Kirby Morgan | Kirby 77 guide

Kirby Morgan 77

Make sure the emergency valve knob is turned off, otherwise the emergency gas supply will be used up without the diver’s knowledge. Once the emergency supply hose is connected, the tank valve is turned on to pressurize the hose. In the event of an emergency due to a loss of the main gas supply, the emergency valve knob located on the side block is turned on supplying gas to the side block assembly and the regulator.

An over-pressure relief valve must be installed on the first stage used for the Emergency Gas Supply.

WARNING

Never dive without an over pressure relief valve installed on the EGS regulator (1st stage). Without the relief valve if the EGS regulator develops an internal leak, or carries-away, the full pressure of the EGS cylinder would be placed on the low-pres- sure EGS hose and the Emergency Valve. This could cause the low-pressure hose to burst resulting in the complete loss of the EGS system.

WARNING

Never connect the main gas supply hose from the diving control station to the Emergency Gas valve assembly (EGS). If this is done there is no one way valve protection for the diver in the event of damage to the umbilical or related equip- ment. The diver could be exposed to a serious “squeeze”. This can result in serious personal injury or death.

There are risks with each method of configuring your bail-out system. There is a risk that if you have the bail-out bottle on and the emergency valve on the helmet closed, that the emergency gas could be lost if the hose or the first stage itself develops a leak. However, KMDSI believes that this method poses the least amount of risk for the diver.

Probably the most serious problem with any of the other possible configurations is that the first stage will almost certainly flood if it is not pressurized while you are underwater.

If the regulator floods and is not promptly serviced, it will not perform properly when you need it in an emergency. As a diver, you always must decide how much risk and what types of risk you are willing to expose yourself to when you dive. It’s up to each in- dividual to make an informed choice regarding how to configure your bail-out system. We cannot make this choice for you.

Always be sure to check the pressure in your bail-out bottle before you dive.

KMDSI strongly recommends the use of a submers- ible pressure gauge with every bail-out system. Not only does this make it very easy to check your emer- gency gas pressure prior to diving, it also allows you, in most cases, to periodically check the pressure in your system while you dive. In this way, if you have a leak, you will probably figure it out and will be able to take appropriate action.