Horse Collar

[rstofer]

I finally got that Sea Elite Horse Collar (in black) from Divers-Supply.com Discounted prices on Sea Elite Horse Collar at Divers-Supply.com I bought a couple of CO2 cylinders for the backup system but I went ahead and plugged the hole with a regulator LP plug. I don't think I need the CO2 system.

The next time I get to a pool, I'll try transitioning between the DH mouthpiece and the oral inflator while submerged. I have done oral inflation on the surface but never underwater. It should be interesting!

If all goes well, I will be able to use my RAM or Mistral with just an SPG banjo mounted to a LP 72 on a cotton harness. I should be able to get the regulator can very close to my back. We'll see...

In the meantime, I am planning to dive the PRAM this weekend with an HP100 mounted to an OxyCheq SS Travel Plate and either a hogarthian harness or the DiveRite Deluxe Harness. The DiveRite harness hasn't arrived yet but the hogarthian rig is ready to go. One way or the other, I plan to get the PRAM wet this weekend.

It should be an interesting experience. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks to all for their help in getting me addicted. I think...

Richard

 

[Nemrod]

Did you find one without the power inflator? I cannot find my oral inflation end anywhere.

When you remove your mouthpiece just swing it below your chin, otherwise it will wind up back over your head and behind you. Whenever I need a little nostalgia I use my Sea Tec horsecollar and then I remember why I hated them and switched to a wing in the 70s. The only horsecollar I can live with for actual use is the Dacor Sea Chute dual bladder but alas mine is down to it's last few dives and I am saving those for something special.

N

 

[herman]

Did you find one without the power inflator? I cannot find my oral inflation end anywhere.

When you remove your mouthpiece just swing it below your chin, otherwise it will wind up back over your head and behind you. Whenever I need a little nostalgia I use my Sea Tec horsecollar and then I remember why I hated them and switched to a wing in the 70s. The only horsecollar I can live with for actual use is the Dacor Sea Chute dual bladder but alas mine is down to it's last few dives and I am saving those for something special.

N

Any particular reason you prefer the Sea Chute? I have one in near mint condition but never dove it. Someone gave it to my wife knowing we dove. I got a hose for it but since I usually dive with no BC, I just never thought to try it.

 

[rstofer]

Did you find one without the power inflator? I cannot find my oral inflation end anywhere.

No, it has the normal power inflator. With the Mistral I won't have a source of IP so power inflation is out of the question. I haven't decided what to do with the RAM. I doubt that I will provide an octo but I'm not sure if I will use the IP for inflation. If oral inflation is trivial, I might as well provide an octo.

It all depends on how the pool session goes. Thanks for the tip about putting the mouthpiece below my chin. I would have discovered it eventually but I really prefer to know before I go. Sometimes with me, discovery takes a very long time.

Richard

 

[Nemrod]

Any particular reason you prefer the Sea Chute? I have one in near mint condition but never dove it. Someone gave it to my wife knowing we dove. I got a hose for it but since I usually dive with no BC, I just never thought to try it.

You have a twin bladder Sea Chute? The lower black bag is the one that operates from the power inflator, the upper orange bag operates from the CO2 or oral inflation. These were always sort of rare. Dacor made several more common Sea Chutes of conventional single bag construction.

Does the Sea Elite have a crotch strap? If you don't have a hose on the power inflator it will leak, usually, may have to make a plug for it.

Sometimes double hose "newbies" can be surprised when the mouthpiece decides to hide behind/over your head. You can recover it with an arm sweep or just rotate your body and grab it. The techniques of recovery are provided in The New Science of Skin and Scuba. A double hose in full free flow will dump your air as if you cut a LP hose in half.

N

 

[rstofer]

Does the Sea Elite have a crotch strap? If you don't have a hose on the power inflator it will leak, usually, may have to make a plug for it.

It has the crotch strap.

Are you talking about the Schrader valve leaking? I have a rubber cap for that on another BC but I don't think that will work. I suppose I could take a spare LP inflator hose and cut it down such that it just has the fitting and an inch or so of hose. I could then plug the hose easily

Sometimes double hose "newbies" can be surprised when the mouthpiece decides to hide behind/over your head. You can recover it with an arm sweep or just rotate your body and grab it. The techniques of recovery are provided in The New Science of Skin and Scuba. A double hose in full free flow will dump your air as if you cut a LP hose in half.

I have that book. It's a tremendous resource. Even modern divers would do well to read it. I have been working through the exercises.

Richard

 

[herman]

Mine has double bladders, one behind the other. It looks similar but is a differnet model.

 

[Nemrod]

Mine has double bladders, one behind the other. It looks similar but is a differnet model.

That is an interesting model, I vaguely recall it. No, the one in my pic because the compensation bladder is below your tummy the lift is very centered, it dives more like a wing than a horsecollar and is very streamlined. The torso length is also longer if you look carefully which helps to keep the lift under the center of your body. There is also an odd triple crotch harness rig which is very comfortable and more like a parachute harness than the typical horsecollar. Yeah, it is a different animal, also, important, it does not tend to bunch under your neck and pull up or rotate you head up and feet down but with heavy double tanks and the lift under you it was sort of a balance, like riding a bicycle, to learn that was odd until you got used to it. I only used it for cave diving and later switched to a wing as soon as they came out in the mid 70s. When I met my wife she got to use it for several years since we were poor grad students.

rstofer, what I mean is that air will leak out of the power inflator nipple and water will leak in if that matters to you.

N

 

[duckbill]

Oral inflation:

There is no reason to let either mouthpiece go while oral inflating your horesecollar.

If your quick-connect is any good, it should not leak.

Tips:
When oral inflating with a double hose, always retain some air in your lungs. Don't force all the air out while inflating. You will want to have enough left to clear any water from your DH mouthpiece. And, be careful during your initial inhalations since there is usually some water in the mouthpiece anyways during this procedure.

When the DH mouthpiece is removed from your mouth, keep the open side turned down to trap the air inside.

If you get the HC mouthpiece up lightly to your mouth and press the button until bubbles escape just before each inflation cycle, you will purge most of the water out of the mouthpiece, rather than blow it into your horsecollar. If you don't do this, you might be amazed how much water you will end up with inside your HC. Of course, if you are weighted correctly and keep a fairly square or ascending profile, you won't need to inflate your horsecollar very often or very much anyway.

It sounds more complicated than it is. With a little pratice it will become second nature, and the quizzcal looks on the techies faces when they see no inflator hose attached is just too laughable!

 

[rstofer]

Thanks for the hints. I plan to practice this in the LDS pool before I ever take the show on the road.

I don't tend to mess with my BC inflation very much. I usually set it when I get near the bottom and that's about it. I don't plan to dive over 40' for the near future simply because my grandson is limited by his Jr OW. Actually, we are trying to keep him around 30' for the next year or so.

I have my PRAM rigged with inflation and an octo. I will be using this setup first and I will migrate to the horse collar and the RAM or Mistral some time in the summer. There's no hurry. I want to get a bit of real world experience before I scrap the inflation and octo.

I also have to decide what to do about my buddy (wife) if I don't have an octo. Buddy breathing is a training exercise we need to get started with. More pool time...

Finally, at some point this summer, my grandson will want to dive my RAM. He loves diving it in the pool. I suppose he doesn't need an octo but I will probably rig the power inflation. He took one look at my horse collar and decided he had to have one. The LDS pool is going to get quite a workout.

Richard