Close call

[Mediterranean_diver]

I hate to be a negative vibe in the forum with all of you cool divers but I must tell you about the malfunction with my new equipment bought from scuba toys.

In July I bought the regulator package deal (Mares R2 Rebel Package) and when it arrived I went diving in the Bay of NaplesItaly to check it out. When I was at roughly 12 meters to my surprise I heard a blow out and a sudden gush of air escaping my tank. My air pressure gauge had blown out and I was losing air fast. Thankfully my dive buddy was close and he shared his air and turned off my air. He then went back down again and found the little pin inside the gauge and I put it back together again. The problem was because the end of the high pressure hose leading into the air gauge was not tightened. This caused it to blow out when I was diving. Thankfully I am alive and this is just some helpful advise.

When you receive new equipment that was checked and tested, check it again.

Hopefully Scuba toys can make this right?????

Otherwise I must say that I am very happy with this package and just the other day I was down at 41 meters without any problems with this gear.

[Charlotte Smith]

I ALWAYS check to see if my hoses are tight among many other things before a dive....no matter who has checked it out.

[Bigg_Budd]

Originally Posted by Charlotte Smith

I ALWAYS check to see if my hoses are tight among many other things before a dive....no matter who has checked it out.

Amen Sister. Especially new gear.

[Zenagirl]

Unfortunately, I had the same thing happen with my primary reg after ST serviced it last April. Was scary, but we managed the emergency.

I called and spoke with Joe and he made it right for me. Regardless, checking hoses for tightness is part of my pre-dive checklist now!

[TxScubaBear]

At AOW dive camp this past weekend, a couple of the guys there mentioned they check their hoses before each and every dive, that in itself was a valuable lesson.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Wow... Ok, I'm a little confused by all this... so help me out here. I never heard of this happening before... This happened to you in July? Did you contact us then? And if I'm to understand what happened, the gauge unscrewed itself from the hose and blew off? And the HP spool blew out? And it was draining the tank fast??

Just trying to figure out what happened - what could have caused it.

I know it's possible to have a brand new seat in a reg go bad.. and a reg free flow - but I've never heard of a gauge coming off...

Here's a picture of a different gauge when disassembled:



I assume yours was an Aeris in a Boot? 2 Gauge??

Shoot me a PM if you could with your name and info so I can look up the serial numbers on your units - or post out here so I can figure it out!

Thanks!

[Mediterranean_diver]

Larry,

Thanks for the picture, the little pin inside the air gauge as shown in the picture blew out when the end of the hose came apart. The threads were loose and when I turn the pressure gauge (that has a swivel) it blew out and came unscrewed. Hope this helps.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Originally Posted by Mediterranean_diver

Larry,

Thanks for the picture, the little pin inside the air gauge as shown in the picture blew out when the end of the hose came apart. The threads were loose and when I turn the pressure gauge (that has a swivel) it blew out and came unscrewed. Hope this helps.

Cool... was it an aeris gauge?? Can you PM me your info so I can look up the models and makes??

[Mediterranean_diver]

Larry,

The model is acually called tulsa and it was attached to the octopus with the serial number RI13436. Hope this is the info you need!!

[comet24]

Glad your buddy and you handled the emergency well. When ever you get a new piece of gear or one back from being serviced you should check to make sure everything is tight. I also check my gear after a flight before my first dive of that trip. I found my primary second stage was loose after a flight. Not sure if the flight had anything to do with it. But just a quick check saved me problems. I also keep an adjustable wrench and allen keys in my bag.