Breathing from a 30ft. snorkel

[ScubaSteve]

Ok. So I can take a 10' piece of rigid PVC. Stand on the surface and breathe through it, even hold it straight up and down. If I then walk into the water with it til there is only 1' sticking above the surface I will still be able to breathe?

Have you tried this? Can you validate this claim?

I am anxious to see this answer. The part that is being overlooked here is the part about air being delivered at ambient pressure - changes with depth.

I see I am late to the party.....this has already been mentioned.

 

[Cave Diver]

I am anxious to see this answer. The part that is being overlooked here is the part about air being delivered at ambient pressure - changes with depth.

I'd be tempted to actually try this. But I'm gonna take a spare air with me in case I start choking and can't breathe at 5'.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I'd be tempted to actually try this. But I'm gonna take a spare air with me in case I start choking and can't breathe at 5'.

Be sure to clip the spare air off with HomeDepot stailess snaps

I wonder......if you started at 30 feet per the original post and could not breathe....would it get easier to not breathe as you went shallower?

 

[Cave Diver]

Be sure to clip the spare air off with HomeDepot stailess snaps

I wonder......if you started at 30 feet per the original post and could not breathe....would it get easier to not breathe as you went shallower?

From what I'm reading, I'm not sure.

You can't switch from a reg to snorkel at depth because the pressure in your lungs would be ambient for the depth and wouldnt have the same effect. i.e. same as manually inflating the blow tube on a lift bag.

If you hold your breath, your lung volume will decrease as you go down and if you exhale into a tube, the increased pressure could cause a rapid depressurization of your lungs, like getting punched in the stomach.

Maybe if you start off shallower...

 

[tregrrr]

....
I wonder......if you started at 30 feet per the original post and could not breathe....would it get easier to not breathe as you went shallower?

yes since as other posters mentioned, the depth differential caused the air-filled tube to act as a partial vacuum (with respect to ambient pressure) at depth sucking the breath out of their lungs....

go shallower and the amount of effective vacuum is reduced accordingly

 

[mooney]

5 pages of male divers (i assume due to screennames/pictures) talking about long snorkels and sucking on 33 inch straws, and not one has mentioned their girlfriend being able to suck a golf ball through a garden hose! Way to keep it on track guys!

 

[ScubaSteve]

yes since as other posters mentioned, the depth differential caused the air-filled tube to act as a partial vacuum (with respect to ambient pressure) at depth sucking the breath out of their lungs....

go shallower and the amount of effective vacuum is reduced accordingly

Uh Oh.....I can't tell if [sarcasm][/sarcasm] was used

 

[Cave Diver]

It also looks as if about 5-6 psi is the max amount of pressure that can be overcome by blowing, with the average around 2-3 psi.

Think it's back to that "blow up a balloon with high resistance experiment."

Maybe we could put a balloon on a long tube and blow it up. Then put the balloon underwater and see how deep it has to be before we can no longer blow it up?

I might be able to try this later in my sisters pool.

 

[Cave Diver]

5 pages of male divers (i assume due to screennames/pictures) talking about long snorkels and sucking on 33 inch straws, and not one has mentioned their girlfriend being able to suck a golf ball through a garden hose! Way to keep it on track guys!

I've been waiting on that comment.

 

[ScubaSteve]

I might be able to try this later in my sisters pool.

My pool is froze solid so this experiment falls on your shoulders