Out of gas - what happens next?

[Pkishino]

You know, just when I thought I was set to not spend any money on scuba gear next week, you guys start talking about all this long hose stuff. Now I'm going to be stuck buying and fiddling with a bunch of rubber. I hope you're all happy about this.

As long as you get training/practice using it properly, then I'm sure youll be happier

 

[Kevo88]

As long as you get training/practice using it properly, then I'm sure youll be happier

I was just thinking about that. None of the instructors at my lds dive long hose. I'll have to stop into DRIS and see if I can get some time in with one of their tech instructors to learn and drill OOA with the setup. My last post was a bit tongue in cheek, in that I'm not in a big rush to make too many changes too quickly. Maybe in a few months once I've got some more dives under my belt.

 

[Doby45]

As long as you get training/practice using it properly, then I'm sure youll be happier

I have never once been "trained" on how to use a long hose. Maybe it is in some class I have not yet taken, but I have done well over 100 dives with a long hose and have not been dead yet. I would say that you need to "practice" deploying and stowing your long hose, but there really is not a "Long Hose Certification" unless PADI has made it a specialty.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I have never once been "trained" on how to use a long hose. Maybe it is in some class I have not yet taken, but I have done well over 100 dives with a long hose and have not been dead yet. I would say that you need to "practice" deploying and stowing your long hose, but there really is not a "Long Hose Certification" unless PADI has made it a specialty.

Also keep in mind that if you're diving with someone who's not familiar with long hose deployment it's important to go over with them how it works, in case you need to donate. A quick demonstration of how it works is usually sufficient ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Doby45]

Also keep in mind that if you're diving with someone who's not familiar with long hose deployment it's important to go over with them how it works, in case you need to donate. A quick demonstration of how it works is usually sufficient ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

THAT is the best training you will do with a long hose.

 

[stuartv]

You know, just when I thought I was set to not spend any money on scuba gear next week, you guys start talking about all this long hose stuff. Now I'm going to be stuck buying and fiddling with a bunch of rubber. I hope you're all happy about this.

Not sure whether you're thinking 40" long hose for primary, or 5'/7' long hose. Either way, if you don't already have one, a $25 OmniSwivel clone from CaveAdventurers is a very nice addition to any such setup.

Cave Adventurers - Swivel - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!

Also, for donating, you can easily find YouTube videos. Here is one. Skip to about the 12:00 mark.


The thing I most had to work on was making it smooth and automatic to use my left hand to put the alternate in my mouth at the same time I was ducking my head and extending my right arm with the primary in my right hand. A little pool practice and you'll have it.

 

[Kevo88]

Not sure whether you're thinking 40" long hose for primary, or 5'/7' long hose. Either way, if you don't already have one, a $25 OmniSwivel clone from CaveAdventurers is a very nice addition to any such setup.

Cave Adventurers - Swivel - Marianna, Florida USA - Never Undersold!

Also, for donating, you can easily find YouTube videos. Here is one. Skip to about the 12:00 mark.


The thing I most had to work on was making it smooth and automatic to use my left hand to put the alternate in my mouth at the same time I was ducking my head and extending my right arm with the primary in my right hand. A little pool practice and you'll have it.

Thanks for the advice Stuart. I have a 40" hose on my backup second stage currently, which is identical to my primary. So I could experiment with this by only adding the swivel and a few cents worth of bungee to make the necklace. Actually now that I think about it, This wouldn't be much different than the hose routing I'm doing now, basically just changing which reg I'm breathing to start.

 

[Doby45]

I have a 40" hose on my backup second stage currently

Well with you having all the 40" hoses ya need. Now you just need you a shorty hose for your necklaced reg.

The primary second stage is on a {40 in | 1 m} flex or rubber hose with an underarm swivel, and the backup second stage is on a {22 in | 57 cm} flex or rubber hose with a necklace, a thin SPG (choice of PSI or BAR) on a {26 in | 66 cm} HP flex or rubber hose with a S/S snap, plus a {22 in | 57 cm} inflator flex or rubber hose for your BC. The package comes completely assembled by Dive Gear Express with our premium accessories and is ready to dive anywhere in the world.

Regulator Double Braided Flex Hoses

 

[Storker]

Well with you having all the 40" hoses ya need. Now you just need you a shorty hose for your necklaced reg.

You know, if he wanted to try out the config, he could just swap the primary and secondary hoses. Sure, the BO hose would be a little longer than necessary, but that'll give him the opportunity to try if it's something that fits him with a minimum investment.

Personally, I'd recommend anyone trying this out to do a few S-drills and get acquainted with the config. There are a few ways to seriously mess up a gas donation with a LH/BO config. I've tried a few of them myself. That's probably the reason that BSAC was pretty slow in accepting primary donate: If you haven't trained it and put it into muscle memory, there's a decent chance you might mess up. Which is not the best thing to do underwater...

 

[halocline]

Not sure whether you're thinking 40" long hose for primary, or 5'/7' long hose. Either way, if you don't already have one, a $25 OmniSwivel clone from CaveAdventurers is a very nice addition to any such setup.

The thing I most had to work on was making it smooth and automatic to use my left hand to put the alternate in my mouth at the same time I was ducking my head and extending my right arm with the primary in my right hand. A little pool practice and you'll have it.

I would not bother with a swivel if you are using a 5ft hose. It's really not necessary. For the 40" hose I suspect it's an improvement over the 90 degree elbow.

I use my right hand (mostly thumb and 5th finger) to grasp the alternate, bring it up to my mouth, and use the other fingers to get a hold of the longhose, and kind of switch them out in one movement. This is so you don't end up blinding yourself or the other diver with the can light in your left hand. It took a half hour or so of practice, but it's not difficult.