What is your personal depth that CESA is option #1

[Dan]

My reg, (Scubapro MK25/S600) will give enough warning. At 100 psi tank pressure it’ll start to get harder to suck air out of the reg. That gives me time to calmly get my Spare Air handy and ready to be used as soon as the air stops coming out of the reg. I can start to fin towards my buddy or slowly ascend to the surface until the reg quits then I’ll switch to the Spare Air.

Having the Spare Air keeps me calm, avoiding panicking and shooting up to the surface as I have some air to breathe for at least a minute or two to either swim to my buddy or ascend to as shallow as what the Spare Air can provide before doing the CESA.

Now I become more discipline in watching my NDL and start to ascend as soon as it reaches zero NDL. I don’t want to do CESA ever again.

So, to answer OP question, I did CESA from 10 foot depth once, but my goal is at zero depth, i.e., NONE. It’s not something that I want to do it again.

 

[napDiver]

My reg, (Scubapro MK25/S600) will give enough warning. At 100 psi tank pressure it’ll start to get harder to suck air out of the reg. That gives me time to calmly get my Spare Air handy and ready to be used as soon as the air stops coming out of the reg. I can start to fin towards my buddy or slowly ascend to the surface until the reg quits then I’ll switch to the Spare Air.

Having the Spare Air keeps me calm, avoiding panicking and shooting up to the surface as I have some air to breathe for at least a minute or two to either swim to my buddy or ascend to as shallow as what the Spare Air can provide before doing the CESA.

Now I become more discipline in watching my NDL and start to ascend as soon as it reaches zero NDL. I don’t want to do CESA ever again.

So, to answer OP question, I did CESA from 10 foot depth once, but my goal is at zero depth, i.e., NONE. It’s not something that I want to do it again.

Why don't you just sling a pony vs a spare air?

Also for NDL I don't push that to zero. I usually push it near 2 minutes. If I'm doing multiple deep dives I'll push it to 5 minutes or plan to do deco.


I don't plan on ever doing CESA. My goal is to get to my backup gas source which either is a buddy I greatly trust or another tank I brought with me.

 

[Dan]

Why don't you just sling a pony vs a spare air?

Also for NDL I don't push that to zero. I usually push it near 2 minutes. If I'm doing multiple deep dives I'll push it to 5 minutes or plan to do deco.


I don't plan on ever doing CESA. My goal is to get to my backup gas source which either is a buddy I greatly trust or another tank I brought with me.

Why I have Spare Air:
1. A birthday gift from a dear family member
2. It’s better than nothing
3. Very convenient to carry it on my backpack during air travel.
4. Nicely mounted on my BCD cam band
5. Easily charge gas from any SCUBA tank

I agree with you on avoiding CESA as much as possible and not pushing the diving to zero NDL. I used to go crazy in swimming with Whaleharks, Tiger sharks, Longimanus, schooling Hammerheads, Mantas and forgot about my NDL until the last incident where I got into 6 minute DECO. Now I have seen enough of them and learned from that incident, I would pay more attention to what my dive computer is showing and just enjoy the underwater view.

 

[rx7diver]

I assume we all agree that if one went out of gas at 10 feet that there would be no looking for another diver to share air. CESA would be the proper move. So what is your depth that is the grey area between doing a controlled emergency swimming assent and starting the process of getting another diver to share air?

Over the course of a few short years, I went from diving in full extended range open circuit gear (for deep wreck diving in the Great Lakes) to diving solo, using minimum gear, locally here in Missouri and Arkansas. There is absolutely nothing as liberating, and as fun, as diving minimum gear. A couple of years ago I even sampled BC-less diving, and, believe me, this is a whole 'nother level of fun.

An old-school steel 72 or an Al 63 are perfect minimum gear cylinders (for me) for this type of shallow diving. I wear my 3-mil jumpsuit when I use my OMS (Faber) LP 66.

I do this type of diving shallow, usually no deeper than ~30 ffw. I do not take a pony bottle on these dives, so, an out-of-air situation would necessarily mean a CESA from ~30 ft. I'm okay with that.

rx7diver

 

[FishWatcher747]

I don't plan on ever doing CESA. My goal is to get to my backup gas source which either is a buddy I greatly trust or another tank I brought with me.[/QUOTE]

This is sort of the money quote I take away from this thread. Until I get a buddy I greatly trust I should dive with my 12.5 pound pony 19 cu ft AL. It will be good practice for the solo course I plan to take this summer.

Unless I'm at Blue Heron Bridge or some other 20 foot dive I should take my pony.

 

[johndiver999]

I have buddies I trust, but I trust them a lot more when wearing a pony.

 

[Xaman Ha]

I'd never do a CESA when I have other options, but I don't dive solo.

 

[JohnN]

Never. I always dive with a 19 ft^3 pony.

 

[drbill]

On one dive I planned to stay above 40 fsw and didn't carry my pony. I ended up at nearly 80 fsw and had to do a CESA from there when debris clogged the dip tube in my valve. I made it but hope never to have to do that again!

 

[Dan]

On one dive I planned to stay above 40 fsw and didn't carry my pony. I ended up at nearly 80 fsw and had to do a CESA from there when debris clogged the dip tube in my valve. I made it but hope never to have to do that again!

Oh man! Glad to hear that you made it back OK.