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Am I Using My Demand Valve Correctly?


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Hey all, I have a L063-05R Allied Demand Valve (40lpm) and I'm having some success in aborting quickly using it but I can't shake this feeling that I'm doing something wrong

If I inhale as quickly as is needed for me to perform ~30 full breath cycles, my demand valve makes a fluttering noise as if I'm pulling air from around the 'exhale flaps' of the demand valve. If I inhale a little slower it doesn't make that noise but I'm doing fewer cycles. Am I overthinking it? For reference, I'm a pretty tall guy at 6'5 so maybe my lung capacity makes ~30 cycles unnecessary (or not feasible!)

Are there any video demonstrations of using a demand valve to compare?

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Can't comment on the mechanical aspect (the fluttering), but I would say that iIf you are saying you're doing, or aiming at, 30 in/out cycles per minute, which sounds to me like hyperventilating, I'd say that's not the typical way of doing it.  If that works for you, I'm surely not going to tell you it's wrong. The more typical model is deep inhale/hold a second or two/full exhale with crunch to expel as much air as possible. (Here, too, people discover variations of the tempo that works best for them.)  I think I do remember seeing @Racer1_NC demonstrating and kind of fast inhale/exhale in a video . . . so I could be wrong about how common that method is.  

Batch, another oxygen expert, reccomends ten 3-second very deep/forceful in/out cycles with room air, followed by a deep inhale of the pure O2 and holding it for 30 seconds with a crunch exhale, and then back to the room air hyperventilating for 30 seconds, then back to O2 from the tank, etc.

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First.....while I can't be certain I doubt you are defeating the exhaust valves. I guess anything is possible though.....

Normally, I'm in the hyperventilation camp. That's not to say other techniques are wrong or don't work. In fact, I tell people to experiment to find what works the fastest / best for them. @CHfather mentions the typical method....using this you can vary your cycle speed to find what works best for you. To me...the most important thing to remember is a deep inhale and a complete exhale (abdominal crunch) to remove as much air as possible from your lungs. Do this no matter what your breathing cycle might be.

Personally, I can't speak to Batch's method. I've never been able to bring myself to try it during a hit, knowing that I have a routine that works well for me. I do however keep it in the back of my head so if I'm caught out somewhere and only have a low flow available to me, I might stand a chance of aborting a hit.

The CB YouTube channel HERE has a few videos of my demos through the years. Making a couple of short breathing technique videos is on my list of things to do this summer. 

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