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I know that ScubaBoard puts limitations on new accounts to help ensure they are not SPAM accounts. Try getting your post count up above 5 and then try the PM again. That may work but am not sure.
His message actually did get to me, not sure why he got an error.
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Spoken by the arresting Officer: "If you take your hands off the car, I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."
Oh I see, so if the second stage were to freeze COMPLETELY open (not sure if this is possible), it would for all purposes we the same thing as a first stage free-flow? (and hitting the purge is the same as a "complete" freeze.
So I guess the difference isn't in the first or second freezing itself, but rather that the first tends to freeze completely open while the second tends to freeze only partially open (*'tends to' may mean 'always')
I'm by no means a reg technician so if my rudimentary explanation is off the mark - please excuse me.
I'm not sure if "freezing wide open" happens on a first stage either. Perhaps a better way for me to explain this ... if your 2nd stage doesn't completely close (call it freezing open or whatever) then you have a direct line from the intermediate pressure to surrounding water (or your mouth). I believe that in most regs the IP is around 120-150 psi. A considerable amount of pressure but the IP is still being regulated by your first stage so I believe when you inhale your IP drops by a certain amount. So if your 2nd stage doesn't completely close then it is the difference between the IP that you will experience as your freeflow in terms of the volume of gas (the wider open that 2nd stage is ... the more volume that can pass through).
Whereas if your 1st freezes open the pressure differential is the 3000 psi (or whatever your tank is at - although likely higher then 150 psi) with a direct line to the surronding water. Now the 1st stage and tank opening can only allow a certain volume of gas to escape (due to the small openings) so the 3000 psi will reduce in pressure as it takes up the extra volume but it will still be a massive amount of gas coming at you. So if the 1st stage is fozen open even a little bit then a pile of gas can still get down the LP hose and through the 2nd stage. So when you completely depress the purge on your 2nd stage basically you are maximizing the volume of gas that can pass through the LP hose which is likely approaching what a first stage freeflow will give you.
Like I said - I'm not a reg technician but this is how I have managed to understand the difference in the types of freeflow situations that I have experienced.
Well since you guys successfully scared me into getting a pony (just kidding, was going to get one anyways soon, just moved purchase date up a bit), how does this look?
Does it seem too low or anything like that?
(by the way, I haven't cut the rope yet, so it's just hanging off it now).
Well since you guys successfully scared me into getting a pony (just kidding, was going to get one anyways soon, just moved purchase date up a bit), how does this look?
Does it seem too low or anything like that?
(by the way, I haven't cut the rope yet, so it's just hanging off it now).
So far, so good. You want it to hang parallel to your body when you're horizontal in the water...it's harder to tell this when you're standing on dry land...but this looks good in the photo. Can you just get your arm in between the tank and your body?
Just did Niagra II and Caves, overall very impressed.
Niagra II is just an awesome wreck, tons to see. Other than the wheelhouse and going about half-way down the smoke-stack, I didn't penetrate it at all, but there is still a lot to see on just the outside. I'd love to go back here again, especially once I'm qualified to enter the wreck: inside's supposed to be pretty cool.
Caves were kind of neat, but a bit of a novelty that wore off pretty quickly. I was expecting there to be more to the caves than just the one cylindrical area. I thought the entrances would feel more like tunnels. The big entrance doesn't feel that way at all, while there is an overhead, it didin't feel like you were entring a tunnel or anything. The small entrance was a bit tougher: my bouyancy and/or trim weren't quite good enough and I ended up pushing off the bottom a couple times. Inside there are some cool formations and stuff, but you can see the whole place in 10 minutes. Glad I went, but not much repeat value.
Overall, while the weather wasn't great, conditins were good. Vis was great (at least compared to what I know), although it was confusing when my computer said 25 feet and I could see the surface looking 3 feet away: I've never dove where you can see the surface from that deep. The water was a bit choppy, but I didn't notice any current. Deepest I went was about 75, coldest was 50. Overall, felt like fairly novice conditions.
I also tried the pony for the first time (I know the rule of thumb is try in a "safer" spot first, but this wasn't really an option and I figured risk vs reward I'd try it. You guys are definately right that it dissapears: it dissapeared a little too well: when I jumped in I swore my home-made rigging had fallen apart and my pony was dropping to the bottom of the lake . Only time it was a concern is when close to the bottom or swimming through something (such as narrow cave entrance) since it hung down a fair bit making me feel less streamlined and creating an entanglement hazard, although I later got in the habit of grabbing the handle and pulling it to my side temporarily if it was going to get in the way
Overall, great dives, looking forward to San Jacinto tomorrow
PS. Freshwater has some definate advantages: lips not tasting like salt, not having to rinse gear with "fresh water", not needing as much weight.
San Jacinto was a bit different but pretty cool, and City of Cleveland's stern (mainly due to the huge engine) was one of the most memorable parts of the weekend. I'm back home now, had a great couple of days. Thanks everyone for your help and advice.
Hey, Coldwater Canuck, I completely forgot you were diving the San Jacinto and City of Cleveland, duh!! So, didn't introduce myself....duh again.
Great day of diving, I did the Arabia also, which was great as usual.
Glad the pony worked out for you, too. Are you back in Waterloo or in Seattle?
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. Only time it was a concern is when close to the bottom or swimming through something (such as narrow cave entrance) since it hung down a fair bit making me feel less streamlined and creating an entanglement hazard, although I later got in the habit of grabbing the handle and pulling it to my side temporarily if it was going to get in the way