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>While preparing for a dive in Pot Hole last week I over heard two scooter >divers discussion the post placement for the long hose. One diver insisted >that it be placed on the left side so he would always know if he had a roll >off. The other gentleman said he always placed his long hose on the right >post but was not sure why. Is this the "Pot Hole" at Peacock State Park in Florida? (That's big time!) If so why did anyone have scooters in that system? You can go almost anywhere swimming on a set of 104s. Used to be if anyone showed up at Peacock with scooters, you instantly knew who the gumbies were. >1. Anyone care to venture a reason why we always place the long hose on the >right post (hint: who gets the long hose in an OA situation and who controls >the isolator manifolds; Without making any determination which is the correct side at this point, lets consider the possibilities. Conditions: a) Most manifolds are designed such that the left valve knob (looking at the diver from the back) will tend to roll shut with overhead contact, and the right valve will not. b) By definition the OOA diver will receive the long hose either by being offered or by being taken without much warning. c) Assuming the diver wearing the rig is breathing the long hose, he or she should be aware if the regulator begins to fail either by roll off, or other failure mode. d) The diver is not constantly aware of the status of the backup regulator since he or she is not constantly using it. Scenarios: a) The long hose regulator is being breathed as a primary regulator and is located on the right side valve (does not tend to roll shut). The OOA diver requests/takes long hose from donor. Since the donor has been breathing the long hose regulator, the OOA diver receives a regulator that is working and delivering gas, thus not adding to the anxiety state if he or she had otherwise received a faulty regulator. The donor diver begins to breath on the backup regulator located on the left valve but discovers it is not working. He or she checks the left side valve knob in the event it had rolled shut, opens the valve as necessary. Comment: In this configuration a diver can periodically check the valve position of the left valve knob during the dive if he or she suspects the position. If you can't reach the valve without difficulty, don't dive. b) The long hose primary regulator is located on the left valve and the backup on the right. The diver knows if the left valve has rolled shut because the regulator will fail in use. Now the OOA diver takes the regulator and the donor goes on to the backup which probably works because you generally can't roll the right side shut unless you dive backwards alot. Seems superior to Scenario(a)? Now the OOA diver is placed in front and the team exits the cave/ship/wherever. Lets assume the donor diver (in the rear) has not fully developed his or her skills and ends up rolling his/her left valve shut. In Scenario(a) the donor finds this out because his/her regulator fails and hopefully reopens the valve. The OOA diver probably doesn't know that anything has happened. The exit continues. In Scenario(b) the donor rolls the left valve shut but it is the OOA diver that experiences the regulator failure. He or she must now communicate this to the donor, and then hopefully the donor will understand and correct the problem. In this case the exit has been interrupted and the potential for a big clusterfuck has developed. Maybe not as good as (a)! Conclusion and answer to question #1: The regulator that tends to roll shut should always be on the diver that has the direct ability to sense the problem and correct it. >2. Would you dive with these gentleman in a cave or would you call the dive >on the surface before you got in the water? Not on scooters in Peacock. In different circumstances I may if they are receptive to suggestions and I knew something about them and their experience. I went on a dive with a new diver and after the dive he asked me if I noted any areas where he needed some improvement. Recognizing his newness to cave diving, I didn't want to be overly critical so I mentioned that his trim was a bit off and that he may wish to move his tanks a little higher in his bands. The response was "My trim was fine." OK. That was my last dive with him. Don't ask me a question if you don't want an answer. I don't go around telling people how they should dive. I will offer suggestions for improvements if I believe the person is receptive (personally this is why I am very particular about who I dive with), unless something is just totally unsafe. At that point I will make my observation known without any doubt because their injury/death is detrimental to my freedom to do my thing. IMHO I believe a lot of people get carried away on small details that really just don't matter, but they seem to be totally ignorant to the details that will injure or kill them or their partner. They can't think out of the box or see the big picture. Their perception is narrowly defined which becomes a hinderance to their further development. There are only a few "rules" that I believe every cave/tech diver must follow to be a safe diver. There are a number more that will make you a safe AND efficient diver. Of course the most implicit rule is to dive within your ability (incorporates skills, experience, efficiency, attitude, etc.) This question on placement of the long hose is an excellent example. I dive breathing a long hose. I find it to be unintrusive, efficient, and quite natural for my minimalist configuration. If the reasoning why the hose should be placed on the right-side valve (IMHO) is explained rather than just making a statement that it should be, I believe more people will be receptive to the information. Did I win the prize? IMHO, Doug -- Send mail for the `techdiver' mailing list to `techdiver@aquanaut.com'. Send subscribe/unsubscribe requests to `techdiver-request@aquanaut.com'.
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