Hey Hoover ~ Did you ruin someone's dive?

[jstuart1]

Why are you diving that deep if you are a self-described "newbie"? Do you have an AOW card at least? Also, have you been taught how to plan dives at that depth or do you simply wing (return to the boat at 500psi or 100psi - without know why that number was choosen)? If you do not how to plan how much gas you need for dives and you are bad of air - that's an espically dangerous combination.

When diving solo I will occasionally go to 50 ft but my usual depth is 30-35ft. I dive to 700 psi and then come up. Yes I do have my AOW. I understand that at these depths I am able to come up should I run out of air. But doing a CESA presents a higher risk of DCS so I figured that at the depths I normally dive 13cft would provide the time to come up safely.

 

[RiverRat]

If you are diving shallow (even solo) there's no need for a pony - you can simply swim up. If you are diving deeper, you should be running doubles. You need to figure out your SAC and plan your dives that way - simply doing your own thing and putting toghter a rig that seems to make sense to you is not a good way to go.

Since if you screw up, you could die, it's best to learn from others mistakes and adapt a rig that has already been shown to work (and understand the reasoning behind it).

While we're on the subject........Last summer I started diving wrecks in NC. 100' plus dives. Along with us rec divers were several divers with doubles too. Would you recommend I start moving to doubles for these types of dives instead of slinging say a 30CU. bottle? I was diving the rule of 3rd's with my PST 100's and getting on the boat with about 1000 psi. So I had plenty of gas, just no redundancy like doubles. I'm starting to think doubles maybe as I progress more as a diver.

 

[MASS-Diver]

While we're on the subject........Last summer I started diving wrecks in NC. 100' plus dives. Along with us rec divers were several divers with doubles too. Would you recommend I start moving to doubles for these types of dives instead of slinging say a 30CU. bottle? I was diving the rule of 3rd's with my PST 100's and getting on the boat with about 1000 psi. So I had plenty of gas, just no redundancy like doubles. I'm starting to think doubles maybe as I progress more as a diver.

I really like diving doubles. But, the main reason to go to them (IMO) is overhead environments (hard or soft from a deco obligation). With a good buddy, there's really no reason to go to doubles for OW diving even in a 100'. If you dive your plan with a good buddy, the single tank will give you plenty of gas, and your buddy is all the redundancy you need. If you feel like you need a pony bottle, maybe it's time to get a new buddy instead. Of course, if you think you are going to go the tech route, then it's move to doubles asap and get used them doing easy dives.

If you are into solo diving, like jstuart1 is talking about, I would go to doubles asap. I'm pretty into team diving these days. But, when I used to do some solo stuff (even pretty shallow) I either had my doubles or a 40lbs stage bottle (slung). Gas planning is very different for solo diving (since you won't be sharing gas and I do not know that much about it. Pretty much all I can say, is be very careful. I think to do a 100' solo with a single tank is not very a good idea for anyone at any skill level. 10' is too deep to be with a single and a buddy whom can't be counted to do his/her main job - donate gas to you when you need and have enought to get you both home.

For my diving, I use Rock Bottom. If I'm running the rule of 1/3 (on my usable gas after subtracting RB) that's an aggresive enough dive where I only do it with my doubles.

 

[large and lovely]

large and lovely
PLEASE understand that I merely suggested the pony for REDUNDANCY, NOT to EXTEND your dives! I don't want to send the wrong message. PLEASE finish your dives on your main tank with enough reserve air for a safety margin. Re-read this whole thread and feel free to come back and ask questions.

Hi RR: Thanks for the clarification! What a terrific resource this board is for newbies. I would have research it a lot more before using a pony bottle but I was thinking of using it to extend my dives not just as a redundancy. I now understand that extending a dive with pony bottles is not an option. Much appreciated! L&L

 

[drbill]

Another reason for prefering solo diving or my regular buddies who are well matched in terms of air consumption. Had this happen on a dive in Fiji. However the diver informed me ahead of time he sucked air so when he was low, I came up with him. No complaints- I was informed. Didn't dive with him again and he understood.

Dr. Bill

 

[SoCalAngel]

I don't like hoovers. They don't pick up much of the dirt, just sort of spread it around more evenly.

 

[RiverRat]

Hi RR: Thanks for the clarification! What a terrific resource this board is for newbies. I would have research it a lot more before using a pony bottle but I was thinking of using it to extend my dives not just as a redundancy. I now understand that extending a dive with pony bottles is not an option. Much appreciated! L&L

Hey! Good to hear back from you. I was lucky I found this board 2 years ago while I started OW training. There seems to be much misinformation out there and SB really helped me determine what was accurate info and what was garbage. I really got tons of help while configuring my "rig". Important stuff on weighting (calculations) trim and neutral buoyancy concepts. The locals told me all kinds of false info and basically told me to "be carefull" on the internet Yeah right.........
Anyway, you'll find all kinds of divers here with MEGA experience. Navy divers, commercial divers, technical divers, scientific divers, engineers, you name it. All here to help. Practice your skills. Work on relaxing during your dives and you'll do great.

 

[dlndavid]

Ok, now I can appreciate this thread. On my second dive of my first set of cold water dives in Monterey this last Saturday, we were cruising along in about 35', checking out the underworld of Otter Cove, just in front of aquarium. We were using LP 80 steel tanks with 2400 PSI fills. There were three of us, a master diver who dives Monterey all the time, an AOW student doing the course as a get back into diving after many years of not diving, and myself. We were all in close proximity doing good buddy skills, watching each other and looking after our air reserves. All of a sudden the MD gives the up signal, I looked at my gauge and had 1600 PSI, so was wondering what's up?
But he called the dive so I got to go. We made our ascent, did our three minute safety stop and surfaced. I then found the AOW student had sucked his air down to 600 and the MD to only 1200 and me at 1600.What a bummer and a waste of my money for a 30 minute dive that could have ben closer to an hour. So to make a long story short, I guess I ain't no Hoover, but did have a Hoover ruin my dive. Back on the boat the MD did praise me on my excellent air usage, I told him it was the Zen state I get in while diving.

 

[PerroneFord]

I'm not an instructor, so I'm not going go into teaching mode if the boat tries to pair me up with a 240lb'r wearing an 80 on a 105' dive. I just decline the pairing and go solo.

OUCH!! RIGHT IN THE FACE!

This is one reason I am thinking of setting up a set of AL80 doubles to dive or going with a 104. I have NO desire to cramp anyone's style while I am learning to control my breathing. To be fair, I think that it's heinous to expect experiened divers to cut their enjoyment short because my overweight butt can't breathe sparingly.

I like the doubles idea because eventually, I i'll want them anyway. When I get my breathing under control, I can just use a single tank. And us big guys don't have nearly as much trouble muscling around two AL80s as the average person.

The only drawback is that oftentimes, the big fella or lady is not the most fit person in the world and underwater problems are exacerbated by the complications of doubles, or larger, heavier tanks.

Damn, it's hard being fat...

 

[Snowbear]

PerroneFord ~ welcome to the board!

May I suggest something? Rather than add the complications, weight and task-loading of doubles, find a few buddy/mentors who are willing to do some shore dives with you while you sort out your skills and buoyancy control. Getting out and just diving will go farther towards improving your hooverism than adding to your task loading will