Diving Without an Inflator Hose

[jadairiii]

... a yellow US Divers horsecollar. The inflator hose had a long pointy end that plugged into the mechanism on the BC.

Funny, my first BC was also that USD. Bought mine without the power inflator, then later added it when I save up some money. Used it about a year or 2, hated that thing, bought a Scuba Pro BCP and never used a front BC again!

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

Funny, my first BC was also that USD. Bought mine without the power inflator, then later added it when I save up some money. Used it about a year or 2, hated that thing, bought a Scuba Pro BCP and never used a front BC again!

Yeah, I went from that horse collar to an At-Pac and never looked back. Here's me in about 1979 with my At-Pac. Loved the fact the power inflate hose was short and back up out of the way. M

 

[lamarpaulski]

Bingo,

Yeah that crotch strap could have been classified as a birth control device. Memory lane.

Thanks !

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Scuba Lawyer
[in fact my first BC ever not counting my dad's WWII Mae West I used for years - not a real BC I guess - more emergency floatation]
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You came into the activity when "If it cost over a dollar we made it or if it didn't exist we invented it and made it"
Now "If it cant be purchased at a LDS or on line it doesn't exist and cant be made "

You have probably put a unspecified number of readers in to cardiac arrest !
For Shame! For shame !

CC
@Marie13 CED -- The way it wuzz in the dazz of our dives

 

[Scubamat]

Removing the hose to reduce a failure point but you forget about the other one you create. I see lots of old divers say we didn't have this when I learnt to dive, I often heard the same thing in other industries with old hands complaining about safety equipment. Now losing a power inflator won't stop you putting air in a BCD and won't make the BCD suddenly a death trap. What the power inflator does is actually reduce task loading. Reducing task loading helps the biggest point of failure on any dive the idiot that decided it's fun to relax in a place they can't breathe, can't see fully without assistance, can't move around as easily and have limited communication with the other idiots that might help him when something goes wrong.

The power inflator reduce task loading on a normal dive yes you can do without it and likely be fine. When things go wrong and you've just rescued your buddy and out of breath from working hard a stress you don't want to hit his inflate button make sure he stays on the surface only to realise it's not connected to anything and you have do the hard way while already trying to manage yourself, your buddy, catching you breath, the choppy waves crashing over your head.

With gear choices start with the default and ask the following questions, how does this change make my diving more enjoyable and how does this change affect a emergency for myself and those you dive with(how many forget this person). Always consider your training and experience level.

 

[AfterDark]

@lamarpaulski
stated
"Bad idea. I remember how happy I was when they came out. I had a horse collar BC and it required oral inflation. Life got a lot easier and safer with inflator hose and connection....."

@AfterDark
When I began diving, before auto inflators, it was common for me at least to carry a big rock or several smaller ones to begin the descent releasing the rock(s) as my buoyancy changed...…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since you both were active divers and can recall the introduction of Auto Inflators - one on the west cost the other the east coast.. the questions are:

When? and by whom? -- company or certifying agency dis you first experienced an auto inflator ????

I recall in 1970s ( i recall early 1970s???) when Nemrod/ Seamless Rubber Company introduced their built proof yellow Personal Floatation Vest (PFV) with an HP bottle slung below the PFV for inflation.

I also recall that John Gaffney of NASDS along with ??? Bailey of Bailey suit fame was big on push button diving -- especially Bailey and his "Dive Pillow" (piece of JUNK - but he sold a lot of them !

I currently do not have access to my training manuals- especially the first NASDS manual Safe SCUBA by Bill Hogan which might provide insight into Auto Inflation time line

Inquiring minds want to know...

Cheers from California on a lovely clear warm sunny day

Sam Miller, III
@Akimbo
@Scuba Lawyer

@Marie13 -- Continuing Educational Credits =CEC

@Sam Miller III my 1st auto inflator was on a USD grey horse collar circa 1970's. Before that I used a short grey UDT vest with dual CO2 inflators and a manual inflator. The UDT vest was more for surface use, although I did become pretty good at manual/oral inflation and deflation of the vest underwater thru the tiny tube! IMO the auto inflator is the 2nd best SCUBA accessory made, the SPG being the 1st.

 

[jadairiii]

Yeah, I went from that horse collar to an At-Pac and never looked back. Here's me in about 1979 with my At-Pac. Loved the fact the power inflate hose was short and back up out of the way. M

View attachment 522930

Me too, used the BCP for a few years then bought an At Pac. Used it for a very long time until I switched to a BP/Wing

 

[undrwater]

Now "If it cant be purchased at a LDS or on line it doesn't exist and cant be made "

Have you not been to the DIY section of ScubaBoard? If not, that's the true shame!

To the OP; I don't think removing the LP inflator hose is going to simplify things. If you like the idea, you may wish to look into "vintage diving" exemplified by some of the pics here.
T
depths you're talking about can be done with no BCD at all, though I'd recommend you get some training on truly proper weighting before attempting it.

 

[macado]

Why stop at removing the LP hose for your power inflator? You may also want to remove your octopus / alternative second stage. These didn't exist back in the day either and people survived (well..mostly). After all, that added extra hose and second stage adds some additional failure points too. If you need to share air just buddy breath... I bet there are probably other unmentioned "failure points" on your rig that could be removed in lieu of one lonely LP inflator hose.

EDIT: Ok so I might have been a bit sarcastic. But honestly..my warm water rig hasn't had a working power inflator for the last 4 years. Mainly out of pure apathy, I only just replaced the inflator last month with a new one. That particular BCD lives in Mexico at a friend's house and I kept forgetting to service the inflator or bring a new one down.

In general, there is no reason why you can't dive without a working power inflator. All you're really doing is creating a minor nuance and some additional tasking loading. Of course minor nuances can compound and become bigger problems. While I don't hail from the era where power inflators didn't exist but I have certainly done my fair share of diving without one.

Are you going to die? Probably not.

For record, I vastly prefer having a power inflator on my rig but I'm not going to get bent out of shape if I don't have one nor do I feel that I'm mitigating significant risk by removing it. The pros of having an LP inflator hose on your regulator outweigh the cons in my opinion.

EDIT2: I can't believe I just wrote all this about LP inflator hoses..

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

It's likely been mentioned here before but I was too lazy to look - removing the LP hose decreases failure points and increases task loading. I had an old SAS drysuit with a chest-mounted oral inflator (no power inflator). Having to swap reg for inflator and back again throughout the dive as I changed depths was a PITA. My 2psi. M