Question re: "Safety Sausage"

[sytech]

I ordered a "safety sausage" called "Sea Me Dive Signal with Inflator".
It appears that it needs to be blown up orally or am I mistaken?

I could swear I've seen a type that you connect to your Octopus for a second or two and that inflates the tube?

Someone please straighten me out about this!

Thanks,

Sy

 

[sharkattack]

What is wrong with orally inflating

 

[DennisW]

There are safety sausages that are required to be inflated orally and there are those that are orally inflated or use your power inflator hose. Mine is orally inflated, my wife's is inflated either orally or with the power inflator hose. A bag that is inflated with your regulator using the purge valve is a lift bag, not a safety sausage.

 

[rottielover]

What about "oral" inflating with the reg still in your mouth? I saw a post on this the other day, and happened upon a video showing it (though it was not the subject of the video).

Basically they took the bag/sausage and held it up to the exhaust port of the reg and simply "blew" out, thus filling the bag with your exhale.

 

[TheRedHead]

Basically they took the bag/sausage and held it up to the exhaust port of the reg and simply "blew" out, thus filling the bag with your exhale.

That's the way I've always inflated my DSMB. Tilt your head so as to have the exhaust port ponted into the bag.

 

[Cacia]

Probably the best type for a diver not quite ready to "shoot" a bag from depth, the way the inflator style works, would be the type that opens at the bottom like a sock and receives the air from your reg purge (you could use an alternate). This, IMV is a nice compromise between the bouancy and dexterity demands of the inflator style (which I use) and the orally inflated ones (which are pretty slow to inflate). They can still be attached to a reel and deployed from the safety stop, probably a little safer (slower inflation, less likely to catch on you).

Once your bouancy and manual dexterity are all dialed in, opt for the inflator style. The reason I favor the stainless spool, is that I find the weight balances easier in my fingers on rapid deployment, keeping the spool in position to unfurl seamlessly.

 

[TheRedHead]

I could swear I've seen a type that you connect to your Octopus for a second or two and that inflates the tube?

You want a DSMB (Delayed Surface Marker Bouy) or sometimes called just SMB. These are generally more expensive than "safety sausages." You also need a reel to use with it. Mine is a Dive Rite that I bought from Dive Rite Express.

 

[Cacia]

why is it called "delayed", Red? Do you use a reel or a finger spool?

 

[fire_diver]

I thought DSMB stood for Diver Submersible Marker Bouy. Maybe I'm wrong.

FD

 

[Charlie99]

why is it called "delayed", Red? Do you use a reel or a finger spool?

A surface marker buoy is something used on the surface. It can also be towed much like a dive flag for the duration of the dive. OTOH, if you delay the deployment of the surface marker/sausage until near the end of the dive then is it a Delayed surface marker buoy.

I think the terminology was in frequent use over in the UK, and then migrated across the Atlantic.