Rant about the racket made by scuba regulators!!!

[reefrat]

When will regulator manufacturers start paying enough attention to quietening the sound of regulator exhaust bubbles. We know it can be done to some extent, or is it just me?
Quietening my dives down was much of the motivation for dabbling in rebreathers for a while and owning two Argonaut Krakens. In fact if I haven't dove rebreathers at all I don't think I have fully appreciated how noisy scuba second stages still are!
What I have noticed when I'm using different regs is that there is pronounced difference in the volume of exhaust noises from them, and the culprit seems to be bubble size! The regs with big wide open exhausts seem to make big noisy bubbles and those with smaller, over even better segmented exhausts seem to be much quieter.
The WOB performance of most regs these days is amazing, the reliability excellent, I think that some market focus could now be directed to quietening everyone's OC dives .

 

[tbone1004]

quieting the exhaust will increase the WoB on the regulators on the exhalation cycle since yo uwill be putting backpressure into the case. @Luis H brought up one that has been done with the Poseidon Cyklon on one of our zoom calls, but to implement that on a "normal" style second stage would likely be problematic.

 

[rx7diver]

Your first dive with a double hose regulator will provide a bit of insight: A double hose regulator releases your exhaust bubbles behind your head. A single hose regulator releases your exhaust bubbles under your chin to rise, noisily, right by your ears.

A double hose regulator is quieter (or, at least, it seems so to me).

rx7diver

 

[rhwestfall]

I honestly have a hard time going back to my single hose regs as I really appreciate the lack of a bubble scour on my face....

YMMV

 

[reefrat]

There is no automatic connection between quietening the perceived noise of exhaust bubbles and increased WOB. This is a design issue and there are regs on the market today that have a high level of segments (for lack of a better description) in the exit of the exhaust tees, I'm thinking of the Aqualung Titan, that are very noticeably quieter and perfectly fine in WOB.
And anyway, we going back to the moon and beyond with SpaceX but we cant make a few bubbles quieter? There has just been no money thrown it and I think that the company that patented a significantly quieter reg design would reap significant benefits.

 

[lowwall]

Just plumb the exhaust to a snorkel. Not only will the bubbles bypass your ears, the scavenging effect of the rising bubbles will lower the pressure needed to open the exhaust valve.

Make it long enough and you won't even need to breathe for regulator to flow gas, thus reducing WOB to 0!



Edit: this is a joke. Well, I thought it was funny.

 

[reefrat]

My first ever dive in 1976 was on a USD

Just plumb the exhaust to a snorkel. Not only will the bubbles bypass your ears, the scavenging effect of the rising bubbles will lower the pressure needed to open the exhaust valve.

Make it long enough and you won't even need to breathe for regulator to flow gas, thus reducing WOB to 0!

And If I plumbed in a LP gas line from the lower central buttock region of my wetsuit to connect with the snorkel shaft at the correct angle I could raise the resultant venturi effect to further reduce WOB, it would some coordination of breathing and farting of course.

 

[reefrat]

Sorry, didn't realize you were serious.

 

[lowwall]

Sorry, didn't realize you were serious.

Me? Not serious. I thought the was enough of a hint.

Now I'm not 100% sure if the OP was serious.

Wait a minute....

 

[Gone for diving]

Noise for who???? You???
Fish will still hear the bubbles....
Should be the same amount of noise.

but if you make the bubbles smaller......
or slowly release the bubbles....