Wing Inflator Hose Routing: Singles, Doubles and the Right Post

Your wing starts to hiss. Then it starts to lift.

You're rising, and you didn't ask to. What do you do in the next two seconds? Which hand moves first? Which valve? Do you even know which post that hose comes from?

That last question is the one most divers can't answer. And it's the one that decides how fast the rest goes.

How is the inflator routed on a single tank?

Simple. A left-side port on the first stage, straight up to the inflator on your left shoulder. Short run, no loop over the top of the valve.

How is it routed on doubles?

Different. It comes off the right post and crosses behind your head to the inflator on your left shoulder.

Keep it close. The hose should hug the manifold and the back of your head. If it stands up in an arch above your valves, it's waiting to catch a line, a wreck or a ceiling.

Why the right post?

It looks odd the first time. The inflator is on your left shoulder, so why not feed it from the left post?

Three reasons.

1. Separate posts, separate lift. On doubles, the drysuit inflator lives on the left post. Put the wing on the right and you never lose both ways to add gas at once. Lose the left post and your wing still works. Lose the right and your suit still works, and the wing still has its oral inflator.

2. Roll-off. Drag the left valve knob along an overhead and it tends to turn toward closed. Drag the right knob and it tends to turn open. The wing goes on the post that stays on.

3. A valve is an off switch. A wing that inflates on its own is a runaway ascent waiting to happen. On doubles, you stop it by shutting down the right post. UTD instructors run exactly this failure: a right-post problem and a self-inflating wing. What they're looking for is the right order. Dump the wing first. Then shut the valve.

What do you do when the inflator sticks?

On doubles:

1. Dump the wing. Stop the ascent first. Everything else can wait two seconds.
2. Switch to your backup. You're about to shut down the post your long hose is on.
3. Shut down the right post.
4. Signal your team and work the problem together.

On a single tank, you can't shut down your only post. Your off switch is the quick-disconnect:

1. Dump the wing.
2. Disconnect the inflator hose.
3. Signal your team. From here, you add gas to the wing orally.

Either way, the first move is the same. Dump. Then fix.

How long should the hose be?

About 22 inches is common on doubles. But the right length is the shortest one that lets you turn your head and work the inflator without tension. Anything longer becomes a loop. See DIR Hose Lengths.

Has your inflator ever stuck?

Here's the reality check.

The comfortable belief: my inflator has never stuck. It's fine.

The truth: it only has to stick once.

And when it does, you won't have time to think about which post it's on. You'll either know, or you'll be at the surface wondering what happened.

Practice the failure before it happens

Inflator failures aren't rare drills reserved for tech courses. They're basic problem-solving, and they belong in your muscle memory before you need them.

Shutting down a post and handling a runaway wing are exactly the kind of emergency skills the Doubles course is built around. For the rest of the rig, read Doubles Hose Routing.

So, which post feeds your wing? And how fast can you shut it down?