At what point do you turn the dive??

[adam0321]

So I have been to the classes, but I am not a gas blender. Today I was diving and noticed a funny taste in the gas, almost like an oily taste. I checked the gas befor ethe dive and they read right at 32% o2. I felt fine but still turned the dive after I noticed the funny taste. My question is, at what point do you folks ignore a "funny" taste?

[rotor60driver]

Never! Why would you ever ignore something that didn't seem right? This goes for any type of diving, but especially in the overhead.

[Diverlee]

I have turned a few dives due to funny taste. Better safe then dead. I wouldn't enjoy the dive wondering if I was going to die any minute.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Read this thread, it'll scare the **** out of you http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46914

Turn the dive if you have any thoughts that the gas is tainted.

[K Mejean]

As soon as I taste something funny I'm turning it. Like the others have said..... better safe than dead.

[Rlawrence]

So I have been to the classes, but I am not a gas blender. Today I was diving and noticed a funny taste in the gas, almost like an oily taste. I checked the gas befor ethe dive and they read right at 32% o2. I felt fine but still turned the dive after I noticed the funny taste. My question is, at what point do you folks ignore a "funny" taste?

Turn the dive immediately. If you can taste your gas, somethings wrong. Might not be a bad idea to look in the tank either. Better to be safe than sorry.

[loquat149]

I turned a dive early during descent off Puerto Rico while conducting a science dive in the late 1980's. My gas had an oily taste and I figured it might be my last. I signaled my two buddies I was heading back and they continued down to about 60'. On the boat was our new DSO, who previously worked as a Russian commercial diver. I couldn't taste the oil on the surface, but had no trouble at depth. He interrogated me later and questioned my experience and diving competency. The ******, he probably filled the cylinder while one of the field station's trucks was running nearby.

I gotta say, after getting into tech diving I'm not all that impressed with "science" divers. I was diving off the M/V Spree in the Dry Tortugas a few years ago with some NOAA divers. On two separate occasions I thumbed a dive on gas, which my buddy acknowledged by wagging his finger "no". Funny, I've never seen those signals exchanged in a cave.

Dave

[chrispete]

I ignored a "funny" taste in my gas on a dive once and never since. I knew that something was a bit off while descending from the taste of the air but decided to ignore it. After a few minutes at 120-130' I started having visual & auditory disturbances, tongue/throat went numb, etc. Thankfully it was an OW dive and I had a very familiar buddy + had a buddy bottle on me. I checked the tank after getting to the surface and smelled a very strong chemical odor in the air. Come to find out the guy I borrowed the tank from had used LocTite to make sure that pesky dip tube wouldn't unscrew itself ever again and then immediately filled the tank - I did the first dive on the tank. We had a very serious discussion about it when I returned the tank.

I should have checked the tank prior to the dive and never hit the water.

[benjamin]

Never ignore anything that seems to be wrong. A few months ago I was on a solo dive, the gas in both tanks read the same and were filled from the same station. When I switched from my right tank to my left tank it tasted different and I felt clouded after about a minute. I got back on my right tank and everything cleared up and I felt better. I exited on right tank with no problems. I checked the gas on both tanks when I got out of the water and the both read the same. I went ahead and broke down both tanks and found the left tank was contaminated. I cleaned both tanks and have had no problems since. As others have wisely said, better safe than dead. Live to dive another day.

[scububa]

...Today I was diving and noticed a funny taste in the gas, almost like an oily taste. I checked the gas befor ethe dive and they read right at 32% o2. I felt fine but still turned the dive after I noticed the funny taste. My question is, at what point do you folks ignore a "funny" taste?

...I was on a solo dive, the gas in both tanks read the same and were filled from the same station. When I switched from my right tank to my left tank it tasted different and I felt clouded after about a minute. I got back on my right tank and everything cleared up and I felt better. I exited on right tank with no problems. I checked the gas on both tanks when I got out of the water and the both read the same. I went ahead and broke down both tanks and found the left tank was contaminated. ...

@ben - What were they contaminated with?

@adam - Have you followed up with your tanks?

I would assume dumping, visual, and cleaning would be minimum. Does anyone have any other analysis done, esp. if the source of gas is suspected?