OOA question. Who is teaching to give your main unit?

[String]

IMHO
Teaching people ( new divers) to take a primary reg from the donors mouth can be a problem. Think of a ooa diver in panic would you want someone swimming up to you and pulling a reg out of your mouth even though they been taugh properly in a pool? or rather them grabing at your octo instead.

There's nothing to say a panicing OOA diver isnt going to make a grab for that reg regardless of what they've been trained.


The DIR method is just fine, but lets look at it this way for a moment. [/QUOTE]

Really wish people would stop calling it that. The long hose method is nothing to do with GUE/DIR, was around long before they existed and certainly not exclusive to them.

 

[imasinker]

Sorry String, I will in the future write the 7 foot hose method, I was just refering to another reply where DIR was used!

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Really wish people would stop calling it that. The long hose method is nothing to do with GUE/DIR, was around long before they existed and certainly not exclusive to them.

I am pretty sure Shek Exley and other early cave divers started using long hoses (5' at the time) in the early 70's - a couple decades before GUE existed.

 

[Web Monkey]

I don't think the OP sounds at all pompous. I think he is just logically saying that I want to use the reg that I know is working and donate to you the occy reg that I carry specifically for the purpose of supporting my buddy. I also don't think this is necessarily because he is not comfortable in the water without a reg for a brief time.

It's still a complete crap-shoot as to whether you get the primary or the backup, since you may be mugged for your primary even if you don't choose to "donate" it, so it's very important that both regulators work well.

I actually think the likelihood of an occy not working is low since scuba gear is very reliable.

Clean SCUBA gear is very reliable. A second stage that's been dragged through the dirt or has a family of spiders living in the exhaust valve may not be.

But ultimately if my buddy stuffs up and runs out of air, or they haven't had their equipment serviced properly, then I don't see why I should be the one to die.

That would be your fault for letting your buddy dive with faulty equipment and not doing a proper pre-dive check.

Terry

 

[Tigerman]

...
Clean SCUBA gear is very reliable. A second stage that's been dragged through the dirt or has a family of spiders living in the exhaust valve may not be.
...
Terry

I sure as heck wouldnt want sucking that into my mouth if I was in the unfortunate position of depsperately needing some air

 

[imasinker]

Ok....so with that, do any of you excersise your octo, by using it say on a safety stop or any other time? I have on a few occasions breathed mine while on a safety stop (15 feet) or is this just another stupid question?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Clean SCUBA gear is very reliable. A second stage that's been dragged through the dirt or has a family of spiders living in the exhaust valve may not be.

Dunno about spiders, but I once pulled a leaking octo apart and found a tiny ... and quite dead ... crab in there ... :shocked2:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Doc Intrepid]

"When someone is trying to pull my reg out of my mouth, they are effectively putting themselves before me.. Its my right to put myself exactly where I belong.. Way before them. Trust me. It was taught and I highly agree with it. But then again, we are from Texas where we have Castle laws that most others dont understand..."

Psycho, you are effectively named.

Please try to refrain from stabbing the next panicked diver who swims toward you for a working regulator.

Dive safe,

Doc

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Ok....so with that, do any of you excersise your octo, by using it say on a safety stop or any other time? I have on a few occasions breathed mine while on a safety stop (15 feet) or is this just another stupid question?

My normal routine is to test both regulators prior to starting the dive. Whether diving from shore or boat, all it takes is a couple quick breaths when you first get in the water.

Doing it at safety stop is all well and good, but if you've made it that far, you aren't likely to need it. Much better to test them at the beginning of the dive ... and in the water.

I used to test them by breathing them dry ... until I had one pass that test, then slurp badly when underwater (cracked mouthpiece).

(edit) Another thought ... it's not a bad idea to see how your backup reg breathes at depth ... because that's usually where it's gonna come in handy. One of my standard AOW exercises is to go "OOA" on a student during the deepest part of the deep dive, to test their responses. I've often gotten a reg that breathes poorly at depth. When I mention it to the student after the dive, they're usually surprised, as they've only breathed their octo in shallow water (if at all). Many types of octopus are so badly detuned that they are hard to breathe on deeper dives. Last thing you want an OOA diver getting is a reg that makes them work hard to take that next breath ... it's almost a guaranteed way to put them into full-blown panic mode.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[scubafool]

Ok....so with that, do any of you excersise your octo, by using it say on a safety stop or any other time? I have on a few occasions breathed mine while on a safety stop (15 feet) or is this just another stupid question?

At the start of EVERY dive, I breathe both my primary and my secondary regulator underwater. I also breathe it when I practice air shares, and on odd occasions during almost every dive.