Question about swivels

[jamiep3]

Thinking of installing a swivel on my regulator 1st stage to improve hose routing. My question is, how much a a fail point do they create? Anyone have one fail on them?

 

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Theres two types of swivels, one that gos directly into the 1st stage and you connect the hse to the swivel, and one that fits between the demand valve (mouthpiece) and the reg hose.

I assume you mean the former one?

The latter has had a few issues crop up with seperation of the halves, which, obviously, if it occured could be catastrophic, this prompted a recall on one model out of the East, but, to be fair, it has also been said that the incidents occured because the units were serviced and the correct protocol for re-assembly was not followed - I make no comment or opinion either way, except from my own experience in that I run these swivels on all (over 60 sets) of my commercial diving equipment which is used almost every day and I have never had any issues.

The former, has never had a recall to the best of my knowledge and works slightly differently, again I have never heard of one failing. Personally I think they are both great items, some argue its just another fail point, well, maybe, but the risk is really very small, I think you stand more chance of a Pepsi vending machine falling on you than one of these swivels failing if correctly maintained.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

There are a number of threads on ScubaBoard in the archives containing first-hand accounts of swivel failure.

There are different manufacturers, and different types, and some may indeed be more prone to fail than others. Certainly all such devices demand a higher level of preventive maintenance.

But in the final analysis, IMHO it comes down to the type of diving you're doing.

If you are doing NDL recreational diving and your swivel comes apart on you this is really no huge deal - thumb the dive, go on your secondary, and surface.

On the other hand, if you're doing the sort of diving where you CAN'T surface - either because of a physical overhead - you're in a cave or inside a shipwreck; or an intangible overhead - you have a decompression obligation that prevents you from surfacing; then you really need to ask yourself why you would want to add another opportunity for failure to your rig: even if the chances of that failure occurring are statistically remote.

this is known as a 'low-probability/high-consequence' situation. It likely won't happen, but if it DOES happen you create potentially significant issues for yourself (silting-out confined spaces, etc.)

So in the final analysis it comes down to a risk/benefit analysis. If you're a recreational diver, its likely a no-brainer. But if you're not, you need to understand that catastrophic failures often begin as a series of smaller, less significant failures that compound to a point that they overwhelm the diver's capacity to respond. Why install something in your system that could initiate some chain of little issues that build into a larger issue - IF you're doing overhead diving?

Just my humble opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Doc

PS - here is one thread from a quick search. Search button is 4th from the right on the control bar at the top of this page. Click on Advanced Search. Use keywords 'hose swivel failure'. You'll find enough threads to keep you busy reading for awhile.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/regulators/226598-swivel-recall-time-change.html

 

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So in the final analysis it comes down to a risk/benefit analysis. If you're a recreational diver, its likely a no-brainer. But if you're not, you need to understand that catastrophic failures often begin as a series of smaller, less significant failures that compound to a point that they overwhelm the diver's capacity to respond.

Yes, sage advice, I concur.