PADI Ascent Rate

[dazle]

How do

The rate of ascent with PADI is 18m/per min max. As I understand, most other org's/comp's have changed to 9/10m pm.

So why have all or most others changed and PADI haven't?

One rumour I've heard floating about is that if they do, then claims may be able to be made against PADI from previous incidents in the US. The cost of these claims is rumoured to exceed the whole of PADI.

Any ideas???

 

[Aquatic Eagle]

I have often wondered the same thing. I was originally certified with PADI and learned 60 FPM. After I got certified with other agencies, I learned that all of the ones I went under were 30FPM. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? As far as PADI being liable for previous incidents...what exactly do you mean there? Do you mean PADI divers having accidents for ascending 30+ FPM and not being able to blame PADI for training...so they may blame them now? That doesn't seem possible if the agency changes it's policies. It seems that if an agency changes it's standards then it wouldn't be liable for previous incidents. Just my thought.

 

[Warren_L]

Yes, that's what they teach, but I prefer a rate much slower than that. I suppose that would be fine during a CESA, but that's about it.

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

dazle once bubbled...
How do

The rate of ascent with PADI is 18m/per min max. As I understand, most other org's/comp's have changed to 9/10m pm.

So why have all or most others changed and PADI haven't?

One rumour I've heard floating about is that if they do, then claims may be able to be made against PADI from previous incidents in the US. The cost of these claims is rumoured to exceed the whole of PADI.

Any ideas???

Well, other rumors include: Padi buys hundreds of thousands of manuals at at time and they need to sale all of them first.

So rumors are just that..... rumors. Padi's insurance will cover any claim made againts PADI. And all other agencies were 60' a minute as well at one point. When they switched to 30' a minute they did not get sued.

PADI is going to change there ascent rate, but I can't specify when right now.

 

[paulwlee]

I find that PADI is pretty conservative and takes its time to change. Just look at how fast they adopted Nitrox.

I think most instructors these days, including PADI, teach people to do a slower than 30ft/min ascent. (The PADI OW manual says no faster than 60ft/min, and then says slower is acceptable, and appropriate.)

 

[adder70]

I think the biggest issue is that for a given situation, the maximum safe ascent rate varies with depth. The deeper you are, the quicker you can ascend. Theoretically, looking at the really fast tissues, you would be safe going from 99' to 33' (4ATA -> 2ATA: 2:1 pressure ratio)in the same time you take getting from 33' to the surface (2ATA => 1ATA: 2:1 pressure ratio).

In reality, I would stick to about 30'/min unless I had a reason to ascend quickly (free flow reg, physical problem, etc). In that case I would go to 60'/min until I hit about 30' and then take another minute to reach the surface.

 

[MikeFerrara]

The PADI books and tables state 60 fpm as MAXIMUM. The DSAT/PADI tables were calculated and validated under those conditions. PADI teaches that slower is better. Have you seen the PADI SAFE diver stickers? SAFE stands for Slowly Ascend From Every Dive.

Also note that few OW instructors are teaching timed ascents sot the question is...How many diver can do a 30 fpm ascent regardless of what the book says. I think the average actual ascent rate is much higher.

 

[Genesis]

is much SLOWER, particularly for the last part of it!

From about 30' on up, I ascend VERY slowly, and from the final stop (typically at 15-20') its a foot per 10 seconds on an NDL dive, which results in roughly a 6fpm rate - 1/5th of the "recommendation."

If you have the gas for it, there is no reason not to make the ascent - particularly in the last atmosphere - VERY slow.

 

[String]

The problem is ascent rates and tables are linked together. A set of tables is assumed given a specific ascent rate otherwise the on and off gassing calculations are slightly wrong so it wouldnt be too east for padi just to change the rates.

BSAC 88 tables recommend 15m/minute ascent rate until reaching 6m or first stop depth then 1 minute to ascend from 6m to the surface.

Most computers work on a rate of around 10m/minute and i tend to follow that until my stop then 4-6m/min after that.

 

[sunnydiver]

For you all...

When do you accent slow?
When I read all of this, it sounds like that I missed a lot while I was learning to dive (PADI). I can’t recall that they teach me to dive like this, to accent always very slowly and accent more slowly for the last few meters!!

When I read this threads it reads like that I have to change my style of diving. I am just recreational diver and normally I dive only in the weekends and on my diving holidays I dive like 3 or 4 times a day for 5 days (all depends how I am feeling and how deep the dives are).

But when you all telling to accent very slowly, does this means that for every dive you make, you always accent very slowly? Or only for NDL dives?

I wonder, when you are diving within NDL and you went at 100f, do you accent normally (30f/min)? Or do you accent more slowly when you reach the 15f area?
Or how do you accent after repetitive (no deco) dives?

My worst problem is the feeling I don’t get for my accent speed, this is actually my main reason to use a dive computer! To accent with a rigth speed. But do you all accent much more slowly then what the computer tell to you?