Donation of primary or secondary?

[TMHeimer]

PADI does not define how the OOA exchange is to be done. It is completely up to the instructor. The wording of the standard is very careful in that regard. You can teach donating the primary if you wish.

Thanks. Must have been a policy of the shop since they all did it that way. I wasn't aware of that.

 

[Ayisha]

And that IMO it's good form to do an S-drill after descending, to make sure your long hose hasn't become tangled in any way.

It's even better to do a modified S-drill *before* descending, with your teammate(s) watching to ensure your long hose is not tangled or caught on anything. It would be better/easier to catch it before rather than during the dive.

 

[Ayisha]

Do you favor donating the primary or secondary?

Primary donate.

 

[Storker]

It's even better to do a modified S-drill *before* descending, with your teammate(s) watching to ensure your long hose is not tangled or caught on anything. It would be better/easier to catch it before rather than during the dive.

You're right, of course.

 

[Youngandfree]

As a former EMT, and a brand new diver, we were always taught as a first responder that your safety is paramount, and that you can't help someone if you get hurt or put yourself in trouble. Carrying that thought into diving, with my limited experience being 2 shore dives for cert, and 5 more shallow shore dives that week, I would not want to take a reg out of my mouth to give away if there was another option. Obviously getting a reg ripped out of your mouth by a panicked diver is out of your control, but that should be discussed during pre dive. If folks saying donate the primary because they don't know if the secondary will work, why even carry a secondary?

 

[rongoodman]

If folks saying donate the primary because they don't know if the secondary will work, why even carry a secondary?

What they're saying is that on the chance the secondary does have an issue you're in a better position to deal with it than the air hungry and possibly panicking diver who needs gas RIGHT NOW.

With additional experience you will find that having the regulator out of your mouth while doing a switch or donation is no big deal.

 

[Bob DBF]

In every course I assisted the alt. was donated, along with the usual procedure of signals, etc. Only one instructor said what was mentioned here--that such a procedure would rarely happen in real life--it would be madness and a grab.

Sounds like the Air2, and its clones, are not used in your area.

How an air share would happen in real life is dependent upon the persons basic water skills and the quality of their air share, and buddy, training. The length of time a diver can be comfortable without having to have a working reg in their mouth makes a difference. Also, maintaining buddy contact, knowing and following air share procedures will keep the evolution from descending into madness.

I have had a number of air shares, but almost all were before the safe second and SPG were in general use, j-valves were optional, so it was different set of players. The few more recent were non events, everything went according to training. Except, of course, for me explaining the use of the SPG and the reason they should be near their buddy, when we got back on the boat.


Bob

 

[GreggS]

I do use an Air2 for my secondary so would donate the primary. As a matter of practicality as well as safety, after I have dumped enough air in my BC to descend, I will switch over to my Air2 for a minute or so. This allows me to use my exhale to re-inflate my BC until I achieve neutral buoyancy so as to conserve my tank air as well as assure that my secondary is working properly. Fortunately, I have never had to donate or receive a donated air supply as my wife, who is usually my dive buddy, and I watch our air supply closely. Besides, she uses air much more slowly than I do, about half my SAC rate. And while equipment failures are rare, you never know what may happen.

 

[Youngandfree]

Having the air2 type inflator makes it obvious that you must donate the primary. I didn't take that into consideration.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I hope this question isn't too OT.

For divers with the LH/SH configuration, is there any known incidents where a diver test breathed both regs, but when donating the primary, the reg on the short hose failed?

Asking because people keep saying that they know their primary works, implying (my interpretation) that they are not sure about the backup. Has a backup failed after being tested at the beginning of a dive?