According to my calculations, if I turned horizontal at 45m and filled my mouth, the mouthfill would get me to 192m... One mouthfill at the surface has gotten me to 30.5m with a sphera mask.
However, I have done a standard frenzel equalization at 72m, which is the deepest I have attempted it (which would have allowed me to squeeze my ears to about 90m). When doing standard frenzel, the ultimate depth you can do it depends on four main factors:
1. Initial air volume (i.e. packing etc..)
2. Chest flexibility
3. Ability to use diaphragm effectively to 'purge' the residual air and bring it towards the mouth
4. Descent speed (slower speed giving deeper equalizations)
Of course, turning horizontally or even totally upright will improve many equalizing techniques.
You can also try the reverse packing method which doesn't work as well as a mouthfill but is commonly used.
Many local divers initially have problems with frenzel around 30m, but after many, many dives, their flexibility gradually improves, and then they can frenzel to around 55m. Not many people can frenzel below 55m without lots of packing and lots of flexibility. Further, doing deep 'diaphragmatic-frenzel' equalizations requires a huge amount of effort. If you are just trying to use your tongue to frenzel, you are missing the whole exercise--a deep frenzel equalization is a whole-body struggle; piking foward, forcing your diaphragm with all your might & energy, bringing the air towards your mouth then using your tongue, while possibly simultaneously moving your jaw to loosen your eustachian tubes; touching your chin to your chest, etc...
Deep frenzel equalizations are extremely oxygen inefficient, and thus undesirable. Not to mention they induce panic and fear because the difficulty (or inability) to equalize commonly makes the descent very full of anxiety.
Once you master the mouthfill, you struggle once at 30m to get the fill, then sleep like a baby for the rest of the descent. The scary thing is that you can reach virtually any depth, which means you must be careful not to get a lung squeeze, or go deeper than your oxygen store allows you to.
Eric Fattah
BC, Canada
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