How to Set Up Dive Gear
Before every dive, scuba divers must take charge of their own scuba gear and set it up themselves. To do otherwise is to put your life into the hands of another, since it won't be them who pays for an oversight in 100 feet of water. Setting up scuba gear is something every diver thoroughly learns in Open Water training, but casual scuba divers might experience intervals of one or more years between dive trips. For such divers, a refresher on scuba gear set-up is necessary.
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Instructions
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1
Wrap the backstrap of the buoyancy control device (BCD) around the air cylinder, but keep it loose. Raise the BCD to a point where the back of the BCD's collar is on the same level as the bottom of the air cylinder's valve nozzle. Hold the BCD in place, tighten the backstrap, and close the backstrap's clasp.
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2
Lift up the BCD and air cylinder a few inches off the ground and give both a hard shaking. This checks that the backstrap has a good, tight grip on the air cylinder. If you see any slippage, do Step 1 over again.
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3
Unscrew the clamp on the yoke valve of your regulator, remove the dust cap, and place the valve over its mate on the air cylinder. Screw the clamp on the regulator back into place. If you have a DIN valve regulator and tank, set the regulator valve into its mate on the tank and turn the rotating wheel on the valve to screw it into place.
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4
Attach the BCD hose to the inflator/deflator assembly on the BCD. This is the hose ending with a stainless steel nozzle and locking collar. Pull back on the hose's locking collar, fit the two nozzles together, and release the locking collar. The two parts should snap together.
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5
Hold the air gauge console away from you and open the air cylinder's valve by turning the cylinder's knob. You hold the air gauge away from you as a safety measure, in case a malfunction causes the gauge to explode and sends shards of glass flying.
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6
Check both of the secondary stages, or mouthpieces, attached to the regulator by pressing the purge valve buttons on the front or taking a couple of breaths from them. Also check the inflator on the BCD by pressing that button, and then release the air either through the deflator or one of the emergency dump valves on the BCD.
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7
Close the air cylinder's valve and lay the air cylinder, with its assembled gear, down on its side until it is ready for transfer to the dive boat or it is time to suit up for a shore dive. This is a safety measure that prevents someone from accidentally knocking the cylinder and your gear over.
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Tips & Warnings
Yoke and DIN valves for scuba equipment are distinct and not compatible without an adapter. The DIN valve on an air cylinder is identifiable through its deeply recessed opening, with the DIN regulator's valve is essentially a threaded telescoping tube that is screwed into place by turning the aforementioned wheel. A yoke air cylinder's valve has a telltale o-ring, and the yoke valve is easily identified because it looks like a clamp with a large opening in the center for the air cylinder's valve.
References
- Photo Credit scuba diver entering the water image by starush from Fotolia.com
