Scubapro S555 Pre-Dive oopps!

MsLoriLove · Dec 9, 2007

Greetings All-

This is my first post to the site as I am still in the very early stages of Scuba. I actually only completed my pool sessions last weekend and did my first short river dive yesterday. They called off the 60ft dive today due to winds here in sunny Florida. Which bumbed me out initially, but relieved me as the day and progressed.

Near the end of the dive yesterday, I felt as though it were just -a- bit difficult to breathe. But figured maybe it was just new, I was excited, cold, thirsty and the water was really salty. Not willing to believe I could be suffering from anything Scuba related, as we only went 15ft. Today I feel a tightness in my chest and began to review my reading material again.

Then it occured to me about the switch on my new regulator. I went and looked at it and sure enough I never did change from pre-dive to Dive yesterday. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar incident occur?

Thanks and warm regards,
Lori

Compressor · Dec 9, 2007

It can happen Lori.
As you gain more experience, you will remember to go thru a mental checklist and that will be one of them.

JahJahwarrior · Dec 9, 2007

For what it is worth, it is normal for it to feel a little hard to breathe. It's all in your mind and you will get over it

I always leave my Scubapro R380 in "predive" mode and i cannot tell much of a difference between the two when actually diving. I would not worry much about it at all, but it might give you more mental peace if you remember, which might help you feel like you are breathing better. Just don't panic: the reg will always give you air. If you need air, press the purge button and you'll have all the air you could ever want shoved down your throat

Good luck with the dives!

halocline · Dec 9, 2007

The dive/pre-dive adjustment has minimal noticable impact on the breathing quality of the reg; it controls a venturi effect in the reg to help reduce free-flows. I'm certain that your sensation of difficulty had nothing to do with the position of the venturi control.

It's really normal to exprience dry mouth and a dry throat when breathing scuba air, as all the moisture is taken out of the air before it goes in the tank. The tightness in your chest, to me, is maybe an indication of a little anxiety, and maybe some soreness from effort on your part during the dive. Those are just guesses, though!

As long as your reg is in good condition, I'm sure it will provide plenty of air regardless of the dive/pre dive knob setting.

Couv · Dec 9, 2007

MsLoriLove:
Greetings All-

This is my first post to the site as I am still in the very early stages of Scuba. I actually only completed my pool sessions last weekend and did my first short river dive yesterday. They called off the 60ft dive today due to winds here in sunny Florida. Which bumbed me out initially, but relieved me as the day and progressed.

Near the end of the dive yesterday, I felt as though it were just -a- bit difficult to breathe. But figured maybe it was just new, I was excited, cold, thirsty and the water was really salty. Not willing to believe I could be suffering from anything Scuba related, as we only went 15ft. Today I feel a tightness in my chest and began to review my reading material again.

Then it occured to me about the switch on my new regulator. I went and looked at it and sure enough I never did change from pre-dive to Dive yesterday. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar incident occur?

Thanks and warm regards,
Lori

Hello Lori,

Welcome to Scuba Board.

I am interested to know if this is your regulator or a rental? Sometimes rentals are detuned to prevent free flow so the customer will not complain. Add this to the fact that the selector was not set to Dive and as others mentioned a bit of "check out dive" anxiety and you may have found the problem.....however, I am not a doctor and do not play one on TV.

How do you feel now after a post 1st dive champagne?

MsLoriLove · Dec 10, 2007

Hello Couv-

~~curtsy~~Thanks for the warm welcome.
It is my regulator. I decided to buy my own new gear, so I will be inclined to dive regularly. Additionally, not such a big fan of sharing bodily fluids within the whole rental process...lol
I do know that I had almost 2100psi when I was done and the other divers had around 1500psi and I'm sure I was breathing

Today I feel fine! Looking forward to completing the certification process with my 1st real O W Dive.

Happy Monday!

Couv · Dec 10, 2007

Hello Lori,

Glad to hear you are again "up and at um" and that you have your training completion in sight.
Good luck to you today and please let us know how everything went. Tell your instructor that you found out from a reliable source that champagne is part of the post-class, liquid decompression requirement.

couv

paulwlee · Dec 10, 2007

mattboy:
The dive/pre-dive adjustment has minimal noticable impact on the breathing quality of the reg; it controls a venturi effect in the reg to help reduce free-flows. I'm certain that your sensation of difficulty had nothing to do with the position of the venturi control.

Controlling the venturi effect does have an impact, as it's the venturi effect that helps in maintaining gas flow once it starts.
The dive/predive switch will not have an effect on cracking effort, i.e. the suction you need to apply to get the regulator to start providing gas, but it will have an effect once you start inhaling, and it is subtly noticeable. You won't have any trouble breathing with the switch at the predive position, mind you, but it just means you aren't getting the most out of your regulator either.

Now whether this had anything to do with the original poster's difficulties, it's hard to say. But even if other factors were involved, a lower breathing effort from the proper switch position (even if it's not noticeable at other times) may make a big difference.
Think of breathing through a tube. Sitting on a couch, you won't notice it's harder, but if you do the same thing while running around the block you'll notice.

Scubapro S555 Pre-Dive oopps!

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