Auto inflated SMB

[TigerShark]

Hi there,

i remember reading somewhere abt this auto-inflated SMB which is attached to the bc and inflated when the bc gets inflated by the diver after surfacing.......

well....i'm not too sure how it actually functions but is curious to find out.....

There seems to be another type which has a mini bottle attached to the SMB for inflation purposes i guess.....

Is there anybody who is able to shed some light on it?

Really appreciate any comments......thanks!!!

 

[Uncle Pug]

I have one of those self inflating (little CO2 cartridge) marker buoys out in the shop... I would never carry it on a dive though... it is ebay fodder (for the scuba collector.)

What happens if you are at 100fsw and your little self-inflator decides to self-inflate?

Shooting a bag or marker is one of the more dangerous things we do in my opinion... but then maybe I'm just paranoid of getting hauled to the surface.

 

[Dryglove]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
I have one of those self inflating (little CO2 cartridge) marker buoys out in the shop... I would never carry it on a dive though... it is ebay fodder (for the scuba collector.)

What happens if you are at 100fsw and your little self-inflator decides to self-inflate?

Shooting a bag or marker is one of the more dangerous things we do in my opinion... but then maybe I'm just paranoid of getting hauled to the surface.

http://www.stephenfrink.com/sos.php

http://www.scubadiving.com/DEMA02/

Reread this line very carefully....What happens if you are at 100fsw and your little self-inflator decides to self-inflate?
Could be a bad thing and I imagine your ascent rate might be tad bit faster than 30 feet per second.Hopefully there is some sort of safety device preventing accidental deployment.

 

[madmole]

No safety device, but the releave valve is well protected and inside the rolled DSMB when stowed

They are very popular in the UK and many folks use them. Never heard of one going up accidentally. I own one but dont normally carry it as its bulkier than a puff it yourself version. I do sometimes take it for deeper air dives as it needs very few functioning brain cells to deploy

 

[TigerShark]

lal7176 once bubbled...


http://www.stephenfrink.com/sos.php

http://www.scubadiving.com/DEMA02/

Reread this line very carefully....What happens if you are at 100fsw and your little self-inflator decides to self-inflate?
Could be a bad thing and I imagine your ascent rate might be tad bit faster than 30 feet per second.Hopefully there is some sort of safety device preventing accidental deployment.

Viola !!!

That Stephen Frink article is exactly the one that i've read.....

well....i do agree on the part where a sudden inflation could prove to be fatal...........and course,i am glad that no accident has occured !

 

[WetDane]

And don't forget to NOT clip it of to yourself after deployment - If I recall correctly a Swede got hauled out of the water by a fisherman thinking he would snag someone crab pot... yeah - good move.

That naturally make sme wonder what kind of reel y'all are using with your SMBs?

Dane

 

[madmole]

Scubapro metal with 80m of line. Best small reel I've had so far. Much better than the Dive rite ones and the McMahon

I've had about 15 over the years. None are perfect but the Scubapro is the best I've tried. Never tangles and runs free form 70m

Only draw back is that being a small diameter it is slow to wind (does a great 5m nin ascent rate) and you have to spend a few brain cells making sure the line goes back on evenly and not all to one side of the spool (same with any other reel)

 

[FredT]

Uncle Pug once bubbled...
I have one of those self inflating (little CO2 cartridge) marker buoys out in the shop... I would never carry it on a dive though... it is ebay fodder (for the scuba collector.)

What happens if you are at 100fsw and your little self-inflator decides to self-inflate?

If it's the little yellow "bend it" marker float not much will happen if you hit it at 100'. There wasn't enough lift on those puppies to hual up a decent sized nylon line from 100'! They only got enough lift to be useful above about 30'. The non-linear compression characteristics of CO2 bit the performance of the little floats bad as it did the shark dart.

FT

 

[Mo2vation]

This attaches to (one of) your lower dump valve(s) - if I only had one lower valve I wouldn't use it as I believe it kills the valve dump capabilities and the valve becomes a dedicated inflator. If the valve remains usable until this thing is deployed, I'm all for it. But the ones I saw required a retro-fit and the "valve" sort of goes away and the hole in the bladder becomes the SOS inflator.

Its not "auto" inflate at all. Once you pull the cord, it only inflates when you're inflating your BC. If you pull the cord with no intention to use the device, i imagine some of the gas in your BC will migrate to the device - but there will be no additional lift.

So unless you're planning on using your BC as a jetpack to the surface, I can't see this thing contributing to an out of control ascent. Its sole source of gas is from a BC lower dump valve.

Agreed - the C02 version is scary stuff (rock on, eBay). This one will only be deployed by your BC inflator - I don't see the danger. Its sort of a hands-free sausage (or SMB.... whatever). I thought it was pretty cool (if you had 2 lower dump valves)

KK

 

[scubachris]

I think the SMBi you want to look at is made by AP Valves, called the Buddy SMBCi, see link.

http://www.apvalves.com/SMBCi.html


My mother in-law and numerous friends use them in the UK, seem to be popular among the BSAC divers. They have nothing but good things to say about them. They are bulkly but fit in a thigh pouch or can strap to your leg.

They do deploy very quickly. Just crack the valve and let go. It inflates on the way up, so just hold you reel and let it spin. It won't spill on the surface and there is an over-pressure valve, just look at the tech specs.

The cylinder is bigger then it looks in the photo on the website and is easily filled from your cylinder.

I've never seen US divers with them, and don't know if they are even sold in the US. But there are a number of dive shops in the UK who will sell and ship to the US. Not sure if they have to take the valve out on the cylinder to ship so make sure there are no shipping issues.