Safety sausage tips

[Dee]

Originally posted by Zept


No. At a pinch I have this nice length of line that I could tie round the bottom... Usually I just hold the bottom beneath the surface and it stands up tall enough for the boat to see (not many big waves around here).

AP Valves makes a self-sealing model. I only know about it from the Web site, but I think there's someone here who uses one.

Zept

That would be me...I use an APValve Buddy model SMBC. It has a self-sealing flap. Works great but it's a bugger to get the water out!

I use it as a signaling device as well as a lift bag.

 

[Jonathan]

is that the one with the dump valve? If so that's the one I have and I unscrew the dump valve and let all the water out.

Jonathan

 

[Welshman]

One further point. When you bleed air into the sausage from your octo don't completely inflate it or it will burst as the air expands as it ascends and the pressure reduces.

 

[scubabunny]

Our shop had been selling the Scubapro safety sausages (the kind that you inflate with your octopus) but we just found out that they are no longer carrying them. Most people here prefer the kind that you can inflate during your safety stop. Does anyone one know of another company that has one like that? I checked out the AP Valve site, but I think that would be too expensive for most of our customers.

I've looked in all our catalogs, and all the rest are the "inflate at the surface" kind.

 

[SDAnderson]

OMS (gasp) makes some safety sausages with one-way valves for filling from an octo and an over-pressure valve to keep them from popping on the way to the surface. They come in a couple of different lengths/lift versions.

Try a search on this board, there was a discussion about this within the past few weeks.

Steven

 

[Zept]

Scubabunny, several of the dive shops in Singapore sell sausages that come in a blue fabric/mesh bag. On the front it says 'PSI pro line'. Some shops have a similar-looking sausage/bag combo that has the name of the shop on the front. I'm guessing they might be made somewhere in this part of the world, but that's all the info I have. I'll see if I can weasle anything else out of the assistant next time I'm shopping.

Otherwise, Trident (http://www.tridentdive.com/) has sausages -- look under Signal Tubes. They have distributors in this part of the world.


Zept

 

[JamesK]

Originally posted by Jonathan
I'm glad you use your octo - I see too many people taking their primary out of their mouth and using that. IMHO that is extremely dangerous.

Why do you see this as dangerous?

 

[Zept]

I'm too klutzy to risk using my primary. There's a good chance I'd run out of breath before I got the sausage inflated. If I use my octo, I can take my time.

Zept

 

[Jonathan]

When experienced should no be an issue. But when people start sending them up for the first time I have seen all sorts, me included. With a novice diver if and you get a reel jam there is a tendancy to hang on for the ride rather than lose that nice bit of equipment (I'm not proud - I've done it) - with a new diver, they might, just might hold their breath.

For that reason I would always encourage people not to use that method. This is different from those that try and use the exhaust whilst breathing off the reg - never got on with that so I use my Octo.

Jonathan

 

[JamesK]

Well, I can certainly understand that.