Spare Air

[HarleyDiver]

HD,
I think he just left out the "v" in "freedi_e".

the K

I knew that, but it was just to punny to ignore.

NO that's not a typo.

 

[DaFireMedic]

Besides how do you get it filled? From a paintball tank?

If you show up with that and that alone at a dive shop they should smell a rat.

Pete

You would need a C-Card to get it filled from a shop.

 

[Nobby]

You would need a C-Card to get it filled from a shop.

Well said Red!

 

[chrisch]

You would need a C-Card to get it filled from a shop.

Is this the case in the "land of the free"?? Most of the world you can get a tank filled without a card. Paintballers and airgunners do just that. You usually need a card to get nitrox..

If you needed just a spare air then buy a tank - fill, decant and then refill tank.

However, its probably the dumbest thing ever invented and the most useless gadet in the history of scuba diving. Furthermore diving on one without scuba training of some form is a really idiotic way to die. I would have thought though that a "resort course" or similar would be adequate to understand the problems of lung expansion - maybe they are cheaper than a full on Open Water Course? As said though you might as well do the whole course and get fully scuba certified and then be able to dive without restriction...

Chris

 

[DaFireMedic]

Is this the case in the "land of the free"?? Most of the world you can get a tank filled without a card. Paintballers and airgunners do just that. You usually need a card to get nitrox..

Yup...however, don't blame the country. This is one case where the government had nothing to do with it.

BTW: There are actually a lot of experienced divers who like, and use, the spare air for depths less than 80' (although I haven't seen too many on this forum )

 

[hardhat]

Besides how do you get it filled? From a paintball tank?

If you show up with that and that alone at a dive shop they should smell a rat.

Pete

If some one showed up to the shop I'm in we won't ask for a C-card, we'd be telling them we don't fill anything like a Spare air as it comes with it's own fill station (fill adaptor to fill it from their scuba cylinder). Then we would maybe hand them an outline for an openwater class and explain how dangerous these sort of things (Spare air) can be without the proper training. If they weren't interested in listening to reason then we wouldn't just show them the door, we would be bouncing their behind out that door.

 

[Nobby]

Is this the case in the "land of the free"?? Most of the world you can get a tank filled without a card. Paintballers and airgunners do just that. You usually need a card to get nitrox..

If you needed just a spare air then buy a tank - fill, decant and then refill tank.

However, its probably the dumbest thing ever invented and the most useless gadet in the history of scuba diving. Furthermore diving on one without scuba training of some form is a really idiotic way to die. I would have thought though that a "resort course" or similar would be adequate to understand the problems of lung expansion - maybe they are cheaper than a full on Open Water Course? As said though you might as well do the whole course and get fully scuba certified and then be able to dive without restriction...

Chris

I am sorry buit I would have to disagree with you on the 'most dumbest gadget in diving'. As you have done many dives I won't bore you with the added advantage of carrying one of these. However as an instructor and a frequent diver, that doesn't have the luxury of the same buddy everytime I dive, I carry one on every dive. The underwater world is full of surprises, you never know what might happen...incidentally have you ever done a CESA from 20+ metres? No? Neither have I but if I did I know that I'd have something to breath whilst doing so, or I'd have a bit of time to get hold of my buddy and get some air before ascending in a controlled manner. And if you are a DPV diver then you'll understand that it is more than handy!

 

[grazie42]

I am sorry but I would have to disagree with you about your view of Spair Air as being "handy". As you are an instructor and a frequent diver I won't bore you with the details of how you can avoid ever having a need to use one...regardless of who you choose to dive with witch, except for the instructor part, is worthy of a discussion in and of itself...

 

[Nobby]

I am sorry but I would have to disagree with you about your view of Spair Air as being "handy". As you are an instructor and a frequent diver I won't bore you with the details of how you can avoid ever having a need to use one...regardless of who you choose to dive with witch, except for the instructor part, is worthy of a discussion in and of itself...

Ok, I'll give you a scenario. You are doing a swim through and your buddy is behind you. As you are going through the delivery of breathing air becomes more difficult to breathe and you notice that your SPG is reducing with each breath (something is wrong), you have more than likely got a blockage in the first stage filter, not necessarily a common occurence but one that might happen all the same (and don't go on about servicing of equipment before diving as this is not the point being discussed). You cannot access your buddy's octopus as he is behind you and you have no air and 20ft of swim through left. What should you do? I'd reach for my SPARE AIR as it is there and handy, giving me peace of mind that I can exit the swim through and then if necessary use my buddy to acsend. That to me would be $200 well spent, but you wouldn't know about that cos you'd be too busy floating belly up! HOW COULD YOU HAVE AVOIDED THAT and any other UNEXPECTED incident? My SPARE AIR goes with me on every dive! UNless you are a clairvoyant you can never tell what might happen.

 

[jonnythan]

Ok, I'll give you a scenario. You are doing a swim through and your buddy is behind you. As you are going through the delivery of breathing air becomes more difficult to breathe and you notice that your SPG is reducing with each breath (something is wrong), you have more than likely got a blockage in the first stage filter, not necessarily a common occurence but one that might happen all the same (and don't go on about servicing of equipment before diving as this is not the point being discussed). You cannot access your buddy's octopus as he is behind you and you have no air and 20ft of swim through left. What should you do? I'd reach for my SPARE AIR as it is there and handy, giving me peace of mind that I can exit the swim through and then if necessary use my buddy to acsend. That to me would be $200 well spent, but you wouldn't know about that cos you'd be too busy floating belly up! HOW COULD YOU HAVE AVOIDED THAT and any other UNEXPECTED incident? My SPARE AIR goes with me on every dive! UNless you are a clairvoyant you can never tell what might happen.

The answer is that if you're on a single tank with no sufficient backup you shouldn't be putting yourself in situations where you have no access to your buddy's air supply.

Now in your scenario... you go to your Spare Air and realize that while reaching for it you get entangled in something. You now have, oh, a minute or so to untangle yourself before you drown when your Spare Air runs out. Brilliant.

You should not be in that situation in the first place. Doing single-file swimthroughs on a single tank with a Spare Air as a backup is asking for an accident.