First DH dive

[cheeko8080]

Hey guys,
So over the past year I've been really enjoying rebuilding and restoring some of my DHes. Despite that...I've had a crazy busy summer and unfortunately hadn't had a chance to take my regs out for a spin. I finally got that chance a couple weekends ago.

It was probably once of the last warmish days around at Dutch Springs in PA. My first dive was on my regular single hose but later I brought out one of DAAMs and went out for a dip. For some reason I was expecting the regulator to be much harder breathing than it was. This particular reg was not rebuilt by me and was rebuilt with standard and NOS parts. The breathing felt great. It was a really great first experience. The water was a little chilly so I used the hookah for my drysuit inflation. I used the VDH backplate but I hadn't had enough time to setup the harness the way I wanted so I simply took the harness off one of the plastic blown USD backpacks. Its not perfect to use for the plate because of the harness crossing in the middle but it did the job.

I had a couple questions for those with waaay more experience than me. Unfortunately I didnt have my underwater camera with me but I snapped a few shots on land before going in. Is the plate sitting in the right spot in these photos? I know its been said many times before on here that the regulator should be between your shoulder blades to get it close to your lungs which is what I was attempting but it seemed like it might be a hair too low because if you notice in the pics the hoses are really stretched to get the mouthpiece in the my mouth. On land it was definitely pulling on my head. I didn't notice it as much underwater but honestly I think I was paying attention to other things and that is why I didn't notice it.

I also used my new equirama style mask from the VDH store for the second time (the first time was snorkeling though). I used it on my first dive though with my Apeks XTX50, so I had that whole 2nd stage in my mouth which may be the reason for this but I'm wondering others' experiences. I was wearing 5mm gloves also so I'm sure that had something to do with it. I had a difficult time getting my hands in the finger pockets to equalize. I ended up having to flip my hand upside down to reach up in there and even then had to push my nose down in order to get to slip between my fingers. Do you think this was a result of my clumsy cold water gloves?...using a single hose with the 2nd stage in my mouth?...simply lack of practice?...or maybe its just the way it is with this style of mask?

Thanks for the advice and info in advance!
-Clint

[cheeko8080]

By the way....If you look at my avatar you'll see how I normally dive up here...lots and lots of gear on...it was SO REFRESHING to jump in like this...no BC...no mess of hoses...just my drysuit, plate and reg...

[Drado]

I guess the question is: How did it breathe underwater? If you had the crotch strap on, I would imagine that in the vertical position, you would've really been fed a lot of air. Head down would've been a bit difficult of a draw. Looking left or right (as you would do for clearing) might have been made more difficult with the hoses stretched like that.

I'm curious as to what attachment you used on your hookah port. Do you have a closer pic of that part?

[antique diver]

Clint, I think you may have better luck equalizing your ears with the mask by using both hands and the index finger of each hand in the nose pockets.

Works well with any nose pocket if you have both hands available to work with. Give it a try.

Bill

[luis]

You are the first person that I have actually seen wearing the tank too low…

The center of the regulator should be between your shoulder blades. In your first picture I would say the center should be even or just below the center of the dry suit zipper.

I would shorten the harness straps. Keep the tank on that position in the back plate. That way the top of the back plate will be higher and the harness straps will retain better control of the top of the tank.

In that position the harness straps are so long that the top of the back-plate can move side to side on your back.

Crossing the straps will also help keep top of your kit from moving sideways. The angle of straps will also be more comfortable and they will stay in position better.

[DaleC]

Don't know about that particular one but I have several masks that I need to use both hands to equalize with (as Antique Diver described).

Ed, I have a DAAM that Bryan sold a couple of years ago as the "Explorer" that came with a port cap on the hookah that fits a standard LP hose (The cap is a female fitting). I run my DS off it or an octo or even a three way adapter. I don't know what it's called though.

[luis]

Here is a link to the hookah LP fitting:

http://vintagedoublehose.com/index.php/ ... ct=8417148

[Drado]

Yeah, I realized belatedly that it was a splitter on a hookah adapter I got one of those adaptors on my Explorer before as well.

[cheeko8080]

Drado:
It breathed really well in general. I was basically in a horizontal position the whole time. I didn't really specifically test the reg's breahing properties in various positions on this particular dive, I will next time around. I actually unfortunately didnt have a crotch strap on which was not the best. I always use a crotch strap with my standard kit but i didnt have one ready for this temp harness. That part on the reg is actually the three way splitter that used to be available. I'll post up pics tomorrow .

AntiqueDiver:
Ohhh that makes a lot sense. For some reason that didn't occur to me.

Luis:
Hahah...from the constant talk of people always having their double hoses too high and it causing breathing problems I really wanted to make sure I didn't do that. Haha. Seems like I succeeded at avoiding that. I loosened the shoulder straps like crazy to get the tank that low so it should be easy enough to get it back up. I didnt realize exactly how low it was until I saw the pics afterward on a computer screen.

DaleC:
Yup this is a three way adapter too. I have one of the regular adapters but has the three way on in these shots.

[cheeko8080]

I also feel like I probably should have run my inflation hose under my right arm because of the location of the hookah port but automatically ran it under my left because it is what I'm used to at this point.

[DaleC]

I have found the crotch strap really helps with a longer tank like that. For me the tank sits on my butt cheeks (glutes) and when I kick the muscles want to move the tank up the back so the valve rides higher, even if it starts out in the proper position.

You will also really benefit from experimenting with positioning in the water and reg performance. Head first, head up and so on. One of the more important tricks (for me) was increasing flow by turning the head sideways. That way I did not have to break trim to get an easy breath. If I am swimming hard or doing something physical I know I can do this so I don't worry about CO2 buildup. With practice one can work the flow of the reg just like feathering a valve.

Welcome to the club.