Standard vs Metric

[TMHeimer]

In Canada we still use PSI, feet, and fahrenheit for water temp. I have only seen a BAR guage in Cuba.

Interesting point. I was raised with celsius, and that is how I "feel" air, fahrenheit makes no sense to me. But when it comes to water, we have always gone by fahrenheit, so I don't know what water "feels" like in celsius.

Interesting variation within a country. Here in N.S. we use PSI/feet but celsius for both air and water. I'm fluent in either system, but when I talk fahrenheit here for water almost no one can relate.

 

[CuNanoTube]

Just to chime in, standard is metric, the USA is pretty much the only country that uses Imperial. Some Canadian divers still use imperial, but that is mostly due to age or american influence. I would love to use bar for pressure, but my gauges are american and in PSI.
EDIT: I should mention that my console is from the late 80's and is "Techna" brand. My mother "donated" it to my kit since she can no longer dive.

 

[XS-NRG]

Interesting variation within a country. Here in N.S. we use PSI/feet but celsius for both air and water. I'm fluent in either system, but when I talk fahrenheit here for water almost no one can relate.

I'm with you on that one. In Alberta we use PSI/Feet but temperature seems to be split. I prefer celcius. If you told me a Fahrenheit temp, I'd look at you like you were from mars and would have no clue what that would be.

 

[gcarter]

Just to chime in, standard is metric, the USA is pretty much the only country that uses Imperial. Some Canadian divers still use imperial, but that is mostly due to age or american influence. I would love to use bar for pressure, but my gauges are american and in PSI.

My gauges are imperial with a second metric scale, so I see both.This is true for both the SPG and the depth gauge. My computer is set for metric.

 

[DevonDiver]

As gcarter said: you can buy gauges that display both imperial and metric. Probably a good investment if you plan to dive outside of the USA zone of influence.

 

[Simon-]

What's standard?

In the UK, our distances are in inches, yards & miles, speed in miles per hour, we buy beer in pints

Wieghts are now in grammes and kilos, money is decimalised, we use bar not psi, depth is in metres.

Many more like that. Confused? You will be

 

[vladimir]

As I understand it, outside of America, other countries deal in units of [-]psi[/-] pressure called BARs, and of course, meters. When diving abroad, do most foreign countries deal in metric, which would leave Americans converting numbers

A scary prospect indeed, asking Americans to rely on our arithmetic skills. But if you are one of the few who can still multiply and divide without reaching for your iphone, the conversions shouldn't be a problem. Multiply Bars by 15 to approximate PSI. Multiply meters by 3.3 to approximate feet. How hard is that?

Temperatures are a little bit more complicated, so I've simplified it: at 30ºC, the water is too hot for coral; below 20ºC, the water is too cold for diving. Add or subtract neoprene as needed in between.

Oh, also, metric is standard, in most places, for most applications.

 

[Searcaigh]

...[ Can't figure why the British still drive on the 'wrong side' of the road though :O ]....

It's not the wrong side for UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, S. Africa and many more African countries

 

[rivers]

If you rent gear anywhere in the EU, you'll be using the metric system. Very few places still use imperial. I think the US is the only country that uses strictly imperial, and no metric whatsoever. But, it's really not hard to do the conversions. Three metres is approximately 10 feet (6m=30ft, 9=30, 18=60, 30=100, etc). As someone mentioned earlier, 50 bar is approximately 725psi. So, 100 bar= 1450psi, 200 bar=2900 psi, etc. I've moved from the US to the UK. But I also have all my gear. My spg reads in psi, and I've just changed the units on my vyper to metric for ease. It's not very hard to switch between the 2. As someone said earlier, I could buy a new spg. But I can't be bothered. My spg is less than a year old, and it doesn't cause me issues. I just make sure to let my buddies know that it's in psi.

 

[elan]

In Canada we still use PSI, feet, and fahrenheit for water temp. I have only seen a BAR guage in Cuba.

Canada is big and you are not accurate on this half of my fellow divers in quebec and ontario use metric