Air pressure

[m2b]

I've had TOO much time of my hands recently. I was doing some surfing on the web and stumbled into something rather unusual, at least from what it seems I have typically heard in the past.

If you were to have a "double" snorkel setup, one for incoming air with a check valve and one for outgoing air with a check valve, so CO2 wouldn't be an issue, how far down could you still breath surface air?

I thought it was only like 4-5 feet max due to the change in air pressure. I saw someone making mention of doing just this in his backyard pond and being able to breath down at 2.5 meters without any trouble.

WAY TOO much time on hands makes me wanting to know, LOL!!!

Ryan

 

[..Sam..]

Well having tried something like this i can tell you it is really not as fun as it sounds, I have connected a few snorkels together and gone down 1m and the effort and concentration needed to take one breath is ridiculous its not easy. If you really want to find out try it but be careful air at different pressure to your body is not fun to mess with. But you should be ok considering the air is at surface pressure instead of the your depth pressure. Hope you haven't fallen asleep ready this. One last thing at 2.5m your lungs will by under an extra 1/4 of the pressure of the surface and will have to inflate against that pressure.

Safe diving.

Cheers, Sam.

 

[m2b]

Well having tried something like this i can tell you it is really not as fun as it sounds, I have connected a few snorkels together and gone down 1m and the effort and concentration needed to take one breath is ridiculous its not easy. If you really want to find out try it but be careful air at different pressure to your body is not fun to mess with. But you should be ok considering the air is at surface pressure instead of the your depth pressure. Hope you haven't fallen asleep ready this. One last thing at 2.5m your lungs will by under an extra 1/4 of the pressure of the surface and will have to inflate against that pressure.

Safe diving.

Cheers, Sam.

Gee, a little different than how I thought I had always heard it being referenced. I always thought the air got compressed in the snorkel and would make it 'impossible' to breath through the snorkel, not the body being compressed. Kind like mask squeeze. It does make sense the more I think about it.:head

Wouldn't something like breathing through a 'submerged' snorkel help to build the lungs, not necessarily in volume capacity but in strength so when you deep dive you could withstand the pressure on the lungs better??? By your description it almost makes it sound like your suggesting this is about the same scenario as using those breathing devices(ie, Aqualung or whatever they were called) everyone was talking about a couple of years ago.

Now a stupid questions that this one has brought up.

1. Do scuba tanks change the amount of compression in the air as you dive deeper or how do they avoid a similiar problem. I know they have regulators but I've never really studied up on scuba diving to know how the full process of the equipment works.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[naiad]

1. Do scuba tanks change the amount of compression in the air as you dive deeper or how do they avoid a similiar problem. I know they have regulators but I've never really studied up on scuba diving to know how the full process of the equipment works.

Yes, the regulator changes the pressure of the air depending on the pressure of the surrounding water.

I am not sure about the safety of using a snorkel at depth. It sounds like it could cause lung injury, even at 2 or 3m. The effort of trying to breathe in against negative pressure may possibly cause 'lung squeeze' type injuries or fluid in the lungs.

 

[..Sam..]

Yeah when on scuba the air is broken down in two stages from high to low pressure air and the air that comes through the regulator is the same pressure as the surrounding water pressure, which is why you use more air on deeper dives because you are breathing in higher pressurised air.

To answer your other question it does feel the same as a lung trainer but it may not be as safe as one. I wouldn't recommend doing it at anything more than 1m or even less would be better. Better yet just go diving.

Cheers, Sam.

 

[XabreTooth]

I once tried jumping head-first into a pool (3-4m deep) with a garden hose in my mouth. Uncomfortable, I'd say. It felt like the air was sucked out of my lungs.

 

[..Sam..]

Yep that will do it if the pressure doesn't get you the garden hose will...