In our December e-mail to subscribers, we asked if
any had experienced equipment problems they cared to
share. The old bugaboo - - the power inflator that sticks,
leading to constant BCD inflation and excessive buoyancy
- - reared its head again.
Ken L, who has made 62 dives, said, “I had my inflator
stick at the bottom of a fairly deep dive, but I kept
my head, held onto a rock, had to pull it to stop and
exhausted extra air in my BC. It was an Aeris standard
inflator and either the spring isn’t strong enough to pop
it back out when using it or cleaning it is too difficult.
At any rate, I purchased an inflator/regulator combo
with much better controls and, in the process, eliminated
a hose.”
Tim Pinkerton (Calgary, AB) explained his problem
and the solution - - disconnecting the inflator. However,
a diver can also flare - - spread his arms and legs and
position himself perpendicular to the surface - - to slow
his ascent.
“After 33 years of diving, we are all bound to have
experienced some sort of equipment failure. While I am
meticulous in ensuring that my gear is ‘well’ serviced,
I have encountered numerous occasions where my gear
may not have performed as it should have. The latest,
however, has to do with a stuck inflator. Inflators stick
and more than once. On this particular occasion, however,
while diving in Utila two yeas ago, my Halcyon
inflator stuck. The solution is, of course, a simple one:
simply disconnect the inflator and orally inflate the
BCD. Regretably, this problem occurred during a night
dive. During the course of my attempts to resolve the problem by disconnecting the inflator, a new diver
(Sweet Sue), unaware of my presence, kicked my mask
off. Fortunately, it settled on a sandy bottom in 50 feet
of water. With some joint effort with my dive buddy (my
wife), we located the mask and completed a lovely armin-
arm dive.
“Once I was topside, I simply replaced the inflator
with a replacement inflator from my save-a-dive kit. Yes,
granted mine is a little more comprehensive than most.
However, I had the same recurring issue toward the end
of this vacation. When I returned home, I learned that
this particular stainless steel inflator had been recalled.
Now, I should have probably solved the inflator problem
prior to the trip. Just prior to this warm-water destination,
I went ice diving and experienced a similar issue. I
chalked this event to just a frozen inflator, but it did give
the opportunity to have a great view of the ice with my
face pressed nicely against it -- including the buddy that
I took up with me.
“Had I spoken with my dive shop at that time, they
may have been aware of the recall recently issued on
the inflator. Alternatively, I could have searched the
Internet, as it was eventually posted there. The point
of this particular story is if you suspect a gear problem,
there probably is one, so talk to your local dive shop and
do some research of your own - - you may learn something
not even your dive shop is yet aware of. I should
add that it was a model Halcyon had recalled, and they
were quick to replace both inflators that I had. They also
had the recall posted promptly on their home page upon
learning of the design error.”