If you have a leak or freeflow from a regulator or hose then reach behind you and switch the valve it is connected to off. Do not spit out a freeflowing regulator, breathe from it while you shut the valve down. The remaining regulator still has access to the gas in both tanks. Often a regulator will freeflow because it has been ovebreathed, causing freeze up. After a while you can try opening the valve again but make sure the isolator is closed just in case.

If the problem is with a primary system (long hose regulator or wings inflation) then shut down the right valve. If it is with a back-up (back-up reg, drysuit hose or gauge) then shut-down the left. If you do not know which then close the isolator (giving you two independant bottles) and then work it out.

If the leak is from the manifold itself then close the isolator which gives you two independant bottles. Breathe from whichever side is leaking first. Check the gauge while breathing from the long hose, if the needle is moving then switch to the short hose because the leak is on the left, if it is not moving then stay with the the long hose, the leak is on the right.

Some say that the first reaction should be to close the isolator in all cases and then work out where the problem is. That way, even if you get it wrong, you have still saved half of your gas.

Return to Equipment Page

... I CAN LOSE ALL MY GAS!
True, if you do not know how to work the manifold properly. Learn and practice -- if you cannot reach then do not use it.

...I DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY TO TURN THE VALVES!
Very common. Traditionally we are taught to open a valve fully then give it a quarter turn back. If you grab the valve knob then it will turn either way.

Open the valve fully and leave it. When you grab the knob it will only turn in one direction, so you know that must be off.

... I CAN'T REACH THE MANIFOLD!
Adjust the harness and cylinders until you can. Very often you need to make the cylinders lower rather than higher to reach them. It sounds illogical but it works. Make sure the shoulder straps do not cross behind the neck too.

Try breathing out as you reach, it gives you an inch or two more stretch. Find the valve, pull it forward and feel for the valve knob. If you can do it once then you can do it every time. It should be easy, it should not take a huge amount of effort.

Also make sure you have enough air in your suit and avoid thick neoprene and heavy underclothes. Rear zips can reduce your range of movement too.

...I COULD USE A REMOTE ISOLATOR!
You use it because you cannot reach the isolator. There is an underlying problem here which you are avoiding. Reaching the valve does not take a special talent, everyone should be able to do it.

What happens if the remote control works free? How do you know it is actually turning the valve? Do not use them.

...I NEED ANOTHER GAUGE ON THE RIGHT IN CASE I NEED TO ISOLATE THE LEFT SIDE!
If you need to isolate or shut a valve down then the dive is over. If you are swimming to the surface then you do not need any gauges at all if you have followed good gas management.
 
 

First of all, you are actually breathing from the inflation hose, not rebreathing the gas inside the wing. Take the inflation unit, hold the mouthpiece to your lips, push the dump and inflate button together and breathe like a freeflowing regulator. Make sure you keep control of your buoyancy.

Return to Equipment Page
 
 

...I COULD JUST ATTACH AN AIR II OR SOMETHING!
These are notoriously unreliable. They freeflow very easily and most divers neglect their maintenance. Needing it is a million to one shot, why waste money on something full of failure points when it may never be used and a standard inflator unit does the job.
 

If your partner gives you an out of air signal:

- take the regulator from your mouth
- tilt your head forward
- hand the regulator over
- as your partner takes it, it will uncoil
- swap to your back-up
- make sure the hose is fully deployed and not trapped under the light

Be aware the receiver may simply grab the regulator without warning you!

If your are the one who is out of air then give a signal and take the regulator.

With the long hose, both divers can swim side by side or in a line. In a cave the receiver goes in front and the donor behind so that the donor can be watched.

Return to Equipment Page

My partner might bite too hard on the regulator and I will not be able to get it free!
Find a new partner? Or give the hose a tug from the side, it is very hard to resist force from that direction.
 

The only thing which should appear on the stage are the maximum operating depth of the gas which it contains and the owner. Mark the depth in the direction it runs. For example, EAN50 has a MOD of 21m. The stage would be painted with "21" (or "120" for those who use feet) orientated lengthways along the stage bottle, on opposite sides. The analyzed contents and date should be marked on a piece of tape somewhere out of the way.

The MOD should be marked in large, permanent black letters. NEVER use stickers, coloured regulators, coloured tape or any other means of identifying stage bottles.

Oxygen bottles should be marked with the word OXYGEN as well as the MOD.

Return to Equipment Page

How do I know what is in it?
You do not need to know underwater. You need to know what depth you can use it at and nothing else.

21 could be mistaken for 12 and 6 looks like 9 upside down!
There are standard gas mixes that should always be used. In that list, there is no gas which has a MOD of 12m. A gas with MOD of 9m would be EAN80, which also is never used.

Gases can be mixed for any specific depth. But when you standardize the gases which you use, and only ever use them and nothing else, you eliminate the confusion associated with working with mixed-gases.

For less than 40m: choose the right nitrox for the depth.
For 40m+ dives: up to 66m, use Trimix 18/35; up to 78m, use Trimix 16/40; after that mix for an equivalent narcotic depth of 30-40m and a ppO2 less than 1.4bar.

For decompression:
6m = oxygen
21m = EAN50
36m = EAN35

For deco stops deeper than this, use either the bottom gas or one of the above standard trimixes.

Air should be the last, if ever , choice.

Return to Equipment Page

EAN80 is safer to use than Oxygen!
EAN80 was introduced to compensate for divers with bad buoyancy control. If they cannot hold a 6m stop then they should not be doing decompression diving.

Oxygen provides the most efficient decompression on long dives.
 

Normally it is curled under the left arm and clipped on so that the diver just needs to glance down. Some people are trained to show their gauge to their dive buddy, so having it here enables this. The gauge can get in the way here and it is far better to clip it where it is out of the way. There is absolutely no need to show it to your partner, and curling it so tightly can make the hose tear.

It should be clipped to the d-ring on the left waist strap. To read it, reach down, unclip it, look at it and replace it. The gauge itself should have no boot and have the clip on an o-ring which will pull free if trapped.

Return to Equipment Page

It is a pain unclipping and clipping all the time!
How often will you have to do it? Not that often. Think about it.

My stage bottles will get in the way!
They do not. The gauge clip does not interfere with the stage bottle clips.
 

A flat d-ring will sit close against the harness making it difficult to clip anything to with just one hand. Take the d-ring, put it in a vice with the curved end sticking out and tap it with a hammer until it has a lip bent in it. The d-ring's tip will now stick out, making it easy to use.

Return to Equipment Page

Even a good quality wing can get punctured. Reinforce it by getting a tyre inner tube. cut about a third of it away. Now slice through the inside seam all the way around to leave a split in it. Wrap the wing with this piece of inner tubing.

Return to Equipment Page