Quote: (Originally Posted by
jkaterenchuk)
Looks like a Diverite poster AD. Glad you had a good time.
Adrian, not sure if its on your check list but you might want to consider adding it. Presurize the O2 and Dil hoses, note the pressures and turn the tank valves off. Do some of your other checks like pos and neg loop then check pressures again to see if they have dropped and hence a leak. Its a check i have found useful in the past. I know you do not have a Kiss but on that CCR its a good check to see if the MAV is operating properly, not clogged and the 1st stage IP has not changed. I actually time the pressure drop to confirm it is the same as I would expect.
John
Hi John,
I appreciate the advice, however, that is an item currently on my checklist and I did succesfully perform that test when I assembled my equipment on Thursday evening.
As Tony indicated, the problem with my gauge was an unusual one! The guage appeared to be damaged in a way that allowed the face to rotate, so I acutally had much more gas than it appeared I had. Besides the slow leak during the dive, it only became visible when we depressurized the line and noticed the needle went WAY BELOW zero, which is something it did not do prior to the dive - Weird. I replaced the and I'm now good to go for tomorrow afternoon!
Fortunately, I dive often enough, practically every weekend, that a missed dive or two is not that big a deal. I also live approximately 5 minutes drive from Fill/Dive Rite Express, so going there to seek assistance with any problems with my Optima may have is no inconvenience.
I know it may sound silly, but I'm always happy when I have any type of problem underwater and I make it back to the surface! The way I look at it, problems can escalate and compound very quickly with a closed circuit rebreather, so when I have any type of problem, whether I terminate the dive and/or bailout, I'm happy my training taught me to deal with the problem in a safe an timely manner and successfully make it back to the surface!