Bringing spare tanks to a wreck

Is it possible to bring extra tanks down with you, unconnected, and plug them in once you run out?

OceanMist333:

Is it possible to bring extra tanks down with you, unconnected, and plug them in once you run out?

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Yes, it is possible to bring stage bottles down with you to a wreck, and 'stage' them where you believe they may be needed. Typically, however, each bottle has a regulator already attached to it, so the diver only needs to turn it on and begin breathing from that regulator to access the gas inside each tank.

I do not know what you mean by "unconnected". Stage bottles should be secured to whatever point you stage them at with some sort of anchor point. Usually this involves clipping their harness off to a line that has been laid on the wreck.

If by the word "unconnected" you mean a bottle without a regulator, and installing a regulator at depth, then while its possible, it isn't a good idea.

If a regulator fails at depth, it is indeed possible to remove it from a stage/deco bottle, and take another reg off another bottle and put it on that stage/deco bottle to access the gas inside the bottle. Then when that bottle is empty, you remove the reg and put it back onto the bottle it came from to breath that gas, etc.

Doing so, however, blows saltwater through your regs, so any reg so exposed will need to be disassembled, cleaned, and rebuilt when you get back to the surface. But it is indeed possible, and I've been on a dive where it became necessary. It is time consuming, and adds unplanned time to your dive profile, which brings me to the final point.

Any time you bring stage bottles down with you, you are generally looking at planned decompression diving. You don't need that much gas for No-Decompression dive profiles. And decompression is not something that new divers ought to be working with until they have quite a bit more experience and training.

Hope that answered your question.

Regards,

Doc

Doc, do not feed the trolls. Look at his profile. 6-10 years certified and a Dive Master asking these types of questions?

Doc thank you for the response.. I was just curious because I've had some people tell me yes and others no. The one's that were saying no obviously are going by what you said involving damaged regs. So essentially, do not connect regs at depth unless you plan on servicing them immediately thereafter.

Jim: thanks for your response. shows how ignorant you are because this was a valid question I had.

JimLap:

Doc, do not feed the trolls. Look at his profile. 6-10 years certified and a Dive Master asking these types of questions?

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...I quite agree, Jim......this is a major troll alert...otherwise that 'profile' is completely bogus !
...I find it impossible to believe someone claiming that # of dives and certification levels is asking such a basic question.

Usually in wrecks I leave the stages in some place over the wreck when I do penetration, clipped most probably in the deco cable or same guide cable that guide me to the deco (ascent) cable and I start to reel from where I left the stages, so I make sure I always find them on the way back (bad surprise not to find the stages and discover you have no gas for deco...). If I am exploring just the outside of the wreck I take the stage bottles with me all the time.

About regs, changing underwater only in absolute emergencies, the problem is not only damaging the regs, but there is a risk they might not work at all, so disconnect only if there is no option. Stage regs should be kept connected and pressurized all the time!

ivobj:

Usually in wrecks I leave the stages in some place over the wreck when I do penetration, clipped most probably in the deco cable or same guide cable that guide me to the deco (ascent) cable and I start to reel from where I left the stages, so I make sure I always find them on the way back (bad surprise not to find the stages and discover you have no gas for deco...). If I am exploring just the outside of the wreck I take the stage bottles with me all the time.

About regs, changing underwater only in absolute emergencies, the problem is not only damaging the regs, but there is a risk they might not work at all, so disconnect only if there is no option. Stage regs should be kept connected and pressurized all the time!

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I wonder if there's ever been an instance where somebody has taken somebody's staged equipment, thinking it was abandoned, and the diver was relying on this equipment to be there when he came out of the wreck. Seems dangerous. There must be some way to lock it.

OceanMist333:

Looks like our PADI instructors need to get on the ball then scuba***fanatic, because I didn't learn it in my classes.

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DC

why would you run out? don't you plan your dive?

OceanMist333:

I wonder if there's ever been an instance where somebody has taken somebody's staged equipment, thinking it was abandoned, and the diver was relying on this equipment to be there when he came out of the wreck. Seems dangerous. There must be some way to lock it.

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Hi, I understand your concern, but I very much doubt that this would happen (at least I've never heard of), usually this kind of dive is not within recreational limits, so divers are used this kind of procedure and would not be surprised to see stages near a penetration point of a wreck and wouldn't take them unless they have some "criminal intentions" :shocked2:

Also, notice that are other things that would prevent that, first, stage bottles usually have MOD marked and initials or some kind of indication of his owner, so it is very unlikely that another diver would take them by mistake, and many divers (myself included) start to reel tying the cable in the tanks's valve or very near, so you just need to look at the valve and follow the line to understand the owner of the tanks is doing a wreck penetration from there. Also remember, in this kind of dive most probably there will be only one team in the same place and time, so everybody is aware of the procedure and doing the same.