Does everyone really need the LP BCD inflator?

[hedonist222]

Hello fellow divers.
The purpose of this topic is to have a useful discussion on the merits of jettisoning the low pressure BCD inflator hose, and instead, orally inflate.

I ask this because I have recently been diving with 4 kg (approximately 8 lbs) of weight with a rash guard.

I found I do not need to inflate my BCD. I remain neutrally buoyant from start to end with no air in my BCD.

So, in my case, why not forego the instant inflator?

And in the event that I ever need to inflate, I would not need more than a miniscule squirt of air. Which can I do by orally inflating.

Any reason to absolutely have it?

Some data for reference:
I am thirty eight years old. I weigh about 72 kg (~158 lbs). I am 184 (6 feet).
I have approximately 490 dives. My SAC is between 0.8 bar and 1.0 bar per minute.
We routinely go down to 30 meters (100 feet).
I'm not sure what else I could provide that would help.

Keen to learn from your experiences.

Thank you.

 

[DiveClimbRide]

The Lpi is there for people like me who wear 8mm of neoprene. For you it's so that if you ever need it (which is rare since nothing is inflating) you don't need to take the Reg out your mouth to inflate your bcd. If you don't need the Lpi why not ditch the bcd as well and wear a backpack style harness. Also why do you want to make it harder for yourself?

 

[Ghost95]

The LP inflator is really just a convenience thing in recreational diving. BC's were inflated for years without LP hoses and before that...no BC's. It sounds like you have your weighting dialed in and don't touch it anyway. I'm sure we could all brainstorm a bunch of different scenarios where one could argue that an LP inflator "might" save you but realistically they are just easier.

All this being said I have seen people thumb a dive or refuse to dive because of a leaking or stuck inflator. No judgment, anyone can thumb a dive at any time for any reason, but that is not a malfunction that would cause me to abort or cancel a dive. It's just too simple a remedy to orally inflate the BC.

Good Diving.

 

[hedonist222]

The Lpi is there for people like me who wear 8mm of neoprene. For you it's so that if you ever need it (which is rare since nothing is inflating) you don't need to take the Reg out your mouth to inflate your bcd. If you don't need the Lpi why not ditch the bcd as well and wear a backpack style harness. Also why do you want to make it harder for yourself?

Thanks for the feedback.

I use a scubapro hydros pro.
So it dives like a back plate and wing?

I'm not trying to make it harder for myself but in the past year and a half and about a 150 dives, I have only ever used the inflator at the surface to keep me afloat. And even that I could easily do orally.
I always inflate my BCD prior to starting dive (whether roll back or stride entry) by inflating it orally. Usually takes a single spirited exhale to get it inflated. Why waste tank air?

Just wondering if there's an underlying technical reason to keep it - for my type of diving.

 

[hedonist222]

The LP inflator is really just a convenience thing in recreational diving. BC's were inflated for years without LP hoses and before that...no BC's. It sounds like you have your weighting dialed in and don't touch it anyway. I'm sure we could all brainstorm a bunch of different scenarios where one could argue that an LP inflator "might" save you but realistically they are just easier.

All this being said I have seen people thumb a dive or refuse to dive because of a leaking or stuck inflator. No judgment, anyone can thumb a dive at any time for any reason, but that is not a malfunction that would cause me to abort or cancel a dive. It's just too simple a remedy to orally inflate the BC.

Good Diving.

I'm just thinking, in the event that I need to be rescued and taken to the surface, my dive partner would remove air from my BCD (and thus not need to pneumatically inflate it). In fact, I hope to Poseidon, that they'd fully deflate my BCD lol.


Well I've slowly been loosing weight and reaching that nirvana where I'm needing less and less weight.
Earlier I needed 5 kg (10 lbs) but now 4 kg (8 lbs) is enough.

 

[RogueClimber]

One of our Captains has had a broken LPI for several years. No issues with oral inflation.

So it is really your choice. Just like many things in diving.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

one guy i did a few dives with would dive with a kraken and no wing..... he did just fine

 

[Tribal]

I'm just thinking, in the event that I need to be rescued and taken to the surface, my dive partner would remove air from my BCD (and thus not need to pneumatically inflate it). In fact, I hope to Poseidon, that they'd fully deflate my BCD lol.

Many are teached to lay down on the victim, deflate their own wing and go up horizontally while using the victims wing. This wil be hard without inflator.
For the dives I do I need one so I never did think about diving without one.
Why would you dive without it?

 

[hedonist222]

Many are teached to lay down on the victim, deflate their own wing and go up horizontally while using the victims wing. This wil be hard without inflator.
For the dives I do I need one so I never did think about diving without one.
Why would you dive without it?

I didn't know about the horizontal rescue technique.

I haven't decided to forego it. But just questioning its use for my sort of diving.

 

[Edward3c]

When I learned to dive I had a Fenzy ABLJ (look it up). No direct feed, two choices to achieve neutral buoyancy; 1. orally inflate, 2. use the crack bottle. The crack bottle was too dangerous for trainees, so not fitted until dive 10 or later.

With today’s training, if you needed to be rescued your buddy would automatically try and inflate your BCD, when nothing happens, revert to a no gas in tank rescue.

Your choice, just ensure you brief your buddies.