PfcAJ
Contributor
Those things are trash.
Primary donate in UK ice-cold water
- Thread starter L2m
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Like all of the little do-dads SP has added to the piston to help cold performance over the past 25/30 years?
SP always enhances its regulator product line in every way possible. It is almost always incremental changes per technology/material advances and user feedback. NEVER had issues with SP's piston regulators even when diving them in the winter in New England ocean and lakes. I have many friends who dive them to technical diving depths in the great lakes and other icy cold waters without any issues. Typically issues happen with second stages in icy cold waters not first stages.
DiveLikeAMuppet
Contributor
A lot of the divers who are good in a team are insufferable pricks on the surface… and some of the nicest people are a danger to themselves and others underwater.
So same ocean team is frequently the way to go
I have had a secondary uncontrollably free flow under water exactly once. The situation was different; filling a lift bag at 85 feet in a lake, I presume because of the cold water at depth. It can happen. (And I'll admit user error here, for safety, I should have had a separate cylinder and reg set to fill the bag given the cold water at depth. Even so, one quick push of the purge button was all it took to start the flow.)
If I'm understanding the OP correctly, the presumption is that the secondary might free flow uncontrollably on "first breath" or perhaps if the user clears it using the purge button. But it doesn't have to be free flow; any failure where you're swapping a known working second stage for one that has not been in continuous use is the same notion. So the question then becomes who gets the potentially free-flowing or otherwise failing reg, the victim or hero? I think the OP assumes it's better for the hero to not be distracted dealing with a free flow. It's the whole "don't be the second victim" concept. On the other hand, you could argue that the victim is panicked and the hero can manage better than the victim. I'll be honest, which I'd rather do would depend on who my buddy was, my child or the random stranger on the dive boat? (Of course this presumes I know who I'm diving with and how much I love them....)
Both techniques work presuming the user does it correctly. The "what ifs" around secondaries not being properly stowed or users taking two much time to donate could apply with either technique. I suspect we just don't see it as much of a problem with primary donate because folks doing primary donate have usually had a lot more training and experience than Joe Tourist-Diver. I'm aware of one instructor who got hung up in his long hose primary when donating it to a panicked student; the primary donate community said well, he screwed it up. OK, fair enough. But the point is it can be screwed up either way. And if an instructor (experienced) can mess up primary donate so can a newby.
The advice I always give students is to know exactly what donate technique their buddy will use in an OOA emergency. If it's a randomly assigned buddy, ask while doing the buddy check. Know before you dive.
If I'm understanding the OP correctly, the presumption is that the secondary might free flow uncontrollably on "first breath" or perhaps if the user clears it using the purge button. But it doesn't have to be free flow; any failure where you're swapping a known working second stage for one that has not been in continuous use is the same notion. So the question then becomes who gets the potentially free-flowing or otherwise failing reg, the victim or hero? I think the OP assumes it's better for the hero to not be distracted dealing with a free flow. It's the whole "don't be the second victim" concept. On the other hand, you could argue that the victim is panicked and the hero can manage better than the victim. I'll be honest, which I'd rather do would depend on who my buddy was, my child or the random stranger on the dive boat? (Of course this presumes I know who I'm diving with and how much I love them....)
Both techniques work presuming the user does it correctly. The "what ifs" around secondaries not being properly stowed or users taking two much time to donate could apply with either technique. I suspect we just don't see it as much of a problem with primary donate because folks doing primary donate have usually had a lot more training and experience than Joe Tourist-Diver. I'm aware of one instructor who got hung up in his long hose primary when donating it to a panicked student; the primary donate community said well, he screwed it up. OK, fair enough. But the point is it can be screwed up either way. And if an instructor (experienced) can mess up primary donate so can a newby.
The advice I always give students is to know exactly what donate technique their buddy will use in an OOA emergency. If it's a randomly assigned buddy, ask while doing the buddy check. Know before you dive.
Another option is to always have your own alternate air source. That is my preference.
In terms of donating, I have had a buddy go out of air twice. Both times they came aggressively for my primary. No signaling, just pouncing. I'd much rather be ready to give them my reg on a long hose knowing that I have a perfectly functioning 2nd under my chin.
Another benefit of primary donate, is I regularly test my AAS. On many a dive I spend half the time on my long hose primary and half on my AAS on a necklace. That helps both to ensure even wear on the 2nd stages (they are both identical) and allows me to confirm both 2nds are working well.
Similar threads
DIR- Generic
Videos on Primary Donate?
