Some questions and ideas after starting OW classes:

[boulderjohn]

Thank you very much guys. I will try to put that all into practice. I had another question. Are there any non-essential pieces of equipment that make life a little easier, but would not necessarily come up in my OW course? I noticed that some divers have those neoprene bands on the back of their masks.

As far as making diving easier goes, that strap probably gives more bang for the buck than any other piece of equipment you can buy.

 

[industrious95]

Hello guys,

... I still need to get some clips/retainers for the safe second and gauges, and try to figure out how I should set up my gear. This week I will be in the pool with all of my own stuff, as the last class I still hadn't gotten my regulator together.

Thanks,
BC

I like using stainless steel snap bolts with a bit of latex hose to make my own lanyards to keep my gear in place. I have a few of the store bought lanyards, but I'll take stainless steel over plastic. Also, you can cut the hose to the precise length you need. My Pony (safe second) is around my neck on a latex hose hoop. Some people on Scubaboard call that suicidal, but it pretty much seems the norm where I dive.

You might want to get some gloves. I have a friend who got a horrible infection in his hand in the Caribbean. He thinks he got it from a micro-critter on an anchor line in St. Thomas. Put him in the hospital a few days on IV antibiotics. His hand swelled up twice normal size. I use rubberized "reef gloves" in warm water. Neoprene mitts for NJ diving.

I lay my regulators out on a towel on a table to dry. I figure hanging them up has got to put stress on something. Once or twice a day while drying, I'll give the second stage and console a shake to remove any water drops.

I dive with a drysuit and use that to control my buoyancy. That's the way I was taught, I know that's also a topic of disagreement. If you ever get a drysuit, I say go with what your instructor teaches you. That being said, I only put air in the BC before my first dive of the day to test that it works. I deflate it when entering the water and it stays that way until the next day I test it. I rinse with fresh water and leave it on the balcony to air dry, usually sitting on a chair.

I've rented DIN tanks in San Diego (they charged me extra for Steel) and was supposed to rent in Acapulco, but for some reason when I showed up to the dive operator, they couldn't figure out who told me that. My regs and tanks are DIN, but I always carry the adapter with me.

 

[GrandpaScuba]

1: Get caps for your first stage to prevent water/moisture from getting in them
2: Rinse it with fresh water and dump through the inflator hose. Inflate orally and then dump again with the manual dump valve, located at the bottom of the BC, at the lowest position. Slightly inflate so the sides of the bladder won't stick together and hang up.
3: Get your own adapter. DIN tanks are generally the expection for recreational divers/dive locations.

Safe dives . . . . .
. . . safer ascents

the K

K's responses are generally good. Do get/keep the dust cap for your first stage and try to keep water out of the air chambers. Most divers do rest the 1st stage on a peg and let the hoses hang for drying. But you can also curl the hoses into a big loop and hang your looped reg on a peg. The main thing you want to avoid is excessive strain on the hose fittings. If you have strain relieve sleeves on your hoses, slide them down the hose a short distance to let the metal hose fitting dry.
Store your BCD "loosely" inflated on a BCD hanger.
Now for the question of yoke Vs. DIN. Since you specifically asked about the Caribbean, my experience diving all over the Caribbean is that nearly all tanks are AL80's with US yokes. The laws around the Caribbean are different than in the US. So tanks tend to get the bare minimum of maintenance. So, Caribbean resorts tend to buy AL80's because they are very cheap to buy in bulk, they can put up with an incredible amount of abuse and keep working and with the Caribbean's proximity to the US, they tend to buy US style equipment.

High pressure tanks with pressures of 3500psi or higher require a DIN fitting in the US. The DIN tanks introduced in the early 90's were 3500psi. But over the last decade or so, the industry has migrated to the 3442psi tanks. Since these tanks are under the 3500psi limit, they are usually sold with "international" valves. This is a valve that is a DIN valve, but comes with an adapter plug that allows it to support a US yoke, as well.

I would expect that resort operations that have "high pressure steel" tanks would have the 3442psi tanks and should be able to accommodate either regulator type.

If you are a "Boy Scout" and want to be prepared for any situation. Get a DIN regulator and a decent quality DIN to yoke adapter. This setup would allow you to be prepared for either situation. However, I've found that when using a DIN reg on a yoke take with the adapter, that the reg sticks out much further and can hit you in the back of the head. A DIN to yoke adapter is a yoke that fits on the valve of a yoke tank and has a cup for you to screw your DIN reg into.

To answer the last implied question: Can you use the plug from an "international" valve on a 3500psi tank. NO - The cup on the 3500psi tank valve is deeper so that the plug is forced to screw too far in to work. Also there is no "dimple" on the back side of the 3500 valve for a yoke screw.

 

[bc214]

Thank you all very much. I appreciate all the help and information.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Keith.M]

Thank you very much guys. I will try to put that all into practice. I had another question. Are there any non-essential pieces of equipment that make life a little easier, but would not necessarily come up in my OW course? I noticed that some divers have those neoprene bands on the back of their masks. Is that something worth while? Any other little things that make underwater time a bit more hospitable?

Thanks as always,
BC

You should get yourself a DSMB and a finger spool with 75 - 100' of line, along with a stainless steel double ender. Get a light to look in all the cracks.
Start putting together a save a dive kit with a minimum of an assortment of O-rings, a spare mask, spare batteries for your computer and dive light. Spare fin strap and some zip ties. Some silicon lube... There are several threads regarding kits and what to put in them.

 

[Fish in a Barrel]

The neoprene mask straps are very nice for comfort. It also means that if you drop your mask overboard it will sink a lot more slowly, giving someone in the water time to grab it for you. Not that I would know about doing something stupid like that.

In a similar vein, spring straps for your fins are great.

And I LOVE my ScubaPro tank strap. It unlatches so you don't have to slide it up/down the whole length of the tank. I find it a lot easier to deal with on boats.

 

[bc214]

The neoprene mask straps are very nice for comfort. It also means that if you drop your mask overboard it will sink a lot more slowly, giving someone in the water time to grab it for you. Not that I would know about doing something stupid like that.

In a similar vein, spring straps for your fins are great.

And I LOVE my ScubaPro tank strap. It unlatches so you don't have to slide it up/down the whole length of the tank. I find it a lot easier to deal with on boats.

This right here! I meant to ask it in my first post in this thread but forgot. My BCD has a nylon strap with a plastic cam buckle. It must be slipped on and never really feels like it is rock solid to me. My instructor's equipment that he provides has a scuba pro buckle style strap just like the one you posted. First, it doesn't have to slip over, and second, it always feels rock solid.

Do you suppose I would have any trouble adding that ScubaPro tank strap to my Seaquest BCD?

Thanks,
BC

 

[Fish in a Barrel]

This right here! I meant to ask it in my first post in this thread but forgot. My BCD has a nylon strap with a plastic cam buckle. It must be slipped on and never really feels like it is rock solid to me. My instructor's equipment that he provides has a scuba pro buckle style strap just like the one you posted. First, it doesn't have to slip over, and second, it always feels rock solid.

Do you suppose I would have any trouble adding that ScubaPro tank strap to my Seaquest BCD?

Thanks,
BC

I can't say, since I don't know that BCD. On my Mares BCD the cam band just fit into a slot in the backplate; it wasn't secured in any way. Swapping it out was as simple as undoing the cam band, sliding it out, and sliding in the ScubaPro.

 

[bc214]

I can't say, since I don't know that BCD. On my Mares BCD the cam band just fit into a slot in the backplate; it wasn't secured in any way. Swapping it out was as simple as undoing the cam band, sliding it out, and sliding in the ScubaPro.

I just looked, mine is the same. So long as the strap is the same width, it shouldn't be an issue. I'll order one up today.