Inflating DSMB from exhaled gas

[JohnnyC]

Can't do the reg exhaust thing with a double hose......

The big problem with the exhaust method is that your face (reg) is right in the middle of all the entangly bits, as in, literally everything could entangle on your reg at that point and at best pull it from your mouth, at worst, take you for a chamber ride the quick way....

No kidding I once saw a dude who surfaced prematurely because he did the exhaust method, REALLY wanted to make sure no gas was wasted, and actually got the line tangled around the exhaust tee of his reg. Up he went! No barotrauma or bends, but his ego could have taken a chamber ride all by itself.

Use the oral inflator tube. it's easy. The "reg out of your mouth" thing is much ado about nothing.

LP hose is for rebreather use only, everything else is through the oral inflator. I'd rather do that than screw around with an LP hose on a deco bottle.

 

[stuartv]

I think you guys have valid points. No method is proof against fools. In other words, it seems to me that you could screw something up, whichever way you do it. So, you do you. Ima stick to inflating with exhaust bubbles. Until next month, when I finish my rEvo course and have to do it differently.

 

[boulderjohn]

I think you guys have valid points. No method is proof against fools. In other words, it seems to me that you could screw something up, whichever way you do it. So, you do you. Ima stick to inflating with exhaust bubbles. Until next month, when I finish my rEvo course and have to do it differently.

To be completely honest, I don't know of a single method that I wholeheartedly endorse. I have done it a number of ways myself and have never been fully satisfied with any of them. I show students what I am doing at the moment, but I suggest they investigate a variety of methods online and choose whichever they prefer. I don't care which method they use, as long as it is safe and minimizes the critical risk of line entanglement.

For me, the biggest problem I see with the methods shown in most videos is they are always showing it done with small spools. When I am sending up a bag, it is most often from depths like 200 feet, and my students have to demonstrate that as well. Things are different when you are using a reel with that much line on it.

 

[rongoodman]

I also don't like the idea of using a low pressure inflator hose to fill the SMB. Where does it come from? Am I disconnecting my LPI from my BCD to briefly jam the SMB inflator into it? Disconnecting and reconnecting the inflator is usually a 2-handed operation (for me, anyway). I don't like that. I also don't like taking an important part of my gear apart while underwater, unless I have to. Which means if there is another, easy, way to accomplish the task, I prefer that. Am I adding a second BCD inflator hose to my 1st stage, just so it's there to use to inflate my SMB? I like that better than disconnecting from my BCD. But I still don't like it. It's extra "stuff" that I really don't need. One more thing to catch on stuff and/or break.

On trips where I want to carry a large SMB I will also be carrying a DiveAlert(and probably a Nautilus Lifeline too) so an extra LP hose/DiveAlert clipped next to the SPG isn't in the way and is available for inflating the SMB. The 18" LP hose on my wing is too short for either.

 

[Fastmarc]

This is something I am as well very interested in. Once I finish fine tuning this gear, I'll be shifting my focus on practicing it on dives until I am comfortable doing it. I am guilty of diving with one with no practice and only the theory of it in my head.
Right now I'm leaning towards like how it is shown in the ISE video.
Another thing that you do not come across is videos or demonstrations on how to handle once deployed and how reel it in as you ascend. The only one I've seen so far is by ISE. I wish there were more.

 

[Fastmarc]

On trips where I want to carry a large SMB I will also be carrying a DiveAlert(and probably a Nautilus Lifeline too) so an extra LP hose/DiveAlert clipped next to the SPG isn't in the way and is available for inflating the SMB. The 18" LP hose on my wing is too short for either.

Isn't the DiveAlert meant to go in between the LP hose and the connection to the LP? For me because of its inclusion it makes it longer, so much so I'm thinking of getting a short hose to compensate. I hope I'm not using incorrectly. I like diving with it on every dive, but wouldn't want it on a separate hose.

 

[stuartv]

To be completely honest, I don't know of a single method that I wholeheartedly endorse.

Well, there is always the AP one that has the small bottle attached, to make it self-inflating...

I actually know a couple of people that have those and they all really like them.

 

[rongoodman]

If I attached a DiveAlert to my inflator hose it would be right next to my ear when I triggered it. No thanks. The hose I have it on is long enough so that I can hold it well above my head.

 

[Fastmarc]

If I attached a DiveAlert to my inflator hose it would be right next to my ear when I triggered it. No thanks. The hose I have it on is long enough so that I can hold it well above my head.

Ah, I see what you mean.

 

[tbone1004]

@JohnnyC if you have a BOV you can fully exhale into the breather, switch to bov, and use the oral inflation tube if you don't want to use an inflator. I have tried it with a DSV and it works fine though is a bit annoying having to swap back and forth. Easier to use the drysuit hose though