Shrimp And Smooth Bore Hoses For An Sf2

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The Chairman

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What do you have? I love my SF2, but the convoluted hoses (non-laminar flow) result in a gurgling sound during a long dive. It simply harshes my mellow. I also like the idea of an integrated BOV, so why not plan this right?
 
I using a BOV and I have never thought ofba smooth hose. It would be neat to try that out
 
Laminar flow, ie a lack of turbulance, really reduces the work of breathing just on it's own. Add to that, a smooth bore eliminates places for crap to accumulate and grow nasties, and it makes even more sense. Hoping @lof will come in for a discussion on this.
 
20 Inch Coopers and a Shrimp (with the adapters) seems to be a common mod for the SF2. I've been doing a few mods on 6 SF-2 for a local PSD Team, and that's what they are planning on moving to.

Tobin
 
BOV is a must on any CCR in my opinion. (but I might be biased :) )
Coopers are nice, smooth insides help them dry faster too.
There have been instances reported where the rubber delaminated from the structural wire, though.
 
I finally got to dive my SF2 again yesterday, but this was the first time with the Cooper hoses and the Shrimp BOV installed.

Wow.

It's been more than a month since I've been on my SF2, for a few reasons. The Philippines, teaching, buying/building a new van and the list goes on. Part of it was trying to integrate the Shrimp into the plumbing. After all was said and done, I kept it simple and hooked the BOV into my bailout bottle. In the end, it's added one step to my dive check list. I do make sure that I can breathe off of the Shrimp before I splash.

This was the quietest dive I've ever had on my SF2. Very little gurgling, and when it started, I simply drank the condensate and it was gone. Pretty cool.

I wasn't expecting two benefits though. One was how the shorter hoses made it easy to keep my mouthpiece in. Incredibly easy and there was no jaw fatigue. It didn't hurt my chin either.

The other benefit (?) was how hot the and moist the breathing gas was. It was hot! Not quite uncomfortable, but it was close. The coopers are obviously better insulated and much shorter so there is less heat loss all around. The difference was noticed after the dive as well. I didn't have that after dive hoarse feeling. That was great.

There was one thing I didn't like. The Shrimp is a bit of a honker on OC. It was loud on the surface and only mildly so underwater. Oh yes, I switched a couple of times just to get the feel of the BOV. There's still a second stage on my bail out bottle and I ha to add an additional hose, but it was more than manageable.
 
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One more thing... that was the driest my counterlung has been as well. There were only a couple of teaspoons of water in it after three hours of diving. I'm suspecting that the retained heat also translates into less condensation everywhere. The high moisture content also means less dehydration for me during the dive. It's a win/win situation all around. I just have to get used to the new warm. I can't wait to see how she'll do in the springs. Yesterday were the least problematic dives I've had on my SF2. The last dive was a night dive and it was insanely peaceful. No harsh breathing sounds. It was shallow, so I turned of the automatic dil and my buoyancy was so spot on, I actually ran the dive manually. When I felt a little heavy, I gave a squirt of 02 which kept it above the 0.7 threshold. Consequently, I never heard the solenoid kick in. Did I mention this was peaceful? Adding to that, I dove with a blacklight, so it was peacefully psychedelic at that. At the end of the dive the bioluminescent critters were coming out so I kept the light off. The underwater pyrotechnics were amazing and I felt sorry for all the other divers with their lights still on.

All three dives were with @MidnightParrot on @RainbowReef Dive Charters. We did the Speigel Grove, the Benwood and then the night dive was at Fire Coral Cave on Molasses Reef.
 
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I'm suspecting that the retained heat also translates into less condensation everywhere.

I don't know if that's how condensation works. But, I'm not a scientist; nor do I play one on TV. I saw a scientist on TV once... he wasn't talking about condensation, though. He was talking about an alien invasion... so... if you need information about alien invasions, I'm your man!

I am glad you had a quietly awesome dive, though! Sounds like some quality (and safety) upgrades!
 
Condensation is a matter of reaching the dew point. Hotter air can hold a lot more moisture than cooler air. Add in some cooler surfaces and you get condensation along those surfaces. Insulate those surface and reduce their overall area and you keep the air warmer (holds more moisture) and reduce the area as well as the intensity of the cool surfaces and you reduce the amount of condensation. Keeping the humidity high means that the moisture in your lungs won't be scavenged near as much as the hyper dry air found in most Scuba cylinders.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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