There are several reason you could need to orally inflate your BCD. It is rare for your low pressure inflator hose to malfunction underwater however if it does you can always orally inflate your BCD to achieve neutral buoyancy.
Before a dive we preform apre-dive safety check, and then fully inflate our BCD to float at the surface. We can use our lungs to inflate the BCD before we start our dive to save a few more breaths of air underwater. However the most important reason to learn this skill is so at the end of a dive you can float comfortably at the surface, even if you run low on air.
Steps to orally inflate your BCDat the surface
- While holding the deflate button blow into the ‘mouthpiece’ of the BCD inflator
- Release the delate button when you stop blowing
- Repeat these steps until your BCD is fully inflated
Steps to orally inflate your BCDunderwater
- Hold your inflator in one hand and your regulator in the other
- Take a breath from your regulator
- Holding the deflate button blow into the ‘mouthpiece’ of the BCD inflator
- Release the delate button when you stop blowing
- Switch back to your regulator and make sure to clear it before taking a breathe
- Repeat these steps until your BCD is fully inflated
Here is a hypothetical example of when you might need to orally inflate your BCD.
So you’ve been enjoy your dive mesmerized by the underwater world, and you instructor tells you it’s time to go up. You ascend to 5m (15 feet) and preform you 3 minute safety stop, when you realize your really low on air.
You keep a close eye on your pressure gauge and signal to your instructor that you are low on air. You can feel your breathing getting thinner but with only a few second left in your safety stop you make it to the surface safely before running out of air. At the surface you find it difficult to stay above water and there is not enough air left in your tank to fill your BCD.
When you get the surface, press the deflate button your BCD and blow into the inflator. You may have to repeat this step several times to fully inflate your BCD.
Note:You should be checking your air several time throughout the dive, and make sure to end every dive when you reach 50 Bar or 500 psi. This will ensure you have enough air to perform a safety stop and finish the dive with enough air left in your tank to fully inflate your BCD.
Happy diving
