Vent: Almost got the bends because of a bad hose check

Was doing a gig in Norfolk last month on a salvage job, 60 feet down for about 45 minutes. Felt fine coming up, but my buddy noticed my umbilical had a tiny kink near the manifold that I missed before splash. That kink was messing with my gas mix without me knowing. The shop supervisor chewed me out saying I should always do a full hose pressure test before every dive, not just a visual. Now I spend an extra 10 minutes checking fittings and flow rates. Anyone else skip the pre-dive hose test and get lucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_reed14d ago

Skip the test, roll the dice. Not worth it man.

seanjohnson14d ago

My buddy Mike out of the Gulf had a close call like this last year. He was running a survey job off Louisiana, only 40 feet down for maybe 20 minutes, but his hose had a tiny pinch near the valve block that he didn't catch. He said he felt fine but his computer warned him about a sudden mix change, and when he surfaced his tank showed an 18% oxygen drop from what he thought he had. Now he does a full pressure check every time, even on quick shallow dives, and he says it's annoying but beats having to hit the chamber.