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Warning: Check your dry suit valve before deep dives, mine failed at 110 feet
Two weeks ago I was doing a wreck dive off Morehead City, North Carolina and my exhaust valve started free-flowing around 110 feet. Air was just pouring out of my suit, I was dumping way too fast and could feel the squeeze coming on. I tried to close it with my hand but the spring had obviously given out, so I had to abort the whole dive and do a controlled emergency ascent. By the time I hit 30 feet I was basically swimming in my own suit, it was that baggy. Cost me $180 for a new valve from the shop in Beaufort, and honestly that's cheap compared to what could have happened. Anyone else ever had a valve fail mid-dive, and do you carry a spare on the boat now? I'm thinking about getting one of those universal emergency valves to keep in my kit bag.
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umar4928d ago
Did you actually test the valve before the dive, or was this one of those things that just happened and you're blaming the gear? I've been diving out of Beaufort for 15 years and I've never had a valve fail on me, even on the old gear. Sounds more like bad luck than a pattern, and $180 for a new valve is pretty standard maintenance, not some huge crisis. If you're that worried, sure, carry a spare, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. Most failures I've seen are from people who don't rinse their gear after every trip.
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