Often I've seen divers use their gear in salt water and forget to rise it out till next use. Sometimes due to the climate and currents Trinidad and Tobago has we may not get to dive frequent and it is important to maintain our gear till next use.
Mask, Fins & Snorkels -
Before diving or leaving home you should always stretch out the rubber straps to inspect for fine cracks. They are most common in open heel fins and it can burst while used the equipment. Examine the silicone of the mask skirt, the flexible hose of your snorkel and the snorkels mouthpiece for any tears. This can become imperfect or irregular in shape with time and heavy use which leads to leaks. Finally check all the buckles which can split or become clogged with debris that can interfere with how they function.
After diving rinse your mask, fins and snorkel in warm fresh water and allow them to drip dry completely before packing them away. By doing this you would avoid mildew. Pack these items away loosely so nothing bends the fins blades or distorts the mask skirt as leaving these items squashed for a long period of time will cause them to take on an unnatural shape.
Regulators-
After diving rinse your regulator with fresh water by dunking the entire octopus and then running warm water through the regulator mouth piece and exhaust diaphragm. Rinse the fittings that connect to your BC by working the slip coupling black and fort while holding it under warm running water.
BC-
Check your BC inflator by connecting it to a regulator that is hooked to a tank and shoot burst of air into it. Listen for air leaking which would indicate a stuck inflator. Next inflate the BC till the pressure relief valve pops off and let the BC stand for about 20 minutes to see if it holds the pressure. Finally check the straps that hold the tank in place to make sure all functions work properly.
After diving always rinse your BC in fresh warm water. A tip is to add small amount of unscented shampoo to the barrel. Take your weights and let the BC soak underwater for about 30 minutes. Finally inflate the BC to about 40 % and let it air dry out of sunlight.
Wet Suit-
Before use check the stitching of the wet suit for any tears. After use, the suit can be hand washed in a tub of warm water. It is advised to use a wet suit shampoo available from any dive facility to prevent the suit from fading of breaking down the integrity of the rubber. Suits can also be washed in a machine with a hand wash cycle. take it out before the spin cycle and allow to drip dry.Speargun-
Before use inspect all rubbers. Check the spear and trigger by disconnecting it and reconnecting. Check the line attached to the spear for any cuts that may cause the spear to detach from the line.
When exiting the beach do not let the gun touch the sand as the particles can enter the trigger causing it to stick. After use rinse thoroughly
by removing spear and allowing water to filtrate through the trigger. Wash off line and rubber as leaving salt on the gun can cause dry rot. Remove rubbers and keep them in fridge till next use.
Thank you for taking your time to read my blog. Certain components of your equipment require annual inspection and service by a qualified technician. It's a mistake to assume that if you haven't used your equipment it doesn't require service. In fact, most technicians agree that rarely used equipment needs regular service more than equipment that sees more frequent use. Both your regulator and BC should be checked in accordance with the manufacturers recommendation, usually once a year.
Check out my last post on panicking https://divingintrinidad.blogspot.com/2018/04/know-when-someone-is-panicking.html
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