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Scuba Forum / Scuba Equipment / January 2007Biofilter on regulator?
A dive buddy of mine uses a thing called a biofilter attached to his regulator which he says helps purify the air and add moister to the intake. Says he's happy and won't dive without it. Is there such a need for this device? Does it really help? Am I missing anything by not getting one myelf or adding something if I do? Thanks, Shawn >A dive buddy of mine uses a thing called a biofilter attached to his >regulator which he says helps purify the air and add moister to the intake. >Says he's happy and won't dive without it. > >Is there such a need for this device? Does it really help? Am I missing >anything by not getting one myelf or adding something if I do? The effect of the purify part is essentially nil. If you're breathing air that needs to be filtered, there's probably worse problems with your air supply. The biofilter is designed to add humidity to the air. On a short dive, you might not notice any difference. On a long dive, have you ever noticed how uncomfortably dry your mouth gets? Air from SCUBA is essentially zero humidity. The biofilter adds some water vapor. I looked into the biofilter - it seemed like something nice to have, but not worth the extra maintenance. Plus, if you dive in very cold water, the extra humidity in the input could increase the chances that you'll get second stage freeze. As for how much it helps, see if you can borrow his rig some time and find out for yourself.  SignatureRon (user ron in domain spamblocked.com) "Shawn B." <leabre@html.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting in: :A dive buddy of mine uses a thing called a biofilter attached to his :regulator which he says helps purify the air and add moister to the intake. :Says he's happy and won't dive without it. : :Is there such a need for this device? Does it really help? Am I missing :anything by not getting one myelf or adding something if I do? I don't have one and survive well over half of my dives. Dan Bracuk If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. > "Shawn B." <leabre@html.com> pounded away at his keyboard resulting > in: [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > I don't have one and survive well over half of my dives. You can let a little water into your 2nd stage and accomplish about the same thing with some care. Peel your lips away from the mouthpiece to let a little water into the 2nd stage just before you pull some air. Look down and put the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth as you slowly pull air around the sides of your tongue. Be prepared for a little water to sneak around until you get the hang of it. That is, hold on to your 2nd stage in case you need to cough. Repeat as needed once you get the hang of it. > A dive buddy of mine uses a thing called a biofilter attached to his > regulator which he says helps purify the air and add moister to the intake. > Says he's happy and won't dive without it. For every 1 person that really needs such a device, there's 10 people who simply like gimmicks and 50 people who will claim a placebo effect because they know its there. > Is there such a need for this device? There is a need for some sort of humidfier for a very tiny percentage of all divers. You can generally expect most of them to already know that they have a major respiratory ailment such as asthma. > Does it really help? The manufacturer make some money, sure. It also helps you in having gear that requires more maintenance. Afterall, this little device has a sponge in it that will need servicing before & after dive: it needs clean water before the dive and it needs to be cleaned and dried afterwords, for you don't want it to sit wet in the closet for a month and grow a nice bunch of fungus to give you something like Legionnaire's Disease ... or worse, something that gunks up and plugs during a dive, which could kill you a lot faster than Legionnaire's Disease. > Am I missing anything by not getting one myelf or adding something if I do? A way to make your gear more complex and less reliable? Yes. Anything else, probably not. The bottom line is that if you're not having 'cotton mouth' symptoms, then you simply don't need to bother it. And even if you are having cotton mouth, before trying this device, try hydrating yourself better, and/or swap out your mouthpiece. These generally fix the problem and have the attributes of being cheap, simple, and low maintenance ... a winning combination. -hh > And even if you are having cotton mouth, before trying this device, try > hydrating yourself better, and/or swap out your mouthpiece. These > generally fix the problem and have the attributes of being cheap, > simple, and low maintenance ... a winning combination. I don't have such problems. Drink a little water before and after the dive, during the dive I'm not terribly in need of anything other than more air time. Thanks, Shawn > > And even if you are having cotton mouth, before trying this device, try > > hydrating yourself better, and/or swap out your mouthpiece. These [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > during the dive I'm not terribly in need of anything other than more air > time. There ya go: $150 saved. -hh > And even if you are having cotton mouth, before trying this device, try > hydrating yourself better, and/or swap out your mouthpiece. Bravo h! It seems like hardly anyone realizes this is a chronic indicator of under-hydration. It's amazing how many people don't know this bullshark |
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