Does anyone push their purge button on OOG drills?

[MauiScubaSteve]

I learned a hard lesson about purging a regulator this past August, when I was taking my cave training. While diving in a cave with a fair bit of flow, and breathing hard due to exertion, I donated my primary to my dive buddy and put my backup in my own mouth. Without purging, I inhaled ... and a tiny amount of water went down my windpipe, causing my larynx to spasm shut.

If only all SB'ers were so honest. I'm interested in the rest of the story. What did your cave instructor have to say about you donating with no air in your lungs (evidently) and then not hitting the purge button before breathing in?

I am still not clear on the topic here? I thought every certified OW diver was taught to not breath in first on any second stage in any environment, even dry in a parking lot. If you have no air in your lungs that would mean hit the purge button first, no?

 

[spectrum]

I am still not clear on the topic here? I thought every certified OW diver was taught to not breath in first on any second stage in any environment, even dry in a parking lot. If you have no air in your lungs that would mean hit the purge button first, no?

The topic is how do you present the second stage you are donating.

My training was that you present it to the face of the recipient with the purge pressed and the regulator bubbling. They then take it home.

In practice I find that holding he regulator by the hose fitting allows the recipient to make a much easier acquisition. This is especially true in cold water with heavy gloves. If I am purging with my gloved hand there isn't much left for the needy diver to grab. The result is some fumbling and eventually you let it go so they can grab the darned thing. Holding the hose makes it easier to acquire.

Of course if the diver were distracted or other wise not able to manipulate it I'd stuff it in their mouth with the purge flowing.

Another related and rarely required skill is what I call an empty lung recovery. When training, getting certified and even when drilling most divers will take a nice hearty breath and proceed to demonstrate their skill. As a challenge make a full exhale, remove the regulator and then recover the regulator and purge it with the coordination that lets you begin with an inhale safely. In the real world you do not get to choose when it may get ripped from your mouth. Of course if you can muster even a feeble exhale first it's good insurance when it's the real deal.

Pete

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If only all SB'ers were so honest. I'm interested in the rest of the story. What did your cave instructor have to say about you donating with no air in your lungs (evidently) and then not hitting the purge button before breathing in?

I am still not clear on the topic here? I thought every certified OW diver was taught to not breath in first on any second stage in any environment, even dry in a parking lot. If you have no air in your lungs that would mean hit the purge button first, no?

Of course it would ... but there is a big difference between doing something in a routine situation and doing it while you're being stressed and task-loaded. I've exchanged regs underwater thousands of times without incident. This time I screwed up and it bit me.

There is no rest of the story ... I allowed myself to get careless and paid the price. When I recovered we exited the cave. Afterward my instructor asked me what happened and I told him. Obviously I knew better ... there really wasn't much point in pursuing that topic. He asked me if I was OK, and when I said yes he proceeded to debrief the dive.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[adm3745]

I am bringing this discussion up because of a thread in Mishap Analysis. How many people push their purge button while doing OOG/OOA drills? In the mentioned thread, a scuba instructor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter when his dive buddy died.

I always purge it before giving to a buddy. Once they have it in hand though it's their responsibility. We also practiced how to breath from a free flowing reg in OW which we simulated by holding down the purge.

 

[Herk_Man]

Not to be flippant, but ... never exhale that much?

I inflate by mouth often (that's the way I often do my BC) and I just blow out the "top" half.

My instructor stated that oral inflation actually causes you to use air faster as it causes your body to demand more air than it would if just breathing normally. Single source of information so not implying this is truly correct. But it does have a ring of truth to it.

 

[Thalassamania]

I'd never heard that, an interesting concept that bears looking into even if I must express initial disbelief.

 

[BabyDuck]

another tidbit to add - i had a spasm once in a class and was afraid to hit the purge since i thought it might send the water shooting down my lungs. walter said to also practice clearing a reg with clucking your tongue, like snapping it from the roof of your mouth to the bottom. this doesn't need any air in your lungs to work.

just something for the toolkit...

oh, and i don't push the purge while donating, but i've done dives with people who did, at least during s-drills. didn't bother me one way or the other but i can see times it would be reassuring and times it would hinder timely acquisition of the reg.

 

[RJP]

I always purge it before giving to a buddy. Once they have it in hand though it's their responsibility.

If you purge and then stop purging it and hand it to them, they need to purge it again anyway, so why bother?

 

[adm3745]

haha I don't really know now that you mention it. Maybe I just like to know I've cleared out anything that was in it exluding water of course...

 

[Texasdivechick]

On a related note, would any of you forcibly hold the regulator in your buddy's mouth if they were having a coughing spasm? I have had a frightening coughing attack while pretty deep. I had to put my hand over my reg to remind myself to keep it in my mouth regardless if I needed to puke or if I was gasping for air. The reg was delivering the air, but like NWGD, I guess my larynx had a spasm. If you saw this happening to your buddy, how would you proceed? What if that buddy were trying to bolt to the surface? (I didn't do that, but all the same it was very scary).