Alternate Inflation Regulators

[WaterDawg]

Hi guys,

I cant speak for the others but the Zeagle Octo+ (made by Apeks) kinda sucks. The opening for oral inflation is diffrent from the one you breath out of ( not too practical huh?). I have switched to a bungeed octo, but I would recomend an "Air2 thingie" to someone who was doing shallow reef dives. But I belive that the "Air2 vs Octo" debate belongs in another thread, cause thats not what he asked.

 

[jamiei]

Michael, the best option is using your shoulder dump (right shoulder) if you have one. Most bc's that come with an alternate inflation device (like the air2) have a shoulder dump. I were in a situation in which I was relying on the air2, I wouldn't take it out of my mouth if possible. You can also pull on the air2 while its in your mouth and dump air out of the left shoulder valve as well.

 

[Albion]

mediver once bubbled...
[#1 Standard fittings: the Sherwood (and similar Genesis) have standard BC quick disconnects. The AirII has(had?) special larger diameter quick disconnects.
#4 Maintenance, (this is similar to #3) but I found it much more convenient to just take the regulators in for service. Others would require that the BC be taken in at the same time. Of course you should have you BC looked at too but not necessarily at the same time!
Mediver [/B]

1) The connection is bigger on some disconnects, this is to allow more air flow as you are now breathing from it.
4) yes you take in BC as well but at least this bit of kit especially the inflator itself are also exmanied, more hassle but worth it

 

[jamiei]

one thing guys... if you have one of these, you don't have to take in the bc as well. At least on my air2, all you have to do is unscrew the clamp that holds the bc hose onto the the air2 and then push out the pin that connects the shoulder dump cable to the air2.

 

[JohnCollins]

I'm not an instructor, but I just bought one and I love it! I am certainly no expert, am coming back to diving after a long layoff, but I do have this "unexpert" opinion.

To those of you who say the Air II is "more complicated", what the heck do you mean? It's not more complicated, it's just different than what you may have learned in your cert course. In my cert course, someone came to me for air, I handed them the octo, grabbed their left shoulder BC strap with my right hand (they did the same) worked our BC hose in our left hands, maintained eye contact and ascended.

With the Air II, now my buddy comes, I give him my main, stick the octo in my mouth (which breathes just fine, I can attest) my buddy doesn't have to change a thing. Nothing. He/she is doing the same drill he/she first learned. Grab my BC with right hand, work BC hose with left hand, no difference. From their perspective it's just like they learned in their cert class and they're breathing off the same kind of reg they're used to, albeit on a shorter hose.

I need to practice a slight change. I grab my buddy's BC by the right strap with my left hand and work my dump valve with my right hand. Ummmm. . .I believe I have the brain capacity to do that.

There are a lot of strong opinions here, and that's fine, I guess, but I agree with the posters here who say, "whatever floats your boat." Train right, think through emergency procedures and brief them with your buddy before every dive (or once a day at least with multiple dives) and have fun! I think there is a lot of heat and smoke here, but not much fire, as far as safety goes. I'm glad I got my Scubapro Air II, but I'd be just as happy with a normal octo, and I believe the "complication" factor is a non-issue. The inflator/backup owner is the only one who needs to alter procedures, the buddy is unaffected. And if the buddy needs to grad the octo before getting the donor's attention, I say there's not much difference between octo and inflator/backup, but if there is, I'd say the slight edge goes to and Air II or TUSA-type inflator unit.

John Collins

 

[scubahorse]

Atomic makes one now. Good good good one.

 

[ScoobyDave]

This really happened to me in my OW class.

We were doing the underwater manual inflate of the BC on our second confined dive. I handily pushed in some air to inflate the BC a bit, and hey, I've got something in my mouth - it must be my regulator - and decided to pull a breath of air. Imagine my surprise (dismay?) when no air was delivered. Panic. Where's my Octo. Awheck, shoot to the surface - wrong. Stayed down, fumbled around and found my primary, swallowed some water but finally got some air. (no flames or dumbo comments, please - this kind of screw up is what confined dives and learning is all about)

Needless to say, I now spend an enormous amount of time practicing oow situations and have since bought my own gear so I know exactly what to do without thinking. My choice? Definitely not a combo octo/inflator. Just like my other hobbies, I'll take a purpose-built piece of equipment over a the compromises of a combo, do-all solution anyday.


Dave

 

[JohnCollins]

ScoobyDave once bubbled...
Needless to say, I now spend an enormous amount of time practicing oow situations and have since bought my own gear so I know exactly what to do without thinking.

I got a chuckle out of your post, Dave, not becuase you did something goofy. . .but because I've done equally goofy things too. We all have, so no teasing from me.

However, I'd say your conclusion argues for more training, not against the use on the Air II unit. By your own admission, you're new to diving, and a dedicated octo is the right choice for you. It's not at all surprising you did what you did in one of your initial cert class confined dives, in fact I wouldn't feel goofy about it at all, if I were you, it's a perfectly normal kind of thing to do, I think.

I'm not arguing against dedicated octos and for my kind of unit. I'm just saying it's a choice we all make personally, and I'm glad to hear some instructors here speak out in favor of it. I like it a lot, and I can safely say I won't ever make your exact mistake ( I can also say I will definitely make some other goofy mistake, though ) and the fact that it doesn't change any procedure my buddy learned in his/her OW course makes me comfortable with it. I know exactly what to do with my Air II without thinking about it, too.

I still think either device is an equally acceptable choice and I still haven't seen any serious criticism of the integrated unit from a safety standpoint that training won't solve. Just my opinion.

JPC

 

[ScoobyDave]

New to diving? By my own admission? hummm, I didnt' read that in my post.

Actually, I'm not new to diving, I was new to the equipment I was using. It's been 10+ years since I had been underwater, and I went through the OW class recently to: 1. refresh my skills. 2. learn on current equipment. 3. learn current techniques.

My premise wasn't an argument for or against a particular piece of gear, but more a recommendation to make a choice, train on it, and get incredibly knowledgeable of it where things are second nature. Not that I want to be mindless of what I'm doing, but emergency training to familiarize one's self to a point where rapid action mitigates an injury.

 

[Pepsi]

caveman once bubbled...
Well, what about Solo diving. I have a 30 Cft Pony Tank, and recently got rid of my Octopus as I had too many hoses and junk hanging off me, and to ensure a clean rig, especially for wreck penetration.

I am considering the inflator hose / octopus as a third alternative . It is neat, clean , and most of all, as a third option.

( in the event I have a buddy, I gan give away my main ( tech style) and still have 2 options for my self )

Contridiction? You say solo dive, then talk about helping your buddy.

I, unpopular to most beliefs, am a true solo diver. My air2 is for me and me only- nobody touches it. My setup is and air2 on a 19cf pony that runs my inflator and octo while my primary serves as just that- primary air source. I make it a policy to breath out of my air2 (redundant source) for at least 30 seconds per dive switching to it and back mostly on decent, always knowing its there and functioning. Have used it at depth well over 500 dives and have never had a problem drawing a breath. It is not as comfortable as my primary because of the incombersome BC hose attached, but still does the job fine. My setup is very streamline and efficiant in an emergency.