Sucking straight from the bottle

[lowviz]

Fun party trick but in reality, not really recommended.

Yes, pretty much that. I think that the original intent (value?) of this stunt has been lost.

It started out, as I was told by an old tech diver, as a way to reassure new recruits that you don't even need a primary reg to survive, just gas. Always gas.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I'm currently learning sidemount, and one of the advantages is that you can do pretty much whatever you want with your tanks. Switching first stages underwater, handing off a tank, or even breath directly from the tank valve, sans first stage. The latter I had a hard time believing, so I tried it earlier tonight in my exercise pool. No regulator, harness or BCD, justmy trusty HP 119 and me. And I was amazed how easy it was. Once I had the gas flow rate right, it was a breeze breathing straight from it and swimming with it. Who needs regulators, anyway? I suck, and I may even be good at it! But seriously, can you imagine any scenario where you would actually have to use this method? Good to know it works, though.

go sidemount.

 

[CptTightPants21]

But...but...but...

That's how the guy in the movie Sanctum got out of the cave!

(That's a spoller, I know--I may be the only one who actually watched that movie to the end.)

I actually liked Sanctum. Although would love to know what his PPO2 was on that "little swim"?

In Xanadu, did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree.....

 

[RJP]

kafkaland,

There is real hazard to breathing right off the tank, and I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it. That is pulmonary barotrauma, or air embolism; taking high pressure air into your mouth directly can fairly easily cause lung over-expansion,

Q1) What pressure is the gas at once it leaves the tank directly by way of the valve?

Q2) What pressure is the gas at once it leaves the tank by way of a first and then second stage regulator?

 

[kensuf]

I teach it in my AN/DP class as a "I hope you never need to do this, but just in case, I want you to have every possible tool in your tool belt."

Terrance Tysall had to use tank breathing during deco from his dive on the Edmund Fitz back in 95.

 

[tbone1004]

Ken, that's actually the only time when it is likely, if you are on a deco stop and you have a reg failure, it is quite nice to be able to bare tank your deco gasses instead of running up insane deco times using back gas.

 

[kensuf]

And that's why I introduce it only in AN/DP.

BTW -- the way I teach it, your mouth is not literally on the valve opening. I use your hand as an interface/buffer and you sip air through it.

 

[Sam Miller III]

"Bare tank breathing" aka Swimming and breathing from an open tank valve was an exercise that was introduced into the civilian diving training with the first civilian dive training program the Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors program in 1954. I have no way of verify it's origin but I suspect it came from the Scripps institution of Oceanography program established by the late Connie Limbaugh & Dr. Andy Rechnitzer. (FYI goggle theses names)

The procedure was to cup a free hand over the valve to capture and entrap air for breathing concurrently holding the bare tank in the other hand with the thumb controlling the flow of air while swimming two lengths of the pool. The exercise created a certain amount of confidence in dive training as well as identifying the true watermen, however I suspect it had very little adaptably in normal diving activities.

It must be recognized that the three months long very intense LA County program was created and presented for worst case scenarios as compared to modern programs which are based on best conditions and nominal diving activities .

And of course the program also required a one atmosphere (33 foot) D&R (or as later known as Doff & Don) as well as a 3 atmosphere (100 foot) free assent ...Oh the horror of it all...

In my association with the LA County program for three decades I am unaware of any barotrauma as a result of these dive training exercises. I also don't recall the life guards running up and down the beach with pitch forks picking up limp divers bodies as a result of these exercises.

SDM

 

[Akimbo]

It is improbable that "Bare tank breathing" described by Sam was ever necessary in a real emergency, but I don’t see that as the point of the exercise. That is one of many exercises including free ascents that results in a greater understanding of the “systems” and builds confidence — which helps to minimize the risk of panic.

Just as buddy breathing is likely academic in an actual emergency in a world engulfed by octos, it is most useful in building watermanship and buddy skills. The same is true of well-executed harassment dives. It was never about weeding out the “weaklings”, it is all about teaching survival skills and panic management.

 

[boulderjohn]

"Bare tank breathing" aka Swimming and breathing from an open tank valve was an exercise that was introduced into the civilian diving training with the first civilian dive training program the Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors program in 1954. I have no way of verify it's origin but I suspect it came from the Scripps institution of Oceanography program established by the late Connie Limbaugh & Dr. Andy Rechnitzer. (FYI goggle theses names)

I am sure you are right. According to a history of NAUI co-written by Al Tillman (NAUI #1), who originally directed the Loas Angeles program, when they created that program, they first went to Scripps to learn how to teach scuba.