If your regulator fell out of your mouth...

[JJTNJ]

What if you are exhaling and just about ready to inhale when your regulator somehow is knocked out of your mouth.

Wouldn't it make more sense to just grab your secondary regulator, which is right in front of you, attached, exactly where you know where it is and can see it, and then while breathing quickly get your regulator behind you?

I'm a new diver and the idea of the regulator behind me suddenly while I have to continue exhaling and trusting that I'm going to retrieve it in time has me nervous.

I know the answer is for me to continue practicing retrieving that regulator so that if I'm in the situation it won't make me nervous.

But still, I can't help wonder if grabbing the secondary regulator if I'm immediately in need of inhaling is a better idea than the normal protocol.

 

[ianr33]

I dont know what the "normal protocol" for OW is (its been a while) I do know that I wear my backup on a bungee around my neck. If I lose the primary for any reason (only ever happened once) first I go to the backup then I worry about finding the primary.

 

[under water]

If your regulator falls out of your mouth you will have lots of time to retrieve it. Even if you spit it out just after an exhale, you will not have an immediate need to breath in.
Just be calm, retrieve your reg, put it in your mouth, purge it and continue the dive.
You will even have plenty of time to go ask your buddy for their octo or grab your own.
Practice this a few times.

 

[heavyjeffd]

It depends on how urgently I need to breathe.

As under_water said, you won't necessarily feel the need to breathe right away, if you stay calm you can get your reg back in your mouth in just a few seconds.

However, if I felt the need to breathe very badly and/or was in a strenuous situation that required heavier breathing, I would grab my alternate which is on my BCD inflator, easy to grab and shove in my mouth, then breathe off of it and grab my primary.

It is definitely a worthwhile skill to be able to calmly retrieve and use either.

 

[JJTNJ]

Thanks so much! I truly learn a lot from everybody here.

 

[Sinbad the Diver]

I spit my reg during one of my early dives, maybe 2nd dive after getting my card. I reached out, grabbed it put it back, purged and went about what I was doing. Then I thought about it, which made me feel pretty good. Unless you lose it because something pulls the hose and it ends up behind you, it's probably gonna stay right in front of you and won't drift to far.

 

[huntnhound]

If you feel more comfortable grabbing the octo...then that is what you should do. What works for some may not be the best thing for others. It is all about your comfort level. Whatever you decide is the best for you should be practiced in a pool or shallow water so that when the time comes you don't really have to think about it...it just happens. Happy diving!!!

 

[stairman]

I too like my backup bungeed around my neck so its under my chin when I need it.

 

[kanonfodr]

Try a little exercise. Take a normal scuba breath, and then let it out. Then time yourself with a watch to see how long you last before you need to really breath again. Remember to relax and you'd be surprised at how much time you actually have.

The reason behind this is because the breathing reflex is triggered by the body's need to expel carbon dioxide, not receive oxygen. So if, at the end of exhaling (when you have just expelled a bunch of CO2), your reg leaves your mouth for whatever reason, you've still got a fair amount of time to recover your primary or go to your alternate.

For a slightly tougher spin on the same exercise, see how long you can last holding your breath and walking at your normal pace. The time doesn't lower by too much if you are in a reasonable state of physical fitness. You may even be surprised at the times you get.

Peace,
Greg

 

[Sas]

What if you are exhaling and just about ready to inhale when your regulator somehow is knocked out of your mouth.

Wouldn't it make more sense to just grab your secondary regulator, which is right in front of you, attached, exactly where you know where it is and can see it, and then while breathing quickly get your regulator behind you?

I'm a new diver and the idea of the regulator behind me suddenly while I have to continue exhaling and trusting that I'm going to retrieve it in time has me nervous.

I know the answer is for me to continue practicing retrieving that regulator so that if I'm in the situation it won't make me nervous.

But still, I can't help wonder if grabbing the secondary regulator if I'm immediately in need of inhaling is a better idea than the normal protocol.

Grab which ever one is easier to reach. It doesn't matter which one you get. If you switch to your occy you can than take time to retrieve your other reg. I mean, it is generally easy enough to reach your primary if you lose it but this makes you nervous being without a reg whilst you find it, just switch to your backup. I have my backup bungeed around my neck so it is always easily reached if needed.