how deep max. when diving solo?

[PhatD1ver]

yup, at the end of the day, you have to decide if you have done everything possible to come home to mama and the kids. You owe them that. When I flew helicopters, I had to set that part aside to be my best (still safe, but training is training, and things change when people shoot at you). But my goal was the same as every good solo or tec diver, which is GDMOITL (in the Army, we simply wanted everyone home safe, and equipment preferrably no dinged).

 

[Reku]

I don't really take depth into consideration - instead I think of it as "how long will it take me to surface". Generally when solo I'm good for about 40mins - 60mins of "time to surface". You could drown in less than a foot of water. The deeper you go the more precise you have to be - this is no time for errors, with enough training the potential for errors will be minimized - leaving the only part that matters - how long does it take to surface?

 

[kr2y5]

I now feel comfortable diving to 110 feet while solo diving. (...) Solo tec diving is a completely different issue that is beyond my training level.

Interesting, I tend to look at it in the opposite way. I am more concerned about the potential for narcotic impairment than a small amount of deco. The latter is very predictable, and can be dealt with by equipment and training. The former is more elusive, and according to various accounts, it could change from day to day and sneak up on you. But, maybe that's just my experience. I've been unfortunate enough to never have consciously experienced very clear and definite symptoms of narcosis, and I am not entirely sure what exactly to expect, especially that according to many accounts, one might never feel anything in particular, and still be very impaired.

 

[Michael Guerrero]

I think narcosis is like realizing that time is passing after the fact. You suddenly say to yourself, after you've been looking at something for a while or messing with a piece of gear, "wow, how long did that take?" That's my experience with it. I really don't think it's that hard to monitor yourself though, if you're being vigilant about it. And if you're diving solo doing technical dives, then you need to be vigilant and stick to your plan or err on the side of conservatism.

 

[johnnywulff]

The limit is your knowledge, don't go father, doing something you don't know is taking a lot of risk, increase your confort zone step by step and dive safe

 

[letonac]

Hello All,

I would like to revise and extend my previous comments due to evolving circumstances.

I now feel comfortable diving to 110 feet while solo diving. I normally use 32% EANx (MOD 110'). I have made quite a few solo dives between 80 and 110 feet. The diving conditions were 55 degrees and warmer, no overheads, no deco, no current, no surge, 75+ foot visibility, and practically no foreseen situation where entanglement could occur.

I dove with my 100 cf PST E7 100 and a 6 cf pony that is tank mounted (a rec rig; not hogarthian).

I have performed practice pony bottle ascents from 105' with either a 6 cf pony or a 13 cf pony. I always double down on the practice ascent with two issues, like a lost mask, or a loss of buoyancy, or a entanglement scenario. I shoot my SMB. I have never run out of gas with either pony bottle (I always make manual BCD adjustments).

I will sling my 13 cf pony if diving deeper than 110 feet or if conditions are not pristine.

My question to those who went down the rabbit trail on this thread and recommended huge volumes of back-up gas and/or criticized the use of a 6 cf or a 13 cf pony:

1. why are you panicking while in a OOA scenario?
2. Why is a person who has at least 100 logged dives (see Note) running out of gas at 100 or 130 feet?
3. If you are within NDL, why do you need a safety stop when you are involved in a minor emergency? Safety stops are optional.
4. Why does a trained and experienced diver have a SAC greater than 1 cf per minute. If it is you, you need to cross train and get your lungs in shape.

Note: 100 logged dives is a prerequisite for obtaining a solo/independent/self-reliant cert.

Theoretically, and my experience proves that I can do a direct ascent to the surface while dealing with a failed primary breathing system, a buoyancy issue, or a lost mask, or a faked entanglement, or a failed computer, and I shot my SMB on 4.25 to 5.5 cf of gas. Once, I did three practice ascents on my 13 cf without refilling it.

If you are correct, what am I doing wrong?

Solo tec diving is a completely different issue that is beyond my training level.

markm

Answer to 2. question. Run of air is not situation caused by diver consumption. Failure of tank O-ring or bad air in tank is also lose of primary air. Six cuft tank can not cover the worse scenario- one or two minute for problem solving at depth of 40m , 10 min/m ascend speed, higer SAC due increased stress, and finaly S Stop which I agree with you is only option it this case (but good option )

 

[Steve_C]

Any practice is good. However, pretending you have an issue is not the same as knowing you have an issue and are in deep doo doo if you cannot solve it. No matter what is being tested there is far less stress when you know it is just a test and not really a problem. I have only had minor entanglements easily taken care of but there is always a bit of time realizing that you are entangled and dealing with it. That does not happen if you decide to pretend you are entangled.

 

[letonac]

IMO solo diving is mostly about risk assesment. This should be condsider trough hazards (run of air, narcotic effect, currents, enivornemnt, equipment failure, etc) and me (skills, expirience, stress expirience, knowladge, redudancy, procedures). Solo divers should plan amd have response to all possible problems (ok, heart attack can not plan )
Depth? Should be 30 meters due narcotic efects of Nitrogen if we talk about air. Ok, some people and agencies said 4atm pp for Nitrogen which is 40 meters but then your risk for narcosis is higher and you about be aware of it.

 

[Subcooled]

I was diving solo in a small shallow pond. Six feet deep or so. When I finally tried to exit the pond I noticed that it wasn't all that easy to get out of the water. The shore was steep - vertical. In managed to stretch a muscle then (badly), which lead to a lengthy and slow and painfull 60ft journey to my car on all threes (as the fourth wasn't of any use). To drive a car after that was not optional and not especially fun either. Yes, the injured leg was the right one.

Lessons:
1) Not all dive accidents happen under water
2) Accidents are unexpected events - something else, that is

Also remember that while narcosis, gas consumption and decompression risks grow with depth, lung over expansion risks grow with the time in the shallows. Sea traffic is also a bigger risk near the surface.

My conjecture: depth is not a relevant measure