Are scuba regulators life-support equipment?

[drbill]

Personally, I consider them life support items based on a definition similar to underh20man's. However, I don't associate that label with anything that would prevent me from servicing my own reg (although I don't) or fear, etc. To me it is simply a label that is used to indicate that I could not do the dives I do without a regulator in my mouth.

 

[Superlyte27]

Pete:

They are not in 80' of water. They are in less than 40' of water. And the breathing hoses they breathe off of every few minutes, are regulated.... albeit topside. So, regulators are still present. Albeit surface supplied regulators... just like in the commercial diving industry.

 

[The Chairman]

It's just a simple hose connected to a pump on the surface. There is no demand style regulator anywhere in the system. The mermaids use a simple thumb valve to release the air they need to survive. BTW, during one of the shows a mermaid supposedly takes one of these hoses down to 100 ft. At least that's what the announcer says. FWIW, it doesn't reflect any other commercial set up I've ever seen.

 

[DevonDiver]

Those mermaids suck off regulators...

 

[al248005]

I have always considered them to be life support equipment and I don't sell nor service them. Still, regulators are secondary anyways to the hose. Without the hose that feeds the reg it really doesn't matter. The hose in itself IMO is "life support equipment".

 

[Superlyte27]

It's just a simple hose connected to a pump on the surface. There is no demand style regulator anywhere in the system. The mermaids use a simple thumb valve to release the air they need to survive. BTW, during one of the shows a mermaid supposedly takes one of these hoses down to 100 ft. At least that's what the announcer says. FWIW, it doesn't reflect any other commercial set up I've ever seen.

I promise those hoses are regulated. Certainly you know how compressors work. If there wasn't a regulator, they could get 5psi or 500psi. They work exactly like a pneumofathometer that commercial divers use. The pneumofathometer is redundancy to the hat in the event that the hat fails. It's a fancy name for a hose hooked to a compressor, regulator and pressure gauge.

 

[captain]

Mermaids do it sans regulators!

​

I think the song ironically fits the discussion...

A humbling video for those who think they are great divers.

---------- Post added January 26th, 2014 at 04:14 PM ----------

I promise those hoses are regulated. Certainly you know how compressors work. If there wasn't a regulator, they could get 5psi or 500psi. They work exactly like a pneumofathometer that commercial divers use. The pneumofathometer is redundancy to the hat in the event that the hat fails. It's a fancy name for a hose hooked to a compressor, regulator and pressure gauge.

Tell you what, take your second stage off the end of the hose and put a manual valve on it and go dive.

 

[The Chairman]

I promise those hoses are regulated.

I believe this one operates off of two simple limit switches, high and low. This system, or one like it has been operating since 1946. They might have added a regulator since then, but not a demand regulator.

Look, I get that I just insulted the sacred cow, the holy of holies and the most sacrosanct piece of gear in the minds of many divers, but let's not get all hysterical over it. It's just an air delivery system. Whether it uses a simple feed back mechanism to deliver air at the proper pressure like our modern day regulators or a simple pump ending in a hose like they did with the sponge divers.

 

[Superlyte27]

Tell you what, take your second stage off the end of the hose and put a manual valve on it and go dive.

Unfortunately, I've done that countless times. That's our backup gas when we have a failure in the commercial world. A simple 3/8" hose with air blowing through it -- minus the manual valve.

 

[The Chairman]

Those mermaids suck off regulators...

O rly? Have you ever tried one? It doesn't breath like any regulator I've breathed off of.