Reg mouthpiece rubs gum due to pulling
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pinshootr
Contributor
yes get a swivel, don't worry the sky will not fall if you have a swivel on your second stage, but your mouth will thank you.
Dan
Contributor
I bet you it has nothing to do with the mouthpiece design. It's about how the first-stage regulator being mounted. If it is mounted upside down on to the tank valve, then your 2nd stage reg hose (the blue hose on my reg setup, see the picture below) have to go around the block & make it short by the time it reaches your mouth & you need to keep pulling it to the left & bruising your right gum.
I've been in similar situation. I made a mistake of letting a "know-it-all" DM in Utila to mount my regulator on the tank for me. I ASS-U-ME he knew what he was doing and I didn't recheck the setup. He installed my reg upside down with the blue hose came out almost 180 degree from where it's supposed to be. I ended up biting off the mouthbit in trying to keep my head in normal position instead of looking to the right all the time during the whole dive.
The lesson learnt for me is to install my regulator myself. If a DM or other boat crew plan to do it for you, make sure you check it before jumping into the water. That includes opening the valve counter clockwise all the way to the left until it stops.
I've been in similar situation. I made a mistake of letting a "know-it-all" DM in Utila to mount my regulator on the tank for me. I ASS-U-ME he knew what he was doing and I didn't recheck the setup. He installed my reg upside down with the blue hose came out almost 180 degree from where it's supposed to be. I ended up biting off the mouthbit in trying to keep my head in normal position instead of looking to the right all the time during the whole dive.
The lesson learnt for me is to install my regulator myself. If a DM or other boat crew plan to do it for you, make sure you check it before jumping into the water. That includes opening the valve counter clockwise all the way to the left until it stops.
Dan
Contributor
This is what happened to my reg hose configuration when it is mounted upside down (i.e., the WRONG way) on tank. The 2nd stage (blue hose) has to come around, hence, runs short & pulling to the right of my gum.
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An underarm routing with a fixed elbow helped enormously, and adding a comfobite mouthpiece that essentially grips your palate solved what little still bothered me. Turret on the first stage helps as well, but less important.
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I've been diving for 33 years and I've never even HEARD of a swivel catching fire. The only fires I remember ever reading about were on 100% O2 cylinders and in at least one of those cases involved a titanium regulator. (titanium is the only metal used in the construction of regulators that is able to self-combust within the range of conditions that can be found on the inside of a scuba regulator when it is pressurized.)
Qualifying risk can be thought of as the EFFECT of something happening as a factor of the CHANCE of it happening.
A fire in your regulator (effect) would indeed be very bad but if the CHANCE of it ever happening is zero then we do not have a risk.
R..
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Here again, you are assuming you're talking about safety. What you are really talking about in this context are gear choices based upon personal convictions.
A swivel is not an unsafe device. It may not be the best solution to the problem the OP is having but there is no safety concern here. Please avoid framing it as such.
R..
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maj2
Contributor
My first reg set came with a "Comfo-Bite" mouthpiece. I hated it. I found the same thing-- it rubbed against my gums, right behind my upper incisors. It was so uncomfortable, that I remember the exact point of rubbing 15+ years later!
I changed to another mouthpiece with a longer bite. That helped immensely, and I used that mouthpiece for many years before it just wore out. I am now using a molded Sea-Cure mouthpiece that I love. Can't say that it is better for rubbing against the gums than my old long bite mouthpiece (they are equally good), but it is certainly a lot more comfortable in the mouth overall.
I do not think that I bite down hard either. My old long bite mouthpiece lasted 10 or 12 years. The SeaCure is 3 or 4 years old now, and looks brand new (except for the molding marks, of course!)
I have not tried a swivel. My problem was fixed the minute that I replaced that initial mouthpiece with one that had a longer bite...
I changed to another mouthpiece with a longer bite. That helped immensely, and I used that mouthpiece for many years before it just wore out. I am now using a molded Sea-Cure mouthpiece that I love. Can't say that it is better for rubbing against the gums than my old long bite mouthpiece (they are equally good), but it is certainly a lot more comfortable in the mouth overall.
I do not think that I bite down hard either. My old long bite mouthpiece lasted 10 or 12 years. The SeaCure is 3 or 4 years old now, and looks brand new (except for the molding marks, of course!)
I have not tried a swivel. My problem was fixed the minute that I replaced that initial mouthpiece with one that had a longer bite...
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