Diving with a hookah. Decompression times

[chrpai]

If i read the chart right i can dive 80ft for 40 mins. At the end of 40 mins can i just slowly go to shallower water and then stay around 30 feet for a couple of hours.

What tables are you reading? U.S. Navy I assume? PADI has NDL for 80' at 30 minutes and I believe NAUI is 35. Either way, those numbers are for square dive profiles not multlevel.

I'd really, really get some training before playing with that hookah. Beginning divers ( regardless of the number of dives and hours they have logged ) are told not to exceed 60' for a pretty good reason. It's challenging to exceed NDL limits diving less then 60' on AL80's, typical air consumption and surface intervals involved with going back to the boat to get more air. It can still be done but now that you throw a hookah in, well it get's pretty easy to do it.

 

[123frankie]

I hear what everyone is saying. I want to thank you for all your thoughts and help.I love diving even if its for qhogs. I feel at home underwater and can handle myself if something goes wrong. But i dont want to be over confendent.Most of my diving will be 30 ft or less until im comfordable with my new gear.I got the hookha because of my bad back and i can stay underwater longer.When i went for my open water dive. We went down to 100 ft. On our way back we stoped at our decompression stop. I was up and down at that stop. Then while in the boat,i got a taste of what that depth can do. So We were feelingnot to bad,but stilling something. So we went for another dive in twenty feet of water to get rid of anything left in our system. So with what i would like to do,i wanted to know what i can do as far as diving as deep as i can and then go into shallower water. So If i go to on my deep dive first say 80ft for 35 mins and then swim slowly into shallower water would something like that be do able. As far as staying down using a hookah and doing a decompression[when im ready] i would use a single tank for backup.But what i see on the decompression chart is i can go to 40 ft for over three hours. my hookha runs for about that time. so now i can dive to 40ft on my hookah and be safe.Or go to 60 ft for a half hour then swim to thirty ft slowly[but within the remaining 1/2 hour] to 30 feet and do the rest of my dive at 30ft.This is kind of what i want to do.If i do any 100ft dives. Ill do them like the chart says for a single dive. But it gets confusing to me after that.Like if i wanted to do another dive. I think i should write things out and plan it a little more carefully.I wont be doing alot of them.It seems that alot of divers that do these decompression dive have a better chance of getting blood clots.I just think diving helps this along.It doesnt happen to everyone,but happens in divers alot. Maybe you hear of it more because were all talking about this sport.But again. Their is new information out their sence i dove last. I just wanted to see how people felt about what i was doing. I want to get as much as i can out of my 4 hours underwater. I want to go as deep as i can with out problems. I was hoping for ideas and a game plan. Then i could research that plan and see if i could use it and it was better than my plan. But thanks for your time and responding.Im doing research now and weighting my options.This is better than just jumping in and think i know it all.I talk to my old instructor and he said that im a good diver and its like riding a bike. Do some shallow water dives and get use to the new gear and that my dive watch will help me with the rest. I can use a cheat sheet if need be. And to bring a extra weight with me.

 

[DandyDon]

Where did you do your OW Cert...?

When i went for my open water dive. We went down to 100 ft. On our way back we stoped at our decompression stop. I was up and down at that stop. Then while in the boat,i got a taste of what that depth can do.

We generally call that a (optional) Safety Stop, as compared to a required Deco stop which I presume is not what you got into. What did it do exactly...? :confusion:

 

[Wayan]

if you have to ask you should not be doing it.

 

[DevonDiver]

I just wanted to see how people felt about what i was doing. I want to get as much as i can out of my 4 hours underwater. I want to go as deep as i can with out problems. I was hoping for ideas and a game plan.

Hi Frankie,

The 'game plan' needed is to get the appriopriate training. I teach diving at all levels, including decompression diving, but there is no way I could address your needs via the internet. I doubt anyone else here could either.

Furthermore, what you are proposing (decompression diving) is a high-risk pursuit that demands a considerable number of ingrained skills. You simply cannot get those reliable ingrained skills through internet research and self-study.

You need to go back to basics. Whatever previous experience you have is sufficiently out-of-date and/or confused. You simply cannot consider 'starting where you left of'. Without any insult intended, I would gauge your knowledge (from your posts here) as being substantially below what I would expect from a newly qualified Open Water student. It is a long, long way below that required for decompression diving.

It is very good that you are asking for advice... and you seem to be in control of your ego, and accepting that over-confidence could lead you into situations that were beyond your current abilities.

Take it slowly, and seek expert local advice on training.

 

[123frankie]

Where did you do your OW Cert...?

We generally call that a (optional) Safety Stop, as compared to a required Deco stop which I presume is not what you got into. What did it do exactly...? :confusion:

We went to dive on this wreck which was about 100 feet deep.This was 15 years ago. Away we went down and it was dark and muddy and i didnt bring a light with me. I was down for 5 mins at 100 feet. I felt it was unsafe for me with no light, net bag connected to my weight belt ,plus a gig pole and 5 other divers diving. So i came back up to i think the 10 foot mark on my depth gauge.While trying to watch my depth gauge. I was up and down and found it hard to stay at just 10 feet. I know now i should have held onto the rope,but there was like 2 divers before me. Anyway im on the surface and in the boat. I could feel something different with my body.It wasnt bad,but i knew i got a taste of the bends. I told the instructor how i felt. He told me that we were going for another dive which would take care of this problem. So we made sure we had all the divers and took a boat ride to another site which was a plane. The plane was in like 20-25 feet of water. We dove on it for our second dive.This was to help anybody who was having problems from the first dive. END So I dove to 100ft for 5 mins came back up to 10 feet and stayed at 10 feet for ten mins. Drove to our second dive spot which was 10-15 mins away. Did our second dive in 20-25 feet of water so as to get rid of any problems we had from our first dive.I got a taste of what it felt like when you dont do things right.

 

[DocVikingo]

I could feel something different with my body. It wasnt bad, but i knew i got a taste of the bends. I told the instructor how i felt. He told me that we were going for another dive which would take care of this problem. So we made sure we had all the divers and took a boat ride to another site which was a plane. The plane was in like 20-25 feet of water. We dove on it for our second dive.This was to help anybody who was having problems from the first dive.

This thread is getting more frightening all the time.

If the above quote accurately represents what the instructor actually said, then I would suggest that he take a refresher and that you locate another one.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[boulderjohn]

So I dove to 100ft for 5 mins came back up to 10 feet and stayed at 10 feet for ten mins. Drove to our second dive spot which was 10-15 mins away. Did our second dive in 20-25 feet of water so as to get rid of any problems we had from our first dive.I got a taste of what it felt like when you dont do things right.

Help me to make sure I understand what you are saying.

You seem to be saying that when you did your original Open Water certification 15 years ago, you did two OW dives. The first was to 100 feet for a total of 5 minutes of bottom time, and the second was to 20-25 feet, the purpose of which was to get rid of problems from the first dive.

Is that correct? Were there any other requirements for your certification?

 

[DandyDon]

Huh, I don't mean to dogpile you, but do want to ask - did you have a buddy on that dive, who stayed with you?

Sounds like maybe you were seasick, but on the way you tell it - scary story.

How long ago was this? Perhaps time has dulled the memory? My OW was 10 years ago and I remember a little of it, but not a lot.

 

[diver 85]

Frankie-----you got in 3000+ dives in less than 5 yrs???----Did I do your math correctly??..(Cert 15 yrs ago--been out the water 10 yrs---& your profile says 2500 to 5000 dives)....