Questions about inflator hose

[spacemanspiff1974]

Hi there. First of all I'm not DIR, but since your training emphasizes failure points I thought I would ask in this section to get an opinion.

I don't currently like my smb and was considering the closed circuit smb made by either Halcyon or Hollis. This is the one that is inflated either by mouth or low pressure inflator hose.

I was considering having a dedicated low pressure inflator hose for floating bags instead of snapping off the one on my wing.

What are your thoughts?

 

[coldsmoke]

Don't unhook your wing inflator. Just orally inflate it. Being marker buoys, they are small bags and easy to inflate with a breath or two. You might want to power inflate the bigger lift bags though, in which case you would use your drysuit inflator hose.

Hunter

 

[ivobj]

As coldsomke mentioned, do not unhook the wing. I also use the closed SMBs and think they are great, but I am always on a drysuit, I use the suit hose and if by any chance I am in a wetsuit, most probably I will be using an open SMB, to inflate purging the reg, in this case I switch to backup for breathing and use the long hose to purge air in the SMB.

A spare hose just for the SMB doesn't seem good idea, one more failure point and potential entanglement point, depending on the environment you're diving in, for almost no benefit (how often in a real dive do you need to use SMB? Does it justify an extra hose? Always choose simplicity...)

 

[Peter Guy]

Or get an open bottom SMB (the kind you open but which will close) which you can inflate with by putting a reg in the bottom and purging it.

 

[MonkSeal]

I was considering having a dedicated low pressure inflator hose for floating bags instead of snapping off the one on my wing.

What are your thoughts?

Dedicated LP hose for SMB inflation is not needed:
-if you dive dry, you already have it (dry suit inflation)
-if you dive wet, you must have correct type of SMB (small closed that you can inflate orally or big semi-closed which you can inflate with your reg)

Dangling additional LP is just entanglement hazard.

 

[it_mike]

Spaceman, I'm also not a DIR diver but I'll add my perspective.

I actually did the extra LP hose, with an air inflation attachment, for a while. At first it drifted, bumped me in the head, wrapped around my BC inflator hose, and added to confusion when running my dry suit hose.

I started using velcro straps to anchor it to my bc hose, which kept it out of the way (mostly), and made the air I was losing due to inadvertent activation of the attachment more noticeable.

I finally dumped the whole concept and went back to just using my bc lp hose or dry suit hose as needed, which made for simpler, more enjoyable diving.

Hope this helps,
Mike

 

[spacemanspiff1974]

Ok. I dive wet so no drysuit hose. My smb is used for drift diving. Its easier than the boat following bubbles. I currently have the open bottom kind that is supposed to trap air when inflated from the regulator. It does trap air...and water that takes a while to drain for some reason. Also, in order to fill it to the level I want, it requires me to drift up more than the 2' I allow myself.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[TSandM]

What size SMB are you using? A 3' bag can be orally inflated easily, without losing buoyancy at all, if you have the right technique and you practice. Larger bags are better shot deeper, so that you don't have to fill them very much before you let them go. If you are trying to fill a very large bag when you're quite shallow, so you can tow it, maybe filling it before descent would be a better option?

 

[RJP]

Ok. I dive wet so no drysuit hose. My smb is used for drift diving. Its easier than the boat following bubbles. I currently have the open bottom kind that is supposed to trap air when inflated from the regulator. It does trap air...and water that takes a while to drain for some reason. Also, in order to fill it to the level I want, it requires me to drift up more than the 2' I allow myself.

Back to the drawing board.

FYI - the closed circuit bags trap some water as well, and are harder to rinse/drain/dry completely.

 

[TSandM]

the closed circuit bags trap some water as well, and are harder to rinse/drain/dry completely.

Not sure exactly what you're meaning by closed circuit, but the bags I own that are without an open end have an OPV, which can be removed for rinsing the inside of the bag if you're so inclined. I just use Tobin's hose-end tool to put some water in the bag, and then use the OPV to drain it out.