Had a close call at the Port of Seattle last month that changed my pre-dive checks

I was doing a routine hull inspection on a container ship when my dry suit inflator valve stuck open. I started to rise fast and had to dump air quick from my exhaust valve to stop an uncontrolled ascent. Turns out a tiny bit of sediment got in the valve from not rinsing my gear after a muddy harbor job. I was at 30 feet and it took me about 10 seconds to react. Now I spend an extra 5 minutes flushing every valve with fresh water before a site dive. Has anyone else had a valve failure like this from grit or debris?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlie26913d ago

Yeah I used to think rinsing was optional if my gear looked clean, but that close call changed everything. I had the opposite problem once, a dump valve got jammed open with sand and I kept leaking air until I surfaced like a cork. Now I blast every valve with a hose specifically after muddy or silty dives, not just a dunk in a bucket. It's crazy how a little grit can make your gear act totally different underwater.

ryan_flores13d ago

and honestly that's the kind of thing that sticks with you. I've had a similar scare with a dry suit valve getting crusty from saltwater, not sediment, but it freaked me out enough that I now treat every valve like it's made of glass. Tbh I think a lot of divers don't realize how quick a stuck inflator can turn a normal dive into a full emergency. I started keeping a spare inflator hose in my kit after that, just in case, and I rinse every port with a little spray bottle of fresh water before I even touch the tank. It adds like two minutes to my setup but it beats having to dump air at 30 feet.