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Diving Safety, Accidents and Incidents Post here to discuss accidents, incidents, ideas, gear, or anything else to improve spearfishing safety. Memorials and condolences threads should be placed in that separate forum.

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Old 08-06-2017, 05:03 PM   #16
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

Dan.. do you often dive in strong current? It seems like I'm always in 2 knot current.. which makes me hesitant to adding another item bc of some rather tough swims down. Especially now that lobster season is in.. and I'm toting a lobster bag AKA dive sail.
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Old 08-06-2017, 05:35 PM   #17
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

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Dan.. do you often dive in strong current? It seems like I'm always in 2 knot current.. which makes me hesitant to adding another item bc of some rather tough swims down. Especially now that lobster season is in.. and I'm toting a lobster bag AKA dive sail.
Yeah, more than I like. A small pony has got to increase the amount of current force you have on you but if its tucked in and tight, it isn't too bad. I totally get where you're coming from. Maybe borrow one and give it a whirl before buying one?
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Old 08-06-2017, 10:04 PM   #18
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

Wow - Glad you made it jfjf. Thanks to you and Tony, I never dive without a 19cf pony. Like life insurance - you hope you never need it, but when you do, nothing else will get you home.
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Old 08-06-2017, 10:27 PM   #19
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

WOW!

I agree with everyone above. I dive with a pony bottle every single dive even shallow dives. Bad stuff just happens down there.

Jim, nice job keeping the ascent controlled !!
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Old 08-07-2017, 03:41 PM   #20
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

Yes I see many spearos buddy diving without redundancy and they are both actively spearing fish , which makes for a bad buddy.
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Old 08-07-2017, 04:39 PM   #21
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

Damn Jim, glad your OK.
I always dive with a 13pony in anything deeper than 60 feet and always dive solo....guess I will now carry it all the time.
Mega, mine straps tight to my tank next to my backplate so if it adds drag damn if I notice it. The spare reg and hose probably add more resistance than the small tank. LOL
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Old 08-07-2017, 08:22 PM   #22
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

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Damn Jim, glad your OK.
I always dive with a 13pony in anything deeper than 60 feet and always dive solo....guess I will now carry it all the time.
Mega, mine straps tight to my tank next to my backplate so if it adds drag damn if I notice it. The spare reg and hose probably add more resistance than the small tank. LOL
Exactly. I don't even dive a BC because I'm so concerned about drag/streamlining. I still remember how eye opening it was the day I ditched the bladder and went with just the backpack/plate. Then I got rid of all but two D-rings, down to two hoses, etc. Got rid of ditchable weight pockets and use a rubber freediving belt with hard weights. Now I glide through the water effortlessly, exerting myself much less than my fellow divers. I use less air, I stalk fish better bc of a lower profile when going belly-to-the-sand, and above all else.. I don't get the shit kicked out of me by current. Not exerting against the current also keeps me from getting narced, as tough swims against hard current make me get much more narced.

So.. I've basically gone all-in on being as Minimalist as possible, and adding a pony, reg and hose flies in the face of that logic. Sure it's not much, but it adds up. Every piece adds up. Every time you add another piece of 'just in case' gear.. it hurts your streamlining. I don't dive a knife, octo, dive alert, and a bunch of other things people feel are mandatory. I also know/have planned exactly what I'd do in pretty much all situations too. The only thing I can't control/plan for is some type of critical regulator failure that doesn't result in a freeflow, but stops breathing instead. Hence, my interest in this thread.

FWIW.. I do take two safety sausages with me and consider them mandatory. One for me, one for my stringer/to signal the boat when I start deco. These also double as positive bouyancy when I need lift, like full lobster bags which are negatively buoyant.
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Old 08-08-2017, 07:29 PM   #23
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

If the video doesn't convince you of the benefit of a pony bottle (and a BC) - I'm not sure what else there is.

Streamlining is nice but I have pretty much given up on that and carry surface marker buoys, light, often a primary and spare knife, sometimes a lobster bag, pole spear, speargun and sometimes a freaking lionfish collection tube, so the BC and pony seem minimal.
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Old 08-09-2017, 06:13 AM   #24
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

jfjf, is sucking straight out of the cylinder the only thing you could have done w/o the pony? who can swing their tank fast enough on an exhale preceded by a poop your suit explosion?
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Old 08-09-2017, 06:27 AM   #25
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

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jfjf, is sucking straight out of the cylinder the only thing you could have done w/o the pony? who can swing their tank fast enough on an exhale preceded by a poop your suit explosion?
I don't think I have ever practiced that and I doubt I could have done that in a real situation. Probably that would be the best solution, but I would have followed my instincts and tried to shoot to the surface ASAP if i had no buddy or pony bottle.

As mentioned. my very first reaction was to press the up button on the BC and try to get the ascent started and avoid exertion or kicking hard. I did this without even thinking about what might have failed.

I have used a pony for a long time, so my responses should be based on relying on it. If plan B (the pony) had failed on the bottom, I, in all honesty, probably would have completely panicked and just shot for the surface riding the buoyant BC and who knows if I would have arrived conscious or not.
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Old 08-09-2017, 07:38 PM   #26
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

Do not re install a used diaphragm ever. Once they are compressed in assembly then disassembled they stand a good chance of doing just this. Having a diaphragm of the correct thickness and material is sort of a big deal.
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Old 08-10-2017, 05:42 AM   #27
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

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Do not re install a used diaphragm ever. Once they are compressed in assembly then disassembled they stand a good chance of doing just this. Having a diaphragm of the correct thickness and material is sort of a big deal.
Not sure that was the situation, supposedly the reg was overhauled 2 years ago and was not opened up since. So a simple examination of the "guts" of the first stage requires a subsequent rebuild for those regulators?
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:45 AM   #28
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

If the clamp ring that compresses the diaphragm is removed the diaphram will not be securely crushed in place by the clamp ring when the reg is reassembled.
The deeper you dive the more likely a reused diaphram is to get loose from under the clamping ring. Especially if the reg is not pressurized before the clamp ring is tightened.
Apecks and Zeagle diaphragms look the same but are different hardness and are not interchangeable. One is black and the other gray. I don't remember which is which. I'm retired.
When I was servicing problem regulators returned to Zeagle in Zephyrhills by other dealers, it was not uncommon to find air volume pushing up from under the diaphram, bulging up the center of the diaphram, reused diaphragms or incorrect diaphragms installed in Zeagle regs.
The big problem with a hobbyist servicing his own gear is he doesn't know what he doesn't know. Correctly trained experienced service technicians with the right tools and correct parts get no respect.
The service interval recommendations on those diaphram regulators used to be one year I believe.
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:52 AM   #29
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

I need to correct my self before somebody else does. It is the environmental diaphram that needs to be clamped after the reg is preasurized, not the pressure diaphram. This feature was designed for cold water/ ice use but we solld a million of them here.
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:59 AM   #30
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Re: Zeagle Regulator Blows at 180 ft

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Not sure that was the situation, supposedly the reg was overhauled 2 years ago and was not opened up since. So a simple examination of the "guts" of the first stage requires a subsequent rebuild for those regulators?
It requires a new diaphram and a reset of the intermediate / "over bottom" pressure, absolutely.
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