like this is that they remind us of how important it is to stick to the protocols such as min gas. Although there was no real emergency, it was still a good demonstration about how crucial proper gas management is. In your case there was no depth to worry about, however if it was a deep dive, you have no problems as long as you have a buddy. It is great how all the DIR concepts come together to get us out of situations when they arise.

Mal Bridgeman · June 21st, 2006, 12:13 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Red Sea Explorer)

Once my buddy Mozi and I were diving and we had a similar case. After finishing his bottom stage Mozi goes to his backgas and checks his gauge. It reads 200 and it was time to ascend since all the back gas was min gas. About 3 minutes later he checks his gauge again to find it at 10 bar. He was shocked, signaled to me and I donated. We continued our ascent as planned and did our deco. All the time he was playing with his regs and they had gas coming out of them. On the boat we checked his tanks and they still had 160 in them... The gauge had just gone bust.

What I like about events like this is that they remind us of how important it is to stick to the protocols such as min gas. Although there was no real emergency, it was still a good demonstration about how crucial proper gas management is. In your case there was no depth to worry about, however if it was a deep dive, you have no problems as long as you have a buddy. It is great how all the DIR concepts come together to get us out of situations when they arise.

Is that standard protocol? If the gauge says OOG or low on gas you share gas? I can understand keeping close to your buddy if the guage says low but if the regs are breathing ok and you know you have full tanks should you actually call the OOG?

TIA
Mal

June 19th, 2006, 10:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
Clare Gledhill(Offline) GUE Instructor Site Admin Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 1,547	The importance of quarry diving... Fraser, Rob Dobson and I went to Vobster yesterday. Fraser and I had an appointment with a lot of bottles and wanted to play scooters too.... more importantly, I had just picked up my regs from a service and wanted to check them out before heading off for a slightly deeper dive this Friday. I had broken down my regs for the service as I had kept on diving while they were in the shop. We've all heard the stories about serviced regs free flowing or suchlike when first dived, so I carefully re assembled them on Saturday and, whilst doing so, put a new large brass gauge on, which I have had kicking around for a while. It was too big for a stage but had a fluorescent coating which I thought would be handy and a nice 'feel' to it. I pressurised the regs and walked away for a bit, coming back to check that they had held pressure and there were no leaks. Fast forward to Sunday. We jump in and head off to the 9 metre platform for all the usual stuff (I find towing Rob hard going with all the stages on - and it is not much fun for him). After 50 or so minutes, I look at my gauge and I have 50 bar. Time to think about going soon....but I did aim to come out with about 30 bar for a weight check so roughly on plan. We gather up stuff, scooters etc., and start to head back to the entry point at about 10 metres. I feel my reg tighten up which gives me a bit to think about. I come off the trigger and check my gas - 20 bar! Hmm.... don't quite know how that happened - 30 bar gone in a few minutes at 9 metres... odd. 20 bar is still 480 litres of gas though so with less than 5 minutes to the entry point I am OK. Reg is now definately very tight though - it is not my imagination... I am wearing three stages (two of which are breathable) and it occurs to me to switch to one of them - but an unmonitored switch with my buddy, who is ahead on a scooter, unaware that I am low on gas would not be clever - so I signal Fraser and he donates. My thumb immediate thumb tells him it is not a drill.... and, as a team, we head for the surface. On the surface I can inflate my wing and the reg breathes OK. I start to wonder if I have over-reacted and maybe all was well after all (despite the missing 30 bar). Fraser drops down to do his weight check and Rob goes with him - I don't but continue breathing from my set and feel a bit daft. Clearly it was just my imagination. We get out and I take my regs off the set - to find that the gauge still reads 20 bar! It's stuck there I knock it with my hand and it drops to 15 bar.... Whether my gauge had been stuck at 50 bar and then dropped as we set off, I don't know but when my set was put on the compressor room gauge I had 5 bar - which certainly explains why my regs were tight! Lessons learned.... Check all new kit on a shallow dive when it doesn't matter. Dive with competent divers who are happy to assist should you have a problem (Rob had spotted me checking my gauge and when I flashed Fraser he was also ready to donate). Be prepared to buy lunch if you have to ask your buddy for gas! It was a fun day though - good dives, good company and good humour __________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk Last edited by Clare Gledhill; June 20th, 2006 at 11:18 AM.

June 19th, 2006, 10:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
jb2cool(Offline) Padawan learner Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire Posts: 804	yep, that's the beauty of quarries for practice/check out dives and again, another good example of where the unified team comes together. Good call (I think) on not doing an unattended gas-switch. Why bother when gas is just a light flash away. __________________ http://jb2cool.bulldoghome.com

June 20th, 2006, 02:56 PM	#5 (permalink)
fraser(Offline) "I'm only late on your timescale" Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 463	Quote: (Originally Posted by OOG diver) Be prepared to buy lunch if you have to ask your buddy for gas! I thought fining you lunch was letting you off lightly Frase. __________________ Damn it feels good to be a gangsta

June 20th, 2006, 11:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
Red Sea Explorer(Offline) New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Red Sea Posts: 236	Once my buddy Mozi and I were diving and we had a similar case. After finishing his bottom stage Mozi goes to his backgas and checks his gauge. It reads 200 and it was time to ascend since all the back gas was min gas. About 3 minutes later he checks his gauge again to find it at 10 bar. He was shocked, signaled to me and I donated. We continued our ascent as planned and did our deco. All the time he was playing with his regs and they had gas coming out of them. On the boat we checked his tanks and they still had 160 in them... The gauge had just gone bust. What I like about events like this is that they remind us of how important it is to stick to the protocols such as min gas. Although there was no real emergency, it was still a good demonstration about how crucial proper gas management is. In your case there was no depth to worry about, however if it was a deep dive, you have no problems as long as you have a buddy. It is great how all the DIR concepts come together to get us out of situations when they arise. __________________ You watch me switch. www.redseaexplorers.com

June 21st, 2006, 12:13 AM	#10 (permalink)
Mal Bridgeman(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Suffolk, UK Posts: 663	Quote: (Originally Posted by Red Sea Explorer) Once my buddy Mozi and I were diving and we had a similar case. After finishing his bottom stage Mozi goes to his backgas and checks his gauge. It reads 200 and it was time to ascend since all the back gas was min gas. About 3 minutes later he checks his gauge again to find it at 10 bar. He was shocked, signaled to me and I donated. We continued our ascent as planned and did our deco. All the time he was playing with his regs and they had gas coming out of them. On the boat we checked his tanks and they still had 160 in them... The gauge had just gone bust. What I like about events like this is that they remind us of how important it is to stick to the protocols such as min gas. Although there was no real emergency, it was still a good demonstration about how crucial proper gas management is. In your case there was no depth to worry about, however if it was a deep dive, you have no problems as long as you have a buddy. It is great how all the DIR concepts come together to get us out of situations when they arise. Is that standard protocol? If the gauge says OOG or low on gas you share gas? I can understand keeping close to your buddy if the guage says low but if the regs are breathing ok and you know you have full tanks should you actually call the OOG? TIA Mal __________________ Opinions and beliefs are correct at the time of posting but are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the author.

June 20th, 2006, 07:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
LCF(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle Posts: 623	Team diving . . . It's the deepest strength of what we do. Took my brand new dry suit diving Friday. No quarries here, but my teammate and I had planned to stay very shallow and do drills. Good thing, as I discovered that the placement of the dump valve was faulty, and the only way the suit could be vented was lying on my back. Uncontrolled ascents from 6 meters are one thing -- had we gone deeper, it would have been quite another. All new gear, or serviced gear, should be checked out in shallow water -- pool, quarry, or shallow shore dive.

June 20th, 2006, 12:55 PM	#4 (permalink)
davy(Offline) DIveR Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 277	ah faulty gauges... story of my life I already have a nice collection at home. then someone pointed out to me that although the gauges face plate is marked to 300 bar, they are actually only to be used to 200bar. And indeed, problems always occured after some cave diving and of course the repeated "cave-fills" Seems the bourbon tube stretches making the gauge read high and eventually the OPV gives away which floods the gauge. I never had it happen on stage regs BTW, but then I never overfill ALU tanks...

June 20th, 2006, 06:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
MonkSeal(Offline) Old Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Posts: 479	Quote: (Originally Posted by davy) the bourbon tube bourdon or bourbon?

June 20th, 2006, 06:42 PM	#7 (permalink)
Joe Hesketh (Online) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 658	Quote: (Originally Posted by MonkSeal) bourdon or bourbon? Bourbon tubes show how many bars you've been to... <groan>

June 20th, 2006, 10:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
*Bob Cooper*(Offline) Moderator - "Don't stop me now!" Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: South East London, UK Posts: 684	Quote: (Originally Posted by davy) Seems the bourbon tube stretches making the gauge read high and eventually the OPV gives away which floods the gauge. Sorry, but I need to call BS on this one....... A bourdon tube won't "stretch" unless the gauge is subject to an over-range pressure of at least 25%. There is no OPV in a bourdon tube pressure gauge. What make/type of gauge is this..?