Using exhale breath for BC buoyancy

[captain]

Many of the first BC's were oral inflation only, not a difficult skill to learn or do. I have an oral inflation only BC for vintage diving. Does it save gas, not much if your buoyancy skills are good.

 

[Web Monkey]

Obviously when you refine and maintain your buoyancy skills, the amount of air you use in your BC becomes reduced, especially at depth.

So I'm curious if any of the board vets here ever use exhaled breath for BC adjustments or think it's not worth the effort. I can see using it in an exigent situation (e.g. after a CESA or running low/out of tank air on the surface). But I've practiced using exhaled breath even underwater to make minor BC adjustments, mainly to have the skill. But I'm curious if it's worth the trouble. Sure it saves air but how much?

I do it periodically for practice, but I'd be surprised if it saves any air, especially since you now have to purge your second stage before you can use it again.

In any case, it's nice practice. There are too many divers out there that get anxious at the thought of pulling out their second stage, so anything that gets a little extra practice in is a good thing.

Terry

 

[captain]

I do it periodically for practice, but I'd be surprised if it saves any air, especially since you now have to purge your second stage before you can use it again.

In any case, it's nice practice. There are too many divers out there that get anxious at the thought of pulling out their second stage, so anything that gets a little extra practice in is a good thing.

Terry


Terry

If I can do it with a two hose regulator and no purge button a caveman can do it with a single hose and a purge buttion.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I have a dive buddy that does this nearly every time she needs more air in the BC. If you learn to control the ammount of exhalation (not all of it) no second stage purge is required.

I am of the opinion PADI standards could be interpreted to make the entire OW dive #3 mandatory oral buoyancy.

 

[Deac in the Wake]

I guess my perspective is one of trying to save as much tank air as possible. And as has been stated, it seems like a skillset which may have its place.

 

[Peter Guy]

My DM instructor has a standard practice of always inflating his BC orally prior to entering the water. This is just for the purpose of practicing oral inflation.

Re taking your reg out -- why not? What's the big deal with taking your reg out of your mouth while under water? Don't your teeth itch sometimes and need scratching?

 

[fnfalman]

Sometimes just for the heck of it, I'd exhale into my BC.

Do whatever you wanna do. It ain't like the PADI Police is out there patrolling the deep looking to write you a ticket.

But seriously, the saved air is so miniscule that it means nothing unless you're one of those people that haven't gotten yourself properly weighted and keep popping up and down all the time, thus using up a lot of air for buoyancy.

 

[TSandM]

I do think people ought to be quite comfortable without a reg in their mouth. I know, as a new diver, I wasn't, and I rushed through any practice that involved taking the reg out. With time, that's changed, and I think it's important because, should anything REMOVE the regulator from your mouth, staying calm and finding it, or finding your backup, is an important skill. Losing a regulator never killed anybody who stayed calm, but I remember a story about one of Rick Inman's buddies who lost his reg, panicked and bolting from depth -- Now THAT can kill you!

 

[DaleC]

Don't your teeth itch sometimes and need scratching?

 

[Guy Alcala]

I do think people ought to be quite comfortable without a reg in their mouth. I know, as a new diver, I wasn't, and I rushed through any practice that involved taking the reg out. With time, that's changed, and I think it's important because, should anything REMOVE the regulator from your mouth, staying calm and finding it, or finding your backup, is an important skill. Losing a regulator never killed anybody who stayed calm, but I remember a story about one of Rick Inman's buddies who lost his reg, panicked and bolting from depth -- Now THAT can kill you!

I take it that you'd never done any swimming or free-diving before you got certified? I confess, having learned to swim at an early age (and immediately dived down to the bottom of the pool so I could check out the drain), I find the number of new divers who are worried about removing their mask and/or reg underwater to be surprising. Is it that common for most divers to have little/no experience swimming with their face in the water?

Guy