Why do people add a few minutes to their last deco stop?

[L13]

The set GF might be good for 200 dives but on the 201st dive the tolerances stacked the wrong way and caused a hit.

People talk about it being random, when this is the way it really works. The further you are from the limit, the more the other factors have to line up in the same direction to cause a hit.

 

[L13]

One consequence of having surfacing M-values is that there is depth at which tissues can never on-gas to the point where you can hit your M0's upon surfacing: the no-limit depth. DSC-wise there is no downside to hanging at or above that: you may get cold, bored, OOG, pee yourself, etc., but you won't get bent (as far the model is concerned).

It's even better than that. There is a significant advantage to spending more time in that zone DCS-wise than surfacing immediately. As long as other factors don't drive a quicker surface.

 

[boulderjohn]

It's even better than that. There is a significant advantage to spending more time in that zone DCS-wise than surfacing immediately. As long as other factors don't drive a quicker surface.

....such as foolishly eating all the beans on your Tex-Mex dinner the night before.

 

[dmaziuk]

It's even better than that. There is a significant advantage to spending more time in that zone DCS-wise than surfacing immediately. As long as other factors don't drive a quicker surface.

You have a cite for that? All I heard was bubble size control, and, well, we know how that bubble thing went...

 

[SlugLife]

....such as foolishly eating all the beans on your Tex-Mex dinner the night before.

Or Taco Bell.

This deco stop is going to take some time....

 

[elmo]

That’s not deco… that’s what people go diving to see! Lol

Where was this?

If I’m lucky, the highlights of my deco are some tiny translucent critters floating by. More often it is brown snot looking water.

Yeah not the sort of deco I’m used to either. This was diving Kimud Shoal from Malapascua in the Philippines. The vast majority of divers/operators just dive the top of the shoal (10-15 m deep), which is a thresher cleaning station and a very enjoyable dive. Usually done as a shallow double dive with a 1 hr surface interval in between. But Evolution will happily take appropriately trained divers on a long deeper dive around the walls of the shoal, which lets us also see the sharks heading up to the cleaning station and back down, plus other life on and around the wall, then deco up on top of the shoal while the other divers are on their surface interval so we have the sharks much to ourselves.
As far as deco diving goes it is entirely “cheating” but wow it was fun and one of my most enjoyable dives ever.

 

[L13]

For those of you that think it is just random chance, why do you even bother with a dive computer. Why do you even bother doing deco, or doing as much deco as you do instead of a little less?

Many contributing factors are known and controllable. The more controllable factors that you control the less likely you are to get a DCS hit. Just because there isn't a guarantee to always work doesn't mean it doesn't reduce the risk.

 

[L13]

You have a cite for that? All I heard was bubble size control, and, well, we know how that bubble thing went...

If it is all just random magic then cites don't matter. If cites matter, then you have conceded my point.

 

[TrimixToo]

You could have saved yourself a lot of typing by just inserting the word or two he left out. Which would have then made it true and brought his statement in line with your points about gas volume.

Yeah, but (a) it ain't just that one post; like I said, this misconception rises from the ashes over and over, like the Phoenix, no matter how many times it's refuted and (b) I type pretty fast so it doesn't take much time. Thanks for the helpful tip, though.

 

[dmaziuk]

If it is all just random magic then cites don't matter. If cites matter, then you have conceded my point.

I.e. no cite. Got it. Moving along.