Snorkel
From Trail-Finder -- Dedicated to getting you outside
Contents |
Overview
A basic snorkel is nothing more than a bent plastic tube which lets you keep your face in the water while swimming and still breathing surface air. You put one end in your mouth and the other end goes around the back of your head above the water's surface. Unlike scuba gear, you can use a snorkel with no training. You can still buy them with this simple design, but there's a lot of newer features available, too.
Basic Components
Mouthpiece
All mouthpieces are made of soft, flexible rubber with a pair of knobs you slip between your teeth and a curved shield that goes between your teeth and lips. There's not a lot of variety available in snorkel mouthpieces, although if you have an especially large or small mouth, you may be able to find an alternate mouthpiece at a dive shop.
Breathing Tube
This is the main feature of all snorkels. A basic, J-shaped, hollow tube, the breathing tube provides the air path.
When using a snorkel, your air goes in and out through this tube. This functionally limits the length of the tube. At the end of your exhale, the entire snorkel is full of your exhaled air, so that's the first air you'll inhale. If a snorkel is too long, or too large of diameter, you won't get enough fresh air and won't be able to use the snorkel.
The other length limit on snorkels is the how deep they let you dive. As you go deeper, the pressure on the outside of your body, and the outside of your lungs, increases rapidly, doubling in the first 33 feet (10 meters). If you go deeper than a couple feet, the pressure difference between the air on the surface and the pressure underwater will be too great to allow you to inhale.
Optional Components
Drain
Some snorkels, especially scuba snorkels, have a small, one-way valve at the bottom of the J-curve of the snorkel. This allows you to exhale gently to drain all the water from the snorkel, rather than forcefully blowing the water from the entire length of the snorkel. This can make snorkel use much more comfortable.
Anti-flood valve
If you dive underwater with your snorkel, it will immediately flood. If a wave breaks over the top of you snorkel, it will immediately flood. If you have a lungfull of air, this isn't a problem, since you can clear the snorkel, especially if you have a drain. If you don't, you have to stick your head above the surface to get the air to clear the snorkel. This is why the anti-flood valve was invented. Drains are usually available only on high-end snorkels.
Snorkels with anti-flood valves have a lump on the top with a floating ball inside. If the top of the snorkel is above water, the ball slides out of the way and you can breathe. If it goes underwater, the ball floats up and blocks the water from coming into the snorkel. This prevents most, but not all, of the water from entering the snorkel. This feature costs more, but if you use the snorkel much, you'll probably appreciate it.
Usage
Snorkels don't require much practice. Put the mouthpiece in your mouth, clip the air tube to your mask strap, and swim on the surface, face-down.
Clearing
If your snorkel floods, a sharp exhale through the snorkel will blow most of the water out. If there's still some water in the bottom of the J-hook, inhale slowly then exhale sharply again.
If you have a drain in your snorkel, rather than exhaling sharply, exhale more normally. If you exhale too fast, the water in the vertical part of the snorkel won't drain.
Cleaning and maintenance
After use, rinse the snorkel with clean water and allow to air dry. Use a gentle soap, if needed, on the mouthpiece.
If the mouthpiece becomes damaged or uncomfortable, you may be able to replace it at your local dive shop. On cheaper models, you'll need to replace the snorkel.
If anything else on the snorkel becomes damaged, you'll likely need to replace the entire snorkel.
