Does everyone really need the LP BCD inflator?

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

If you need rescuing on the surface the power inflator is the mechanism rescuers are trained to use to establish positive buoyancy quickly. Even in a self-rescue scenario it is much quicker and easier to establish positive buoyancy than orally inflating.

 

[tna9001]

Why would the gas we breathe affect a dive where theres no air in the BCD?

I don't understand.

Because the air in an 80cf tank at 3000psi weighs 5 lbs, you are more buoyant at the end of the dive, which has to be compensated for somehow.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Corrupted_Diver

Seems like your current weighting is perfect for your choice of exposure protection and cylinder. What do you see as the advantages of eliminating your low pressure inflator hose?

Do you intend on diving in any different conditions, where your exposure protection, cylinder, and weight will be different? Diving in Florida year round, I use a 3, 5, and 7 mm full suit with or without a hooded vest, weight between 4 and 20 pounds, usually an AL80, but sometimes a steel 100 cylinder. I put some air in my BC for almost every dive, particularly at the start when I have all the weight of my gas and wetsuit is generally most compressed at depth. Even with an AL80, you'll have a little over 5 lbs of extra weight from gas at the beginning of a dive compared to the end at your safety stop.

Edit, sorry for the redundancy, @tna9001 posted as I was typing

 

[hedonist222]

Because the air in an 80cf tank at 3000psi weighs 5 lbs, you are more buoyant at the end of the dive, which has to be compensated for somehow.

I see your point now.
I'm a littttttttttle more bouyant when I'm coming close to 50 bars left.
But I usually finish a dive with 80 to 90 at depths up to 20 meters.

So theres still weight in my tank.

 

[Swedinsidemount]

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?

yah if that's the case then why not go 70s style with just a harness...<TG>

 

[hedonist222]

Hi @Corrupted_Diver

Seems like your current weighting is perfect for your choice of exposure protection and cylinder. What do you see as the advantages of eliminating your low pressure inflator hose?

Do you intend on diving in any different conditions, where your exposure protection, cylinder, and weight will be different? Diving in Florida year round, I use a 3, 5, and 7 mm full suit with or without a hooded vest, weight between 4 and 20 pounds, usually an AL80, but sometimes a steel 100 cylinder. I put some air in my BC for almost every dive, particularly at the start when I have all the weight of my gas and wetsuit is generally most compressed at depth. Even with an AL80, you'll have a little over 5 lbs of extra weight from gas at the beginning of a dive compared to the end at your safety stop.

Hi scubadada,

Like I said a few posts back.
I just wanted to have an intellectual discussion with you folk and learn from your experiences.

I didn't start this out with an advantage in mind.
It dawned upon me when servicing my regulator last week that I never use the inflator.

Light bulb: something to discuss with scubaboard folk (and the guy who called me an idiot)

During summer months I wear a full rash guard.
Now in winter I have on a full 3mm (or is it 3/2?) and a hoodie.
I've needed to add a solid kilogram (2 pounds) of weight to be able to dive without air in my bcd.

 

[drbill]

I dove for decades without a BCD until it was required gear on a dive with a Cousteau team. I kept trying to descend, but the damned thing kept inflating itself and bobbing me right back to the surface. I told the DM and told her to observe me since she didn't believe it. When she realized I was telling the truth, she asked what we should do now. I said I'll simply disconnect the inflator hose and dive without the BCD (as I had done for years).

Today I wouldn't dive without a BCD and inflator hose. It is so much easier to adjust the air using the inflator than to try orally inflating it.

 

[scubadada]

...During summer months I wear a full rash guard.
Now in winter I have on a full 3mm (or is it 3/2?) and a hoodie.
I've needed to add a solid kilogram (2 pounds) of weight to be able to dive without air in my bcd.

I'm sure you mean you added the kg to compensate for the buoyancy of you wetsuit and stay neutrally buoyant at your safety stop and final ascent.

 

[Steelyeyes]

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.

I like the convenience of the LP inflator but that's not the main reason I have it. In the event things go wonky and you need to stay on the surface in rough water it's nicer to be able to keep your reg in your mouth until you're stable on the surface. Also in rescue scenarios, even though I'm unlikely to find myself in one like a panicked diver, it's nice to be able to quickly change buoyancy to drop under, come up from behind, and control the diver from behind without using one hand to remove my reg and then huff and puff to get buoyant again.

So the short story is that the BCD is more than just a buoyancy trimming device.

 

[Angelo Farina]

One of my two sons, Giacomo, prefers to keep the hose disconnected, as in a couple of occasions the inflator was slowly inflating the bladder (due to poor maintenance, which was my fault).
He usually does not need to inflate it at all, he learned to dive (as me, my wife, and our other son) without any BCD, and he prefers to continue not using it at all.
I instead usually make use of the BCD; so I keep the hose connected.