new trick for valve management

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Originally Posted by zlyrack

It seems to me that if a person's first response is . . .

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In any gas emergency, my first response would be to get on my reserve gas (if solo, a buddy bottle; if buddy diving, his/her long hose), start exiting, and then fool around with solving the problem while exiting. If you've been following the rule of thirds, solving the problem isn't mandatory.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zlyrack

Hi, I'm just curious... I've noticed that several people have stated that they think the best solution to this problem is simply to isolate. I would think that it would be better to take the time to practice closing and opening your valves until it becomes second nature. Perhaps, make it part of your end-dive routine until it becomes automatic. It seems to me that if a person's first response is just to isolate, then you would be willingly throwing away up to half of your remaining gas. I suppose this would not be a problem if the exit went without incident. However, I don't think I would be comfortable with that just in case any other issues were to arise. I am a fairly novice cave diver so I could be way off base. Any opinions / advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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You just have to take it further. You isolate first to ensure you have saved at least half your gas, which will be enough to get you back out unless you are at the very end of your third. Anyway, you isolate first, then identify and solve the problem, so unless its a neck o-ring or isolator o-ring you will regain access to the gas in both tanks after you shutdown the offending reg.

Ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the info!