Posted by tleemay on April 11, 2001 at 11:55:30:
In Reply to: Re: Err, umm, excuse me but, ahhh, my experience is... posted by Steve on April 10, 2001 at 20:31:43:
"I'm talking about the little regulator that
replaces the little power inflator"
Is there another AIR2 device that atatches
elsewhere?
"Equipment freeflows and fails because some divers
don't properly maintain their gear. Like fresh
water soaking with the system still pressurized.
This is a good way to dissolve the salt/mineral
buildups that foul up the works. Any regulator or
power inflator can freeflow without some TLC."
You only touched on one of the reasons equipment
freeflows. Outside of a seeping or otherwise shot
to hell 1st stage HP seat, contaminants like sand,
grit can get into the 2nds stage mushroom and
demand assembly mechanisms causing them to freeflow.
A religious soaking inbetween dive days at pressure
will cut back on the possibility the reg will free-
flow due to salt encrustation, but as I spoke to
above, there are other contributors to free-flowing
second stages.
I have another question for you though Steve... is
your AIR2 mounted on a pull to dump valve on the
shoulder via the LPIH?
"When the DIR divers practice breathing the power
inflator with the two button juggle how do they
maintain proper bouyancy? Isn't this task loading
something that should be very simple? Does anyone
know what the depth rating is for the Scubapro
airII?".
With a proper LPIH assemply, one finger is all it
takes to activate the fill and vent functions.
When you finally get around doing the drill at
depth you will see that the bouyancy swing is not
as great as what happens in a 10' deep pool. It
does take practice and experience to be able to
know when you are breathing from the LPIH properly
and not just venting your colleteral gas that
doesn't get to your lungs.
If a team member becomes relegated to breathing off
the LPIH during the dive, the dive is over and the
goal of getting the diver and team balance back to
the surface as safe as possible. Honestly, unless
you are in a a full out panic and breathing like
a bottomless hoover, the maintaining of one's
bouyance while on the LPIH is quite easy and of no
more task than breathing the primary, except that
you have one hand less to deal with the upline if
one is being used.
As to how deep an AIR2 is tested to, I'm not sure
what ScubaPro's corporate line is, but in my deep
air days, I've had a Gen2 down to 168' while
testing it... and it was a REALLY hard draw.