Primary and Secondary Regulators w/ dual Sidemount

[Dhboner]

I keep my long hose on a bolt snap that is secured with an o-ring. If I need to donate the long hose and it is clipped off I simply pull hard and the o-ring breaks...no delay and no problem.

 

[victorzamora]

So forget about someone nicely coming up and asking "may I."

Believe me, that's not what I'm assuming. I'm very much assuming I'd be attacked IF it ever happened. Two things, though: I don't expect to dive with divers that suck that badly. Also, when I see them coming they're certainly going to be held out and away from me.

I refuse to make any comment about being close to your or Tom's crotch.

Don't lie. You KNOW you want to be all up on this.

 

[tbone1004]

Stu, completely wrong about it flooding as soon as you take it out of your mouth. It only floods if you do it wrong. If you pass and slide properly the case does not flood at all, first breath may be a little wet if they inhale immediately, but if you do it right the housing can't flood....

 

[Dhboner]

Stu, completely wrong about it flooding as soon as you take it out of your mouth. It only floods if you do it wrong. If you pass and slide properly the case does not flood at all, first breath may be a little wet if they inhale immediately, but if you do it right the housing can't flood....

I have no doubt that is true but I suspect that if I had to donate in real life (especially to one of my sons) I would just get the second stage to them as fast as possible out of instinct. I doubt I would take the time to position the reg so it did not flood.

 

[tbone1004]

then again, you need to practice, donating the second stage so it doesn't flood takes less time than throwing it at them, in this case the best way to do it is also the most efficient...

 

[Sidemount_Stu]

Stu, completely wrong about it flooding as soon as you take it out of your mouth. It only floods if you do it wrong. If you pass and slide properly the case does not flood at all, first breath may be a little wet if they inhale immediately, but if you do it right the housing can't flood....

The way i was taught to donate (assuming you're breathing the long hose) is to grasp the hose, next to the reg, so the back of the palm faces out and then remove the reg from mouth, extending the arm and rotating so that the back the palm ends up facing yourself... this presents the reg the correct way up and ready for the OOG diver...... i would have thought this would flood the housing?

I must admit, i now can't be sure, as whenever i practice OOG drills i use the purge as a standard part of the process, the last thing i want as the OOG diver is to "assume" or "guess" if the reg i'm being donated by somebody else is flooded or not.... far better to make the safe assumption that it is, and purge, rather than the unsafe assumption that it isn't and take a lung full of water.....

 

[tbone1004]

I can see apeks regs in your profile picture so here is the best way for those

screw the hose, it doesn't work with elbows
Grab the regulator by making a C with your thumb and index finger and put that C around the inhalation diaphragm ring with your other fingers around the exhaust T. This gives you full control of the regulator.

You then remove the regulator from your mouth turning the mouthpiece down. Same process if you are trying to spit something out or move to orally inflate your BC. This does not allow any water into the housing.

You rotate the housing 180* so it is facing the diver with the mouthpiece still down. Grab the divers right shoulder strap with your left hand so you have control of the diver and present the regulator to them. You rotate the regulator into their mouth and there is almost no water in the housing. You should NEVER operate the purge button when donating, it is extremely dangerous and can embolize the diver, it is their job to purge the regulator if they need it.

This doesn't work if the reg is grabbed out of your mouth but that isn't your problem at that point. It works for all donating scenarios when you are actively donating *reg being grabbed is stealing not donating*

 

[Sidemount_Stu]

I can see apeks regs in your profile picture so here is the best way for those

screw the hose, it doesn't work with elbows

I only have an elbow on my short hose, necklaced, it will never be donated, so this is not an issue for me

Grab the regulator by making a C with your thumb and index finger and put that C around the inhalation diaphragm ring with your other fingers around the exhaust T. This gives you full control of the regulator.

You then remove the regulator from your mouth turning the mouthpiece down. Same process if you are trying to spit something out or move to orally inflate your BC. This does not allow any water into the housing.

You rotate the housing 180* so it is facing the diver with the mouthpiece still down. Grab the divers right shoulder strap with your left hand so you have control of the diver and present the regulator to them. You rotate the regulator into their mouth and there is almost no water in the housing.

This is way too "controlled" for my liking. The reality is, even if an OOG diver is approaching me, clearly and calmly, he is still going through elevated stress, and he/she's going to grab the reg out of my extended hand, without a thought for which way he needs to move it so it remains water free... he's OOG FFS, all he wants is to breath again!

You should NEVER operate the purge button when donating, it is extremely dangerous and can embolize the diver, it is their job to purge the regulator if they need it.

Totally agree, i wasn't suggesting the doner purges, the OOG diver purges when they put the reg in their mouth.

This doesn't work if the reg is grabbed out of your mouth but that isn't your problem at that point. It works for all donating scenarios when you are actively donating *reg being grabbed is stealing not donating*

I appreciate the write up, but i'm going to have to disagree with you... in theory it has merits, but in an elevated stressful situation, let alone minor or major panic from an OOG diver.... i don't believe it's ever going to be as controlled as your process would require. I'll be sticking to my standard tech taught process, both as a donor and as the OOG diver....

The biggest fall down in your process, is if YOU are the OOG diver, you don't know for sure if that reg is flooded or not when you receive it.... as an OOG diver, i don't want to be thinking or analysing at that point, all i can think about is getting my next breath... as such, no matter what state the housing is in, flooded or not, i'm not gonna waste valuable time checking, i'm gonna stick the reg in my gob and hit the purge button.... it's going to guarantee my next breath, no matter what the state of the reg..... i want it quick and simple and under my own control, not the control of the donating diver!

Why over complicate a simple procedure?

 

[victorzamora]

Grab the regulator by making a C with your thumb and index finger and put that C around the inhalation diaphragm ring with your other fingers around the exhaust T. This gives you full control of the regulator.

I actually vehemently dislike this method. I think the hose gives you MUCH greater control and stability over the donation and it's MUCH less likely to slip out than some "lego hand" donation technique. The way I normally donate is so fast and creates a slight free-flow in the reg that it's typically mostly dry when the diver receives it. I've done the whole "mouthpiece down" thing, and the first thing the diver does is look down, turn the mouthpiece up, and flood the reg. Holding on to the hose keeps it more secure (incase the hose retainer snags or whatever) from me dropping it, from the OOA diver tearing it away from me (it's still MY air and I might want access to it), and it makes it more clearly visible to the OOA diver making it the more appealing target. Start covering stuff up with your hand and it becomes less appealing than the open reg in your mouth. I take my reg by the hose, grab the OOA diver and push him to my right. I dangle the reg off of the long hose in front of the diver's face. I've yet to hear a complaint, and I've yet to have an issue with the diver attacking me....life isn't in my mouth, it's in his face.

 

[tbone1004]

to each his own, but I don't pop the regs out of my mouth, but the lego hand hold has never been an issue in the decades our dive teams been using it.