Second stage swivel connector

[Kestrell]

i have the atomic b2 aand it came with the swivel, i love it, 20 or so dives on it and no problems at all. i know alot of people who use the b2 and i have never heard of any complaints with the swivel.

I think the swivel the others are talking about is one that screws into the 1st stage. The swivel on the Atomic B2 is down close to the 2nd stage. Also the swivel they are referring to just rotates along an axis and the B2 swivel is sort of omni-directional. Anyway, my wife has a B2 and she likes it alot. It is very comfortable.

 

[divad]

We're talking about a 360 degree swivel (ball joint) held together by a set screw on the second stage.

 

[Mako Mark]

I never found the need with a standard recreational short hose reg, but wouldnt dive Hogarthian without them.

I recently swiched regs on my cave setup and it took me a couple of dives to figure out whyy things seemed SO different. I realised it was the swivel, put one on and everything was back to normal.

So I guess I am a believer and have never had one fail.

 

[Kestrell]

We're talking about a 360 degree swivel (ball joint) held together by a set screw on the second stage.

Oh; okay.

 

[Firefyter]

The Second Stage Ball Swivels are pretty popular for helping with that, but some people just find that switching to one of the SeaCure Boil and Bite Mouthpieces, will knock out the jaw fatigue for them as well.

I've used both, and probably prefer the Seacure as the swivel seems a little heavy on that side of the reg.

I put the swivel on mine, and then put one of the comfo-bite type mouthpieces on it. Between the two, absolutely no jaw fatigue. It's so easy to use, I sometimes get slackjawed and end up taking in water. I have to remind myself to keep my mouth closed...LOL.

 

[HaoleDiver]

I just bought a B2 last week, and took it out for its trial run this weekend and loved it. I hadn't had problems with my SP MK25/S600 (probably due to the seacure mouthpiece) but the swivel does make it more comfortable, because you dont feel the natural movement of the hose much.
People that use them - have you found anything that needs extra-attention, other than standard checking of all connectors, or do you have any tricks you use to maintain the ball-joint?

 

[rescuediver009]

I would go with Larry saying that they both items work well and I would say best together however if you have something small like a delta second stage and use the swivel without the seacure it may only make the problem worse. I don't know that the swivel reduces jaw fatigue as much as it decreases profile and permits a wider range of head mobility.

 

[realdiver7]

I have gone back and forth between ball swivel and no ball swivel on the 2nd stage, especially when experimenting with different hose lengths and mouthpieces. I have finally decided to stay with the ball swivel because I can position the hose at any angle I want to. Having the hose angled down seems to work the best. Several of my fellow dive buddies/instructors also use the same set up.

The biggest difference I noticed in reduced jaw fatigue was when I switched over to the comfo-bite mouthpiece. Between the swivel and comfo-bite, jaw fatigue is never a problem any more. The top of the mouthpiece simply sticks to your upper jaw behind your front teeth, eliminating the need to bite down on the traditional teeth tabs.

This combination is especially practical in the realm of recreational diving, but I can see where highly technical divers could argue about having one more point of potential failure, or just something else to have to keep an eye on. Personally, I plan on keeping the ball swivel because it works very well for me.

One potential minimal side benefit of the ball swivel is that it makes the entire primary 2nd stage slightly negative. This actually helps to reduce jaw fatigue by stabilizing the 2nd stage. If you have to do a regulator recovery, especially in swift current, chances are you will find the 2nd stage hanging straight down beside you instead of drifting off somewhere. Mine hangs straight down by my side between my right arm and rib cage. Very easy to find that way. Hope this helps some.

 

[Lord Melch]

Time to get one methinks..

I find even after messing with my regs and stage position sometimes when I turn my head my hose tries to push my mouthpiece out.

Would an Omni Swivel help ?

 

[Byte Me]

I've got the swivel standard on my Oceanic Delta IV / FX10 set up. Wanted to go longer hose on the rig because I use an Octo-Z octo/inflator so I'd be donating my primary if needed.

Larry said they could do the longer hose but I'd lose the swivel.

I've got the shorter hose! Helps me because it keeps the reg at exactly the angle I want it so I'm not wrestling with the mouthpiece or wiggling it around in my mouth to change position / reduce fatigue so I'm not sucking up salt water any more!