I learned how to breath from the Tank Valve with my hand as a straw

[Ladyvalea]

Ok, today in stress and rescue class or instructor made use learn to breath from just a spare air tank 63 alum...with the O ring away from you underwater Negative on the bottom...you make a cup around the o ring and valve with your hands like a hand straw ....and turn on the tank valve and sip the air coming out...then shut it off and move the tank a couple feet and sip the tank again!
Ok ...this was a hard task...I drank a lot of water, and had to stand up a couple times ... we practice in the shallow end of the pool plus a couple times I turn the valve on to much and air was just to strong
...."now I don't remember why he taught us this? " Cuz, I'm like what situation underwater would you be in to have to drink air from an extra tank that has no Regulator attached???

 

[Ladyvalea]

Ok on another board someone mention they were taught this as an option in the case of regulator failure.

Flip the back pack, shut gas remove reg and breath.

 

[The Kraken]

I was going to ask what would be the practicality of such an exercise for a basic open water student.

the K

 

[The Kraken]

Ok on another board someone mention they were taught this as an option in the case of regulator failure.

Flip the back pack, shut gas remove reg and breath.

I think I'd prefer to use my dive buddy's alternate second stage.

the K

 

[300bar]

:rofl4: we do that for FUN in the pool,just open the valve and breath it.
It's just good fun in the pool.

 

[String]

I can see it being a fun thing to play if bored in a pool but otherwise it has absolutely no real world purpose at all. Generally i dont like people being taught things that have no real world use.

 

[Doc]

It's a nifty parlour trick, but maybe a bit more...

Any mildly stressful activity that you can pass off as fun, it teaches the subject composure and trust through the understanding of how the air supply is delivered at its most basic level.

It was a standard practice to try this as late as the 70's, along with fully geared-up calesthenics and underwater "harassment"- the instructor removing your mask, turning off your air and worse.

The breathing through the tank nipple just teaches self reliance and confidence, it never had a practical application after regulators went to fail-safe design in the 50"s.

 

[SparticleBrane]

First, let me say that I don't recommend anyone going out and doing this (especially after reading my post) without proper instruction.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with bare-tank breathing...

The best setup to use is an older steel 72 with a Sherwood 5000 K-valve. The 72 is relatively lightweight in the water and easy to move around, but not too negative to pull you down if you keep air in your lungs. The Sherwood 5000 k-valve is incredibly easy to manipulate and regulate the amount of air coming out of the valve, unlike many valves today that are practically on/off switches.


You can breathe directly off the valve, just don't close your mouth over it to form a seal -- easy to rupture a lung if you don't have an escape path for extra air.



What is the purpose? It's a fantastic skill for basic students to learn about how much your breathing changes your buoyancy while diving, since the only buoyancy swing you have while doing this is what is contained in your lungs. Also a good way for students to "slay the dragon" and help them become more comfortable in the water.


My instructor at school regularly bare-tanks and can hold perfect trim and buoyancy while bare-tanking with one hand, switching hands, spinning the tank around...pretty amazing to watch someone who is great at this skill.

 

[DaleC]

First, let me say that I don't recommend anyone going out and doing this (especially after reading my post) without proper instruction.

You can breathe directly off the valve, just don't close your mouth over it to form a seal -- easy to rupture a lung if you don't have an escape path for extra air.

What is the purpose? It's a fantastic skill for basic students to learn about how much your breathing changes your buoyancy while diving, since the only buoyancy swing you have while doing this is what is contained in your lungs.

Hi Sparticlebrane. I'm just responding to the idea - not you personally but...

Wouldn't fin pivots accomplish the same thing without the high risk of a potentially fatal lung injury?
Any instructor teaching a student to put their mouth even slightly over a HP air source is crazy IMO for being completely open to lawsuit if anything went wrong. There would simply be no defence against gross negligence. The damage that 2600 - 3400 PSI can do is extreme, to say the least, compared to the otherwise easily accomplished benefits. With the task loading at that level one cannot trust or justify that a new student won't
a.) put their mouth too far over the valve or
b.) open the valve too much by accident

OK perhaps for someone who understands the dangers and accepts the risks but a new diver??? Unless they have an understanding of pressurized air and a working knowledge of the equipment being used they could not form any sense of implied consent.

Fortunately you put that caveat in there .

 

[ReefHound]

I've always considered it a cute divemaster trick to impress the students in the pool but really of no practical use. I mean, I suppose there could be some kind of scenario where it was needed but I'd rather focus on the ten million more likely scenarios first.