Earth Day…..Our Green is Blue

Earth Image 1Earth Day….Go Green and save the planet. When the average person looks at this photo of the earth they more than likely see land masses or green but when we look at it we see blue and all of the water in the world that is just waiting for us to dive.

Earth Day is a perfect opportunity for us to remind and remember that all water on earth is connected.  From what we drink to what we dive in it is all vulnerable to damage at the hands of mankind.  In some parts of the world water is more valuable than gold.  We here in the USA are very fortunate to have unlimited supplies of fresh water available to us.  In fact we are so accustom to the seemingly never ending source that we don’t think much about dumping household chemicals into the storm sewers or flushing caustic solvents down the toilet. But we should……

Today is a good day to resolve to treat the water we have as the precious commodity it truly is.  We need fresh water to sustain life and only 1/3 of 1% of all of the water on this planet is fresh.  So let’s think twice about taking it for granted and accept stewardship of it, not just today but everyday.

Happy Diving!Aquatic Realm Logo k web

DIY: User Changeable Dive Computer Batteries

clockfaceSpring Forward…….here in the Midwest I don’t think you could find a larger mass of people so ready to welcome Spring.  It has been a long hard winter for most of us.  When we change our clocks by moving them forward we also change our smoke detector batteries and this got me thinking about the fact that most all of the dive computers today have user changeable batteries.  This is a great feature since we don’t have to send them back to the manufacturer any longer and wait weeks for their return.  Let’s face it most of us ignored the little battery symbol that told us it was weak or put off checking it until the day before the dive, so score one for the procrastinator with the advent of the user changeable battery.

We did some checking with our manufacturers about what we needed to know in order to make this process easy and successful and here are some of the tips that they passed on to us.

1.  Make sure you have clean hands before starting and try to be indoors in a climate controlled environment.

2.  Use a lint free cloth to avoid trapping fibers in the housing or O-rings.

3.  Most computers come with a special tool designed to remove the back safely.  Use that tool to avoid damaging the back or case.

4.  Always purchase a battery kit.  They come with the battery, grease and a new o-ring.  Don’t make the mistake of just changing the battery and lubricating the old o-ring and here’s why:  When you lubricate an o-ring it will absorb some of the grease, causing it to swell and fill the space thus helping to create a waterproof seal.  This process only works once so if you open the case to replace the battery you can’t re-lubricate the same o-ring. The o-ring is an integral part of the process so don’t try to cut corners and just pick up a new battery.  Every time you replace your battery, replace the o-ring.

5.  Carry a spare battery kit with you when you travel and if you have a wireless computer don’t forget the battery kit for the transmitter.  It is a small price to pay to save a dive whether you are half way around the world or just out at the quarry.

So come on Spring, we are ready our clocks are set and batteries are changed……..Let’s Go Diving!

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