Figured out my drysuit inflation valve was freezing shut after 3 dives in 38 degree water

Spent almost two hours troubleshooting why my suit kept losing buoyancy on a wreck dive off Port Townsend. Was cussing my dump valve, checking hoses, the whole deal. Turns out a tiny bit of moisture in the inflator mechanism was icing up at depth. Buddy finally pointed it out after I surfaced shivering. Anyone else run into this on cold water hits?

2 comments

2 Comments

casey_harris1mo ago

Been there with ice forming on my inflator in Puget Sound, except it was actually a small chunk of ice from my tank boot that fell into the mechanism.

grant_allen851mo ago

Hey @casey_harris, that sounds like a real pain to deal with underwater, man.