Safety sausage vs DSMB

[Wookie]

So, DSMBs can be harder to seal at the surface - that’s all I was looking for. I don’t know how posting in a ‘new diver’ forum, looking for the right tool for when I screw up and get blown out to sea conveys over confidence.

You are correct, and if you look, I was madly editing and I apologize for the crack. It was early (I know for you it's late) and I misread where the girl got swept off and thought that was you.

Again, I apologize.

 

[ScottFL78]

Im not going to get into a pissing contest but DSMBs with dump valves are just as easy to inflate at the surface as a regular SMB. They self seal at the bottom and the air will not come out unless you pull the dump vave. They ARE air tight.

 

[Aloha Joe]

@Wookie accepted, fixed mine too.

 

[Neilwood]

Personally I have a "safety sausage" and a 6ft DSMB (self closing base with OPV). Got the sausage when I did my OW and it has never been out of the package. Bought the DSMB when I did my AOW and have used it probably 10-15 times (both at home and abroad).

Any dive I am doing (even shore dive), the DSMB and reel will be in my thigh pocket. When boat diving in the UK its use is standard practise. Every pair of divers is expected to have at least one between them and use it.

Inflating the 6ft dsmb on the surface is as easy as the sausage IMHO. Deploying at depth takes a bit of practise to get it right without losing buoyancy control.

 

[Wookie]

Im not going to get into a pissing contest but DSMBs with dump valves are just as easy to inflate at the surface as a regular SMB. They self seal at the bottom and the air will not come out unless you pull the dump vave. They ARE air tight.

Not all DSMBs have closed bottoms. Sure, the ones with dump valves do, that's why they have dump valves. So at the surface where you want to inflate your dsmb you have to stick the regulator well into the opening of the DSMB and make a seal around the DSMB opening and the regulator mouthpiece and ......

I'm not arguing that a DSMB isn't an excellent tool. I'm arguing that it takes more skills than a sausage to use. That's all. A water weenie is easy. The task loading for a relatively new diver may be more than they want when they are still trying to work the ear piercing whistle and signal with the mirror with the little hole in it.

Rebreathers are excellent tools for diving, but we don't typically put new divers in them.

 

[seeker242]

So, DSMBs can be harder to seal on the surface...now I understand the recommendation to start with a dedicated safety sausage.

Depends on what kind of dsmb you get. There are basically 3 different kinds. Open bottom, semi-open and closed. Closed bottom ones are identical to a sausage when it come to inflation.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Buy your weenie once.

Get a DSMB with a closed bottom and an OPV valve. Use it as a safety sausage at the surface as needed for now. It is completely sealed so it will make keeping it up/filled/ easy, especially if you have to use both your hands for something else and then grab it again to wave around for attention. Eventually learn how to deploy it as a DSMB from depth. The closed bottom will ensure when it's at the surface, it minimizes the chance that it will flop over and be a sad weenie, especially if you don't put enough air in it or if your line is not taut. It's fixable - just make your line taut again and it'll be up for all to see. f you put too much air in it, it has an OPV which will let air out. Bigger is better, but I recommend that you get a slim, long one rather than a short, wider one, especially if you decide you want an open bottom. It's easier to keep up and fill in my experience.

Well, my mind is officially in the gutter now.

 

[ScottFL78]

Or get a DSMB with a self sealing bottom so have the option to use your reg to inflate it under water. Unless you are really deep, you need to put a lot of air in it for it to be full on the surface. If you fill it at say 60feet you need only fill it 1/3. This can be done by mouth without killing your bouyancy. Shallower requires a regulator IMO. There is one SMB that works for every situation and that is an SMB with a dump valve and a self sealing bottom. Anything else has limitations.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Or get a DSMB with a self sealing bottom so have the option to use your reg to inflate it under water. Unless you are really deep, you need to put a lot of air in it for it to be full on the surface. If you fill it at say 60feet you need only fill it 1/3. This can be done by mouth without killing your bouyancy. Shallower requires a regulator IMO. There is one SMB that works for every situation and that is an SMB with a dump valve and a self sealing bottom. Anything else has limitations.

I've had the self-sealing ones and I find that they can also flop over at surface if not full or the line is not taut enough. It still has pros/cons as with all options. I like the sealed ones better for this reason and why I have moved away from the self-sealing ones. As you say, none are perfect, pros and cons. The drawback with a sealed one is you can't easily purge your second stage to fill it. You either need to orally inflate or hose it. To not kill your buoyancy, especially in the shallows such as a safety stop, it takes a lot of practice but it can be done. If you get one with the appropriate tip, you can use a hose to inflate or orally inflate.

 

[ScottFL78]

What happens to the sealed ones at the surface if they are under inflated? Do they flop over too?