Had my drysuit inlet valve fail at 60 feet off the coast of San Diego last Tuesday

I was doing a routine hull inspection on a tugboat, about 15 minutes into the dive, when I felt this weird cold trickle down my back. At first I thought it was just sweat (you know, the usual), but then the trickle turned into a steady stream of 58-degree water. I had to abort the dive and do a slow controlled ascent while trying not to panic, which is easier said than done when you're getting cold fast. The valve itself was only 3 years old, but the rubber gasket inside had just rotted out, which I guess is a thing that happens. I've already ordered a replacement kit from DUI, but has anyone else had a similar failure on a Si-Tech valve?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicec8613d ago

3 years is nothing for a Si-Tech valve, those things usually last way longer unless you're absolutely abusing them (like not rinsing after salt water or leaving them in direct sun). I'd look closer at how you stored that drysuit between dives, because rubber rotting out that fast is a maintenance issue, not a design flaw. Also, a slow controlled ascent from 60 feet with a trickle of water? That's barely an emergency compared to what could go wrong down there, seems like you had plenty of time to handle it. The panic part is real obviously but the valve failure itself isn't some huge deal, just a nuisance. Check your suit's storage and maybe invest in a simple valve cap for transport, keeps the gaskets from drying out weird.

the_drew12d ago

Funny you mention the storage thing because my buddy Dave had almost the exact same problem. He was all about rinsing his suit after every dive, but he kept his gear in a hot garage in Florida. Three years in and the neck seal just crumbled on a dive. We were at Rainbow River doing a gentle drift and suddenly he's getting a cold trickle down his back. He didn't panic but it was that rubber that was the culprit, not the valve itself. Turns out the UV coming through the garage window was cooking the rubber even through the bag he had it in. He moved everything to a closet in the house and his replacement has been going strong for like five years now. So yeah, that's my cautionary tale about storage being way more important than people think.