46 replies to this topic

[casematic]

A buddy of mine recently decribed an incident he had.... I'll see if I can get the facts straight....

He had just recently had his gear serviced ... He had been at 80' on this dive for 15 minutes .... maybe a little more ... grabbed his computer to check his status and the thing came off in his hand... High pressure hose blowing all over the place....

He couldn't get his buddies attention (he had gone on the trip solo and they assigned him a buddy when he got on the boat)... so he headed straight to the surface.... a little more rapidly than he should have because he had no idea how much air he had left in the tank ....

As he approached the surface, he realized that his BCD had expanded and he was picking up speed ..... and he had his loose computer in the hand that he needed to dump the air from his BCD....

So now he is headed to the surface like a rocket ... He did have the presense of mind to exhale everything he had.... Fortunately no embolisms or DCS.... However, he rupured his eardrums from the inside and it will be a while before he can dive again... (I'll bet he will be carrying a pony bottle from now on).

A pony bottle would have been a more dependable buddy here for sure ....

In Retrospect ........ the orifice is so small on the high pressure side that even if he only had 1000 psi, it seems like it would take a few minutes to drain down... so he could have proceeded to the surface at a little slower rate... and maybe even made a safety stop at 15' till the tank ran dry... then the emergency accent from there...

One never knows what they will do in a situation until faced with it, but I thought that a little input from some of the experiences of divers on this forum may give light to a few other options...

The only real enemy is panic... and the best defense is knowledge.

[Seahorsewrangler]

Ironicly not too long ago I had a discussion with the local LDS about this scenerio..granted a little different thou. Anyway they did an experiment a few years ago where they took 2 tanks (equal pressure/size) and on one cut the HP hose and on the other cut a LP hose...the LP tank emptied first and quite quickly..while the HP just kept whistling away for many more minutes (maybe 30, my memory fades to be accurate) Surprised? I was.
My psi

[blacktar]

Earlier this year I had an incident where I blew an o-ring on a low pressure hose on my first stage. All I knew was that I was leaking air from behind my head. I was 20 minutes into my dive and only at 14 meters in depth. My first reaction was to turn off my air, and only turn it on to breath. I got the DM's attention and he tried to fix it underwater. No such luck. But since the the leak wasn't really that fast, I continued the dive and ended up having to surface 5 minutes before the group.

[Latitude Adjustment]

I saw an O-ring blow at depth earlier this year, the DM passed her a reg and up they went but her tank drained before she got to the surface. A 400th dive she won't forget!
I've heard that a HP hose will drain slower and there is a restriction in the SPG to slow the air flow if the gauge blows but going up and risking DCS is better than drowning. As for me, that's why I carry a pony.

[Basslet]

Hmm. Maybe Santa will bring me a pony for Christmas. FINALLY!!

[Walter]

Losing a HP hose is no reason to panic. Simply ascend normally, make a stop if you have enough air. If you lose a LP hose, you have very little time to get to the surface, it will go quickly. Sharing air or using a pony bottle are excellent ways to ascend when the LP hose goes.

Your friend injured himself needlessly. I'm glad he wasn't hurt more.

[DandyDon]

(I'll bet he will be carrying a pony bottle from now on).

A pony bottle would have been a more dependable buddy here for sure ....

That's why I got mine. I depended on it too much for a while, but still nice to have.

I also like my analog SPG seperate from my computer. I like electronics, but don't trust them. Carry two computers so when one fails, I have the other. And they will fail.

Maybe he could have ascended a little slower, but getting to the surface IS better than not getting there.

[Dennis]

Walter is completely right on this one. The HP hose has a much smaller inside diameter than a LP hose, therefore much less volume of air can escape if you have a HP hose or pressure guage failure. It's a volume thing, not a pressure thing.

Walter, Donna, and I were on a trip in the Bahama's a while ago (1991?) when one of the people we were diving with had his SPG blow. Sounded like a shotgun going off under water. He and his buddy made a normal ascent.

[Walter]

May of 1990. That was Bob J.

Edited by Walter, 18 October 2005 - 10:29 AM.

[Diverbrian]

I agree with the crowd here.

1. The smaller orifice on the HP port makes this a non-emergency situation. Simply start your ascent if you can't your buddy. From the depths and time given, I don't know if I would spend doing a safety stop though.

2. A contributor to this was a vote against a computer attached to the HP hose. This should not have come off this easily. Was this an air integrated with a quick disconnect? If it wasn't, I guess that a manual pressure gauge could have come off just as easily.

3. I am thankful that your friend came out with relatively few injuries.

[ScubaDadMiami]

This is one of the reasons I dive with doubles even on recreational dives where possible. If this situation had happened to me, I simply would have shut down my left post. Then, I could have proceeded to surface in a normal fashion.

If diving a single tank, the diver can always shut down the tank, turning it on to breathe. This will pretty much eliminate the need to head directly to the surface.

No matter what setup you are using, the diver should check gauges frequently to have a fairly close idea of how much gas is remaining. Then, the diver can make a more informed decision about what to do from there.

[sudsymark]

The surprise factor could get you though the first time it happened.

[Capn Jack]

mi dos pesos -

Stop, breathe, think, act.

The LP hose, or a tank O ring will definitely run it right out. One of my instructors lost her O Ring at 25 ffw, she was OOA almost immediately, and we came up on my air.

If you can see your buddy, I'd recommend normal ascent with your buddy, ready to share air if you run out.

If you can't, I'd go ahead and start a normal ascent.

In either case, monitor your breathing - if it's starting to pull hard, be ready to switch to a CESA.

My vote is for a safety stop if you're still getting air, or have your buddy handy.

Yep, 19CF Pony is on my list too. Too bad they're such a PITA to carry on an airplane.

[Neptuner]

Good advice from everyone, thanks for sharing!

It's these kind of discussions that really give this site some meat to add to our bank of knowledge. Fortunately I haven't had to deal with any real issues yet, but hopefully the simple act of reading, analyzing and pondering the countless "What if?" scenarios will forge the appropriate reaction in my mind BEFORE it is required. After all, visualization is a very real and effective form of practicing any skill.

This is one of the great things I love about divers is their eagerness to share their experience and knowledge!

[WreckWench]

Good advice from everyone, thanks for sharing!

It's these kind of discussions that really give this site some meat to add to our bank of knowledge. Fortunately I haven't had to deal with any real issues yet, but hopefully the simple act of reading, analyzing and pondering the countless "What if?" scenarios will forge the appropriate reaction in my mind BEFORE it is required. After all, visualization is a very real and effective form of practicing any skill.

This is one of the great things I love about divers is their eagerness to share their experience and knowledge!

I'm with you on this one Neptuner...the knowledge on this site is incredible!