Question Why can I find only one very large (30l) air tank?

[djbclark]

If you are making multiple short dives, using a couple of bigger tanks on a series of dives makes more sense. If you are making dives to ten feet for ten minutes, just use an AL80 four times rather than a 5L pony once. a 30L tank won't fill a 5L cylinder six times. I think you are making the problem more complicated and expensive than necessary. Buy bunch of AL80s, use them on multiple dives and then drag them to the shop when they are empty. You could buy a half dozen used for the cost of a banked tank. And they would be much easier to transport.

My problem with 80s and 100s is weight and bulk. I have various physical issues that make that size tank problematic for me. For club dives, vacation etc. should be able to get dive buddy or whomever to help out if needed, but going back and forth from my car to the pool I need to keep the total carry under around 30lbs.

I can look into renting a locker but I'm not sure the pool would want a tank of compressed air sitting in a locker all the time.

I guess I can also look into wheeled luggage although I'm guessing it will be hard or impossible to find something wheeled that is designed to get wet and dry out all the time.

 

[djbclark]

Hold it, I didn't get this on the first read through... You want it just for playing around in the pool? There no skills that you could practice that would require that much pool time. I thought you had some purposeful use for the dive like clean a hull or something. Just swim laps.

Main purpose: have fun. Meditative experience. I like being under water a lot. Neutral buoyancy is an awesome feeling. Almost as sweet as float tanks (aka sensory dep tanks, the ones with a lot of Epsom salt). But those are $100+ per experience. Seems like this could be significantly cheaper if you do on the order of 100 experiences a year.

 

[lowwall]

Main purpose: have fun. Meditative experience. I like being under water a lot. Neutral buoyancy is an awesome feeling. Almost as sweet as float tanks (aka sensory dep tanks, the ones with a lot of Epsom salt). But those are $100+ per experience. Seems like this could be significantly cheaper if you do on the order of 100 experiences a year.

You should really look into freediving training. It's not just deep diving in the ocean, doing laps in the pool is another big part of the sport. And you don't need to push it either. Getting into the mindset and then doing relaxed 25 and eventually 50m+ swims underwater is its own form of meditation.

You don't even need fins:

 

[djbclark]

You should really look into freediving training. It's not just deep diving in the ocean, doing laps in the pool is another big part of the sport. And you don't need to push it either. Getting into the mindset and then doing relaxed 25 and eventually 50m+ swims underwater is its own form of meditation.

You don't even need fins:

Thanks I'll look into if that training is available from anyone locally. I've read it's too dangerous to do yourself in water, although there are exercises you can do laying down at home, in a position where you won't hurt yourself if you pass out.

One problem: My pool has a "no breath holding" rule. Do people usually have problems finding a pool where freediving is allowed? In contrast my pool was fine with scuba diving as long as I was renting a lane to myself and had OW certification and DAN insurance.

 

[Boarderguy]

Thanks I'll look into if that training is available from anyone locally. I've read it's too dangerous to do yourself in water, although there are exercises you can do laying down at home, in a position where you won't hurt yourself if you pass out.

One problem: My pool has a "no breath holding" rule. Do people usually have problems finding a pool where freediving is allowed? In contrast my pool was fine with scuba diving as long as I was renting a lane to myself and had OW certification and DAN insurance.

"Breath holding" is often seen as you sitting on the bottom doing nothing. Swimming laps under water and active aren't normally seen as that.

 

[lowwall]

Thanks I'll look into if that training is available from anyone locally. I've read it's too dangerous to do yourself in water, although there are exercises you can do laying down at home, in a position where you won't hurt yourself if you pass out.

One problem: My pool has a "no breath holding" rule. Do people usually have problems finding a pool where freediving is allowed? In contrast my pool was fine with scuba diving as long as I was renting a lane to myself and had OW certification and DAN insurance.

How do they define breath holding? I used to be a lifeguard and I can completely understand not wanting to be responsible for people doing multi minute static apneas, but I've never hassled someone for doing underwater swims. Would they really stop you from swimming a length or two underwater? I've done this in every pool I've ever been in and no one has ever complained. Speaking as a former lifeguard, if I could see someone was a competent swimmer (maybe do a few laps on the surface first to demonstrate this), I would give them a lot of leeway as long as they weren't interfering with someone else.

This might also cover the training question. Get yourself calm, take three or four deep breaths and push off. Glide, do a long breastroke pull - pulling all the way through so your hands end up by your thighs -, glide, then a frog kick as you return your hands forward. Repeat until you get to the other end. It will be between 3 and maybe 10 strokes and take under 30 seconds. No special training needed and no risk of blacking out.