Sea-Quest Air Source Setup

[detroit diver]

Albion once bubbled...
if you havent bout it already you can by it complete with the corugated hose, dump valve and screwed connection for attaching to the bc jacket, an dof course the lp hose.

so easies way is to buy this assembly, unscrew the standard inflator at the jacket and fir this, then of course attach the lp hose on to a lp connection on yuor 1st stage reg.

there should not be any other setting up.

As for detroit divers commment that a backup reg on a necklace works better, where do you get this? the is nothing wrong with the sea quest air source inflator, this is just another example of the dir guys saying these things suck, they do not. I keep seeing comments about how these inflator regs are unreliable but i am yet to see an actual case of one failing or being unreliable!!!!

One question:

If your inflator hose fails during your buddy's OOA and you need to disconnect it, whaddaya got?

Answer #1 Your's: "I keep seeing comments about how these inflator regs are unreliable but i am yet to see an actual case of one failing or being unreliable!!!! " In other words, don't worry about it 'cause it ain't gonna happen.

Answer #2 Mine: You have no inflation (which could possibly be handled by manual inflation thru the corregated hose) AND you have just screwed your buddy (or yourself) because you have no backup regulator. Two problems for the price of one! What a deal!

Now, let's see what we have with a necklaced regulator:

Problem #1: Inflator hose fails during OOA.
Solution #1 Disconnect inflator hose. Manually inflate as needed. Backup reg is NOT affected.

Problem #2 Backup reg fails during buddy's OOA. Breathe thru the correguated inflator hose (not the air from the bladder). You still have air here because it's NOT the same hose as the backup reg.

You're right. Probably won't happen. But I want to know that I have options if it does. You've left yourself painted into a corner with no way out.

 

[redacted]

detroit diver once bubbled...


One question:

If your inflator hose fails during your buddy's OOA and you need to disconnect it, whaddaya got?

Same thing you got if your LP hose to your bungeed octo fails in that situation. A buddy breathing trip to the surface.

But before you go the integrated inflator route, look hard at your reasons why or why not. The extra hose is really no big deal. Controlling bouyancy while sharing air is a bit of a challange but doable with practice. I suggest dumping extra air and swimming your rig up. Clearly not as easy as seperate systems and a real task loading problem if you have not practiced.

I use an air2. And I often, but not always, use a hard mounted 13cf pony with bungeed 2nd. For the diving I do (recreational, often solo, often shallow) it seems like a better solution than the alternatives. Although a slung pony seems to have some interesting advantages when buddy diving.

 

[detroit diver]

awap once bubbled...

......Controlling bouyancy while sharing air is a bit of a challange but doable with practice. I suggest dumping extra air and swimming your rig up. Clearly not as easy as seperate systems and a real task loading problem if you have not practiced.

.......

I don't want any challenges other than getting my buddy to safety during an emergency.

Bit of a challenge
Not as easy
Real task loading

 

[Albion]

detroit

in an ooa situation you and your buddy should be heading up, therefroe i would not be too keen on putting air into my bcd, but if i did, no problem, i already have the inflator in my mouth!!!!, and by simply pressing a button can add air, what do you have to do, take the necklaceed reg out of your mouth and and change to the oral inflator then switch back. my system has less task loading than yours, so your argumant is screwed.

as for removing air, then i pull shouleder dump, so no more effort than you.

another item to think about, when was the last time you serviced your inflator? mine gets serviced every time my reg does. i have seen two ocasions where a regular inflator has stuck open due to build up of dirt and debris which should have been cleaned, but as these are normally left untouched for years without servicing. One occasion was quite serious as we could not vent any air, and resulted in myself and another diver holding the thrid diver down unitl we could reach an ascent line and stabilise the situation.


in summary your solution does not have a problem but neither does mine, and in some respects leads to equipment being kept in better condition

 

[detroit diver]

Albion,

Youi're missing the point. If the inflator hose craps out, you can stick anything you want in your mouth and it's not going to give you air. My reg is giving me air. You're the one that's screwed.

And equipment servicing has got nothing to do with this. A wayward piece of sand will make yesterday's service a moot issue.

 

[Albion]

ok i slightly missed the intent of your comment.

however the likelyhood of a lp inflator failure is just as likely as the failure of the hose on your spare second stage. These inflator regs are not a complex piece of rocket science, and i still see no evidince making them less reliable than a conventional reg.

In general modern 2nd stage regs of all types are pretty reliable and designed such that in a failure they will fail safe (free flow), I 'hope' I can live with that if that occurs.

IMHO I would put a greater reliance on a piece of equipment that is used on a semi regular basis, than on an item which is used intermitantly. My inflator reg is used several times on every dive (to inflate) and also on many occasions to send up an SMB. I would estimate that most spare 2nd stages are hardly used, maybe a test breath when the tank is setup. I know for a fact that many divers often do this just once in a repetitive dive scenario, and after the initial test the spare reg is tucked out of the way in pockets or left to dangle.

Without any evidence showing the inflator type regs to be unreliable (mine has been used succesfully for over 400 dives, thats good enough for me), this arrangement offers a better solution than the conventional setup. I have no argument with a spare reg on a necklace, it also offer a good solution, but personnally i prefer to have one less hose, as this is one less item to fail (isnt that the basis of DIR setups, not more equipment but less and simpler?)

 

[detroit diver]

No, you missed the point completely.

If your inflator runs amok and won't shut off, your problem is not free flow from the reg, but your BC filling up and rocketing you to the surface. You have no choice but to yank the hose. IE No air to your backup reg. If you're comfortabe living with that, we have nothing else to discuss.

As for using a reg to make sure it works, I breath off mine intermittently on EVERY dive. I know it works-my life depends on it.

As for DIR, this "one less hose" theory is taking simpicity too far. DIR likes simplicity, not foolishness. And it's foolish for the reasons that I have already stated, plus a few others.

I like to plan for contingencies, not hope that something won't go wrong.

 

[AirSedona]

Dear Detroit, You MUST be associated wit DIR! Only they can turn a technical question into an arguement on why the DIR way is the only way, Period. I also noted that you opened your reply by accusing a person you dont know of buying off the internet and therefore somehow being below you. ( I always use my dive shop and dont recomend using the net, but that is moot).
Also, all of the scenarios you painted to support the bungee arrangement involved YOUR equipment failure at the same time YOUR BUDDY has an air failure. I have been diving since before the days of SPGs. In the last decade and a half I have never had a regulator failure, have buddy breathed once in an air sharing situation (not low or out of air) and have witnessed only two malfunctions with inflators. I am an aircraft mechanic and am more concientious than most folks regarding mechanical failure or POTIENTIAL failure. I have to admit that a lot of the things I hear from the DIR guys are good ideas but the concept that the DIR way is the only way to avoid a "situation" is foolish. More importantly, it is impossible to prepare for every possible situation. If you believe otherwise I suggest you talk to the Apollo 13 guys. A cool head goes a lot farther than all your goodies being in the right place!