Submersible Pressure Gauge: Your Underwater Life Meter
It’s almost like a video game.
Throughout your dive you glance occasionally at your submersible pressure gauge (SPG) and watch the needle going down. It probably never crossed your mind that while you’re beneath the waves, that little needle is your life meter.
If it hits zero before you surface: Game Over.
I’d argue that a submersible pressure gauge is the most important piece of equipment on a dive. In fact, I’m certain that a dive boat won’t let you in the water if they notice that there’s no submersible pressure gauge on your regulator set.
The reason is that if you dive without a submersible pressure gauge you’ll just have to guess when you need to surface. Guess wrong and it’ll be the last mistake you ever make.
Fortunately SPG's are comparatively inexpensive pieces of equipment.
For $150 or so you can get a submersible pressure gauges and a depth gauges wrapped in a high-durability plastic shell with a little compass thrown in as a little gimme.
Submersible pressure gauges are also incredibly durable. They have to be in order to put up with 3,000 psi (or just over 200 bar) of pressure.
Even so, there are a couple precautions you should take to make sure your underwater life meter stays in perfect working order.
First, don’t crank open your tank valve and let 3,000 pounds (200 bar) of pressure slam into your gauge.
If your submersible pressure gauge has a crack or a leak, that much pressure will turn your gauge into a mini bomb that’ll shoot parts all over the boat at dangerous speeds. Instead, hold your gauge down and away from you then slowly crack open your tank. That’ll allow the air to bleed slowly into your gauge rather than slam into it with explosive force.
Second, make sure your gauges are properly secured during your dives.
If you let your gauges dangle they’ll not only be harder to reach when you need to check your air, but they’ll also bang around on reefs, ledges, shipwrecks or whatever else might be in the area you’re diving.
Like I said before, these gauges are pretty darn durable but over time a little nick here and a little bang there can add up to a catastrophic failure.
Securing your gauges is real easy.
Securing your Submersible Pressure Gauge
Some gauges will come with a clip on them, but for those that don’t, just buy a brass clip and a couple of zip ties from your local dive shop and attach the clip to your gauges.
Now you can clip your gauges to a D-ring on your buoyancy compensator and you’re good to go.
Your SPG may be durable and inexpensive, but they’re also the most important piece of equipment that you carry. With a couple of simple precautions, you can make sure that your underwater life meter serves you well for years to come.
Talk to your local dive shop operator to see what kind of equipment they have available in your budget.
Fortunately SPG's are comparatively inexpensive pieces of equipment.