How do you control ascent with a breathable power inflator?

[OyGevalt]

Hello All,

I am a newly certified diver and just purchased my first basic set of dive gear. Instead of an octopus, my BCD has a breathable gemini power inflator. My question is: If a situation occurs in which I find myself breathing off of my power inflator, how can I use it to control ascent? During training, we were taught to hold it above our heads and either inflate or deflate as needed, but this seems hard to do if it is in ones mouth.

Also, if I do need to put any air into my BCD can I take a breath at the same time?

Thanks ahead of time for responses!

[DivemasterDennis]

All of these things are possible without contortion. All you need to do is familiarize yourself with your new equipment. It is unlikely you will be breathing off your alternate air source low pressure inflator unless you are sharing air with another to whom you have donated your primary. In such an event, you will have likely dumped all you bcd air ( assuming you are not overweighted) prior to commencing you ascent. If not, you can still add/vent air while using the alternate air source. Practice in the pool or even in your living room. Ask you LDS, if you purchased it from them as opposed to online, to give you an orientation. You will do just fine.
DivemasterDennis

[rhwestfall]

yep - practice, practice, and practice. Just curious, does your BC have a "pull-to-dump"? As DD said, you should discuss it with your retailer and/or the person who certified you. You may catch a bunch of flack from some here about this type of system, but this is a fairly tried and reliable system. It is different from a "conventional" octo system. It is important to discuss the donation scenario pre-dive with your buddy as their gear and training may be different.....

[elan]

There should also be another dump valve or two on the shoulder or on the butt. You can use those to dump

[dumpsterDiver]

All of these things are possible without contortion. All you need to do is familiarize yourself with your new equipment. It is unlikely you will be breathing off your alternate air source low pressure inflator unless you are sharing air with another to whom you have donated your primary. In such an event, you will have likely dumped all you bcd air ( assuming you are not overweighted) prior to commencing you ascent. If not, you can still add/vent air while using the alternate air source. Practice in the pool or even in your living room. Ask you LDS, if you purchased it from them as opposed to online, to give you an orientation. You will do just fine.
DivemasterDennis

Where in the world do you come up with this stuffffffff????? You dump all the air from the BC, before an ascent??

You are unlikely to ever use the alternate inflator/reg unless you are sharing air with another diver???

The most common scuba failure is a freeflow. Many divers will choose NOT to breath from the free flowing reg and use an alternative reg.

As for the OP's original question, he needs to play with this gear in the pool. There is no way he will be confident using this gear in a real emergency based on some assurances from people on the internet. Yes you can dump air and breath, some people will want to remove the device from their mouth. Some people will say to use an alternative dump valve. Whatever method(s) are used, the diver needs to figure it out and practice it a bunch until it is second nature to them.. or they will be a hazard to themselves and others if they do not have the skills to operate their equipment.

Once he has it down in the pool, then it is not that big of a deal to practice ascent using the alternative reg for normal dives.. Just practice it a little on real dives and it will not be hard.

[sdiver68]

Just pull on the inflator hose, use the shoulder dump, assuming your BCD has 1. I use my shoulder dump almost exclusively, and I have an Octo but about to have an SS1.

[OyGevalt]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! :-)

Yes, it does have a dump valve.

I'm heading to my LDS next Saturday to practice in the pool (I need to pick up a new mask anyway. Mine is too high volume and I had a lot of trouble clearing it on my first dive trip)

[dumpsterDiver]

Just pull on the inflator hose, use the shoulder dump, assuming your BCD has 1. I use my shoulder dump almost exclusively, and I have an Octo but about to have an SS1.

That is sorta the problem, unless you have a neck that extends 12 inches at will, it is impossible (I think anyway) to have the device in your mouth and simultaneously utilize the pull dump device that is associated with the corregated hose. To use the pull dump on the inflater the device must be removed from the mouth.

[rhwestfall]

interestingly enough, DD, I have been able to hold the unit in my mouth and, by pushing away from me in the "loop/arc" formed, I can trigger the dump. I do hear some ptd's are "stiffer", and this may not be possible (I have had success with DACOR and DUI models).

I guess with the SP, it is all part of the system - the BC also has an independent PTD on the opposite shoulder (Classic series).

Not sure how his products/brands are configured, so for him it may be quite different.

In summary, yep, work it out with your instructor/LDS. And again, practice, practice, practice...

[Bob DBF]

That is sorta the problem, unless you have a neck that extends 12 inches at will, it is impossible (I think anyway) to have the device in your mouth and simultaneously utilize the pull dump device that is associated with the corregated hose. To use the pull dump on the inflater the device must be removed from the mouth.

The pull dump on my old BC with a Oceanic version of "air 2" has a a two peice hose with a hard plastic connector between them. A pull on the connector dumps the air leaving the reg in your mouth.

I've been thinking about moving it over to my BP/W since it worked well for me over the years on the jacket. I'd have done it by now but it will take some re-engineering to refit the wing.


Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.