sytech
Contributor
I get all the diving magazines and my favorite and in my opinion the most unbiased and authoritative one is "Undercurrent" because it accepts no advertising and is not beholden to any mfr. or agency to subsidize it's publication.
The January 2008 issue has an article called "Out of Air-Try your BCD" which is a fascinating and potentially lifesaving strategy.
You can go to undercurrent.org and see if you can access the article because some articles are available to non-members.
It basically explains that "as a last resort........if your tank is empty at depth you can get some air through your regulator as you ascend and whatever air remains in your tank expands. Once your tank is bone dry, you'll still have residual air in your BCD or at least in your inflator hose. If you added air with your power inflator it will contain 21 % oxygen. If you orally inflated your BCD it will still contain at least 16 % oxygen.............."
This technique is not without it's potential hazards and requires practice in order to master it but it sounds like it's good to know about in a life threatening situation.
Comments, amigos?
Sy
The January 2008 issue has an article called "Out of Air-Try your BCD" which is a fascinating and potentially lifesaving strategy.
You can go to undercurrent.org and see if you can access the article because some articles are available to non-members.
It basically explains that "as a last resort........if your tank is empty at depth you can get some air through your regulator as you ascend and whatever air remains in your tank expands. Once your tank is bone dry, you'll still have residual air in your BCD or at least in your inflator hose. If you added air with your power inflator it will contain 21 % oxygen. If you orally inflated your BCD it will still contain at least 16 % oxygen.............."
This technique is not without it's potential hazards and requires practice in order to master it but it sounds like it's good to know about in a life threatening situation.
Comments, amigos?
Sy