Mechanical means of clearing a snorkel

[Jonny Rad]

Hi
my names Jonny Red ( it really is! )
I know this has probably been covered before but I see no reason why not to revisit it.
The conventional means of clearing a swamped snorkel is by blowing out the intruded water either directly or via the one way valve. But in a choppy sea ( yes I know don't go out ) what you cant spare is breath you have only a limited amount - fail and you could possibly drown depending on conditions and your personal swimming capabilities. BUT what you do have is a load of spare mechanical energy, why not utilize this?
For example ( and it's only an example I'm sure you can devise alternative methods yourself ) imagine a disc held direct above snorkel input but at a distance. Now when you start to get water input, grasp the snorkel firmly with one hand and pull on either a rod (for straight snorkels ) or a cord ( for the more common curved ones ) there will be a distance covered before the disc engages the snorkel entrance this is utilized for the rod/cord to engage a flap cutting of the mouthpiece from the following process. As the rod/cord is drawn quickly down to its end point, close to the conventional one way valve, water will be driven out through this valve and the snorkel replenished with air. On releasing the rod/cord a return spring will take the disc back to its original position and at the final stage removing the blocking flap to mouthpiece, the disc will of course act as a one way valve to prevent a vacuum forming behind it.
Note this may have to be repeated AND IN THE EVENT OF FAILURE THE SNORKEI IS FREE TO BE CLEARED IN THE USUAL MANNER.

 

[MartinL74]

...or you just breathe from your regulator...

 

[CT Sean]

So take an existing dry snorkel - that has a valve that automatically opens and closes and make that valve manual? I'm failing to see that as a design improvement.

I'm not sure a snorkel needs to be any more complicated than some of them already are.

Rather than trying to make the snorkel dry, why not just attach the snorkel to some sort of Self Contained air supply - then you remove the opportunity for water to flood it - the mouthpiece might flood but I'm sure there's ways around that. One could even use this Self Contained Air to Breath Underwater if desired. though SCABU has a terrible ring to it - we'll have to come up with a better name.

 

[daniel1948]

Or you could just lift your head above the water, take the snorkel out of your mouth, take a breath, replace the snorkel and blow the water out. I really think this would be easier than manually working the complicated contraption you describe. Remember, if you are breathing through a snorkel, you are at the surface.

If you are so uncomfortable in the water that you cannot lift your head, then you probably need swimming lessons before going in the water.

 

[flots am]

BUT what you do have is a load of spare mechanical energy, why not utilize this?
For example ( and it's only an example I'm sure you can devise alternative methods yourself ) imagine a disc held direct above snorkel input but at a distance. Now when you start to get water input, grasp the snorkel firmly with one hand and pull on either a rod (for straight snorkels ) or a cord ( for the more common curved ones ) there will be a distance covered before the disc engages the snorkel entrance this is utilized for the rod/cord to engage a flap cutting of the mouthpiece from the following process. As the rod/cord is drawn quickly down to its end point, close to the conventional one way valve, water will be driven out through this valve and the snorkel replenished with air. On releasing the rod/cord a return spring will take the disc back to its original position and at the final stage removing the blocking flap to mouthpiece, the disc will of course act as a one way valve to prevent a vacuum forming behind it.
Note this may have to be repeated AND IN THE EVENT OF FAILURE THE SNORKEI IS FREE TO BE CLEARED IN THE USUAL MANNER.

You just invented the dry snorkel.

Unfortunately it already exists.

 

[fbk]

Hi
my names Jonny Red ( it really is! )
I know this has probably been covered before but I see no reason why not to revisit it.
The conventional means of clearing a swamped snorkel is by blowing out the intruded water either directly or via the one way valve. But in a choppy sea ( yes I know don't go out ) what you cant spare is breath you have only a limited amount - fail and you could possibly drown depending on conditions and your personal swimming capabilities. BUT what you do have is a load of spare mechanical energy, why not utilize this?
For example ( and it's only an example I'm sure you can devise alternative methods yourself ) imagine a disc held direct above snorkel input but at a distance. Now when you start to get water input, grasp the snorkel firmly with one hand and pull on either a rod (for straight snorkels ) or a cord ( for the more common curved ones ) there will be a distance covered before the disc engages the snorkel entrance this is utilized for the rod/cord to engage a flap cutting of the mouthpiece from the following process. As the rod/cord is drawn quickly down to its end point, close to the conventional one way valve, water will be driven out through this valve and the snorkel replenished with air. On releasing the rod/cord a return spring will take the disc back to its original position and at the final stage removing the blocking flap to mouthpiece, the disc will of course act as a one way valve to prevent a vacuum forming behind it.
Note this may have to be repeated AND IN THE EVENT OF FAILURE THE SNORKEI IS FREE TO BE CLEARED IN THE USUAL MANNER.

I think you're on to something Jonny Red! I would take the utilization of all that spare mechanical energy one step further though. In addition to the rod mechanism connected to the disc which mates with the snorkel entrance via a cord which lifts up out of the way once you grasp and pulll the rod engaging the release mechanism, you could also connect some gears and a pulley connected to some bellows. Thus at the same time as doing all that stuff, the bellows would inflate. They would be connected to your BC via an automated one way valve which gets opened when the rod engages a lever attached to the BC hose and another small lever which depresses the vent button on your inflator. This would doubly ensure against any fatalities by inflating the BC to create extra buoyancy. You could even connect a small propellor which attaches to the bottom of your tank and as the excess air is vented from the BC it passes through another tube with a turbine connected to the prop shaft, moving you along at a nice clip without having to even use your fins.

Or you could just blow to clear your snorkel.

 

[Phantom Menace]

This is the snorkelling / free diving section so I don't think Jonny imagined people would have tanks on their back.

Personally I don't see the need for a dry snorkel. I normally only have the snorkel in my mouth when I am on the surface. When spearfishing I take the snorkel out of my mouth before I leave the surface as this stops the tell-tale trail of noisy bubbles coming from it that scares some species of fish away (steath is important).

When freediving I either take the snorkel out before I leave the surface or, more commonly, don't have a snorkel on me at all. This means that when I return to the surface I have less to worry about before I can take a breath. It also allows me to practice "hook breaths" which help maintain blood pressure at the conclusion of a long breathhold.

Part of the attrtaction of freediving / snorkelling is the simplicity of it - especailly when compared to SCUBA. Having a mechanical device on a snorkel just seems to go against that simplicity.