Question for Drager Users

[Diver Dude]

I picked up my new Drager a couple weeks ago. I'll be starting lessons in about 6 weeks.
I do have a question about this unit. What is with the inflator mouthpiece? When I blow into it air doesn't go into the BC, it gets diverted outside. Is this thing a bailout reg? Have any of you used it? If it is a reg, is it safe or would I be better off putting a real regulator on my bailout?

 

[wedivebc]

I picked up my new Drager a couple weeks ago. I'll be starting lessons in about 6 weeks.
I do have a question about this unit. What is with the inflator mouthpiece? When I blow into it air doesn't go into the BC, it gets diverted outside. Is this thing a bailout reg? Have any of you used it? If it is a reg, is it safe or would I be better off putting a real regulator on my bailout?

I assume you bought it used and it had an air2 or such thing installed. Even though I have that as well I prefer to have a completely redundant bailout system.
You may find to make it work you have to hold the button rather firmly to inflate the BCD orally. You will have a square button for dumping and orally inflating, a round button for power inflation and a purge button on the regulator end.
One big advantage to it is it's always close at hand if you have a failure. I can be used to assist an OOA diver but it takes a bit of practice.
Enjoy your dolphin, I do.

 

[scubanimal]

hey Diver dude,
The BC inflator direct from the factory is not a regulator, I thought is was too, especially since the rig I used for training had one there. I will be converting mine to a Sea Quest or Atomics air-source regulator as soon as I can find a hose long enough to reach the bail out on the right side. To orally inflate you need to press the button, just like a normal BC.
I would suggest you look at the face of it (blue plastic on mine) that is a very light spring against the piece of plastic and it might be pushed back. You do not press this area to properly dump air from your BC, despite it looking like a regulator purge button. Use the dump on the right shoulder or just pull on the hose.

Until you put a second source/alt air on your BC you will absolutely need a regulator onyour bail out. Your BC hose, bail out reg and dry suit hose along with a pressure gauge all attach to your bail out first stage. Also if you have not already done so a PO2 gauge is wise investment. Opinions vary as to which is best but most agree you should have one as a insight into your status. Just remember its not an absolute its an approximation, just like our dive computers.

Oh, word of advise, get 13 cu ft pony bottles as a bail out, I had been told to get a 19 and that was a mistake.

Reading the TDI manual throughly before your first training class is a nice prep. Lots to learn, but the unit is really easy to use.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

 

[caveseeker7]

Some Dolphin's at least have been delivered with BCD's made by A.P. Valves that were/are equiped with the AutoAir inflator integrated second stage from the same manufacturer.

 

[Diver Dude]

Scubanimal, Thanks for the advice on the bailout tank size.
I'm not going to dive this unit without knowing my PPO2.
I'm leaning towards the Oxy2 and Uwatec O2.
Which computer did you get?

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Scubanimal, Thanks for the advice on the bailout tank size.
I'm not going to dive this unit without knowing my PPO2.
I'm leaning towards the Oxy2 and Uwatec O2.
Which computer did you get?

For my Drager Dolphin and OMG Azimuth semi-closed rebreathers, I use the Air Z O2 with the Oxy2 which is a nice computer for semi-closed rebreather diving. However, if you are thinking of moving up to closed circuit in the future you may want to invest in a CCR computer like the VR3 which will work for both types of rebreathers.

 

[scubanimal]

Originally Posted by Diver Dude
Scubanimal, Thanks for the advice on the bailout tank size.
I'm not going to dive this unit without knowing my PPO2.
I'm leaning towards the Oxy2 and Uwatec O2.
Which computer did you get?"


I'm starting with an Oxy-gauge until I find a suitable follow on/secondary. The device is simple, but if you look at some of the recommended web-sites you'll see it's not the most rugged system. But on-the other hand, none of the PO2 systems discussed here seem that rugged to me (the uwatec on my training dives, never once worked right). A frequent poster to this group just received his VR3, he currently has a HS Explorer, I'm very interested in his experieces, which I hope he'll post soon .

There has been a lot of dicussion about the various computer / PO2 systems here. As for me I don't see a clear winner yet, there are pros and cons to each. As you read the discussions here you'll see factors that are important to you and thus will help you decide. The only thing that seems to be fairly well supported is you really should have something giving you a better clue to your PO2 then just guessing or assuming; especially as your skills develop and you think about using your unit outside of the strict manuafacturer guidelines.

my $0.02

 

[Dive Bear]

hey Diver dude,
The BC inflator direct from the factory is not a regulator, I thought is was too, especially since the rig I used for training had one there. I will be converting mine to a Sea Quest or Atomics air-source regulator as soon as I can find a hose long enough to reach the bail out on the right side. To orally inflate you need to press the button, just like a normal BC.
I would suggest you look at the face of it (blue plastic on mine) that is a very light spring against the piece of plastic and it might be pushed back. You do not press this area to properly dump air from your BC, despite it looking like a regulator purge button. Use the dump on the right shoulder or just pull on the hose.

Until you put a second source/alt air on your BC you will absolutely need a regulator onyour bail out. Your BC hose, bail out reg and dry suit hose along with a pressure gauge all attach to your bail out first stage. Also if you have not already done so a PO2 gauge is wise investment. Opinions vary as to which is best but most agree you should have one as a insight into your status. Just remember its not an absolute its an approximation, just like our dive computers.

Oh, word of advise, get 13 cu ft pony bottles as a bail out, I had been told to get a 19 and that was a mistake.

Reading the TDI manual throughly before your first training class is a nice prep. Lots to learn, but the unit is really easy to use.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

Just a silly question. I dive my Drager with a 13cu pony on my left which I use to inflate my dry suit and BC, and a 19cu on the right which is for bailout only. I have to scoot my main nitrox bottle over to accommodate the longer 19cu pony, but I would not have it any other way. I use tiger mounts for both pony bottles. Why do you dislike your 19?

Why do I have so much bailout gas? About a year ago, I was on a boat trip with a group of OC divers. They kept changing depth throughtout both dives. On the second dive, I managed to run the 13cu pony dry. At the time, I was in only 30fsw, but it was still a bad feeling. Dude, I had NO bailout! That week, I picked up a 19cu at the LDS, and I'll never dive the unit without both pony bottles.


BTW - Whatever you dive, be safe and have fun.

 

[scubanimal]

Just a silly question. I dive my Drager with a 13cu pony on my left which I use to inflate my dry suit and BC, and a 19cu on the right which is for bailout only. I have to scoot my main nitrox bottle over to accommodate the longer 19cu pony, but I would not have it any other way. I use tiger mounts for both pony bottles. Why do you dislike your 19?

Why do I have so much bailout gas? About a year ago, I was on a boat trip with a group of OC divers. They kept changing depth throughtout both dives. On the second dive, I managed to run the 13cu pony dry. At the time, I was in only 30fsw, but it was still a bad feeling. Dude, I had NO bailout! That week, I picked up a 19cu at the LDS, and I'll never dive the unit without both pony bottles.


The unit I started on (instructor's) had the Drager valve on the left, with a 19 got in the way. The other thing I found is that I was using so little of the gas (13 or 19) that it was became obvious that I had plenty for bail-out. I did have one occasion to run my 13 down, when we found a weight belt while diving and I added an extra 16 lbs; our return trip required a lot of see-saw depth changes. Since I was in a drysuit that used a lot. I certainly see the advantages of a 19 and have retained mine, I put a drager valve on it and plan to use it for those dives when my buddy is on OC. But for general use, if you are using the new unit with it's integrated bag, the 19 sticks up too far, and causes the unit to be lopsided.

 

[Camerone]

Ah - the bag's the first thing to ditch on these systems. It or the straps on the older models are a piece of junk. The bottle swings around and never feels secure. I ended up putting Reef mounts (the peg-and-hole) ones on my Dolphin shell for my bailout/BC gas (19 cf) and my argon bottle (6 cf) for the drysuit. You always have to reinforce the shell if you decide to use a hard mount...the thin plastic case just can't support the flexing without cracking, and you'll find yourself shopping for bondo or JB Weld in short order

I dive a 19 for a bailout. A 13 just isn't enough for normal dives that I do - in the 80 - 100 foot range. If I never crossed 60 feet, a 13 might be plenty, but by the third or fourth dive of the day, after a few BC inflates/deflates, think about what will happen if you need to bailout after a loop failure from 100 feet. Can you get to the surface slowly, do a five minute safety stop, and still have enough to breathe in the cylinder? With normal air consumption from that depth, on a 13, you'd not only have a loop failure, you'd be darn close to an OOA emergency. By the third or fourth dive in a day, my nitrogen loading's high enough that I don't relish the thought of an ascent without a nice long safety stop.