My New Toy

[grantctobin]

Helium has been hovering around that same price for several years, it really hasn't spiked that bad. And I'm talking about normoxic ranges, not 100m dives (BTW, a 200' END in a cold dark place like Jocassee is looooney toons).

If $30-40 a top-up for a normoxic dive is breaking the bank, the solution is not to be spend $10k on a CCR with training. I could do years of OC normoxic diving for the cost of a CCR.

Once again, my initial statement was do OC through normoxic, get really good at diving OC at 190' where you have some time pressure, before switching to a rebreather. Once that rebreather breaks, you're back on OC, so better have some muscle memory to rely on.

And I say this as a CCR trimix instructor.

Do you think there's a cost point at which to move towards Tbone's side of the court? Helium is publicly at least $3.00/cuft where @Southside is located.

edit: Given how poor most AN/DP and even mod1/helitrox divers look in the water to begin with, I do side w Ken in this one.

 

[tbone1004]

@kensuf yeah well, it certainly is looney but so are most of those divers.
I know the retail price has been hovering around the same but I'm wondering how much of it was stockpiled. I know the price from our gas suppliers has almost tripled in the last two years.
What are your thoughts on the agencies not allowing OC normoxic to count as mod2 training?

@grantctobin what makes you think that a couple years at OC trimix will make them look good in the water? About the only thing that will fix that is cave training/fundies since most open water tech instructors look about as bad...

 

[kensuf]

@kensuf yeah well, it certainly is looney but so are most of those divers.
I know the retail price has been hovering around the same but I'm wondering how much of it was stockpiled. I know the price from our gas suppliers has almost tripled in the last two years.
What are your thoughts on the agencies not allowing OC normoxic to count as mod2 training?

I think brand new CCR divers going to 200' is nuts.

There's also a bit of stuff in MOD2 that isn't covered in OC normoxic and usually not heavily emphasized in MOD1.

 

[broncobowsher]

I'm fairly new to the deep end of the pool. I had the rebreather a year before I called the instructor and started classes to add some helium in and hit that 200' mark. Prior I had the standard AN/DP classes a few years before, and my open water card dates back nearly 3 decades.

Yea, you need a lot of time and a lot of dives to dial in a rebreather before you send them into the Helium bubble. I got the 200' card shortly before going to Truk. It was a full year of recreational diving on the rebreather before I was ready. Part of it is just learning to enjoy the rebreather and what it can deliver. Learn to relax and enjoy diving, not rushing to meet a number so you can take the next class. I have enjoyed the Normoxic diving, I plan to continue to. There is one more class, Hypoxic, that after a year of diving Normoxic (OK, 6 months since the start of this year has screwed just about everyone) I am not read. Nor will I be anytime soon. There is plenty left to see and enjoy in the new found 100-200' window. Few more years I may try for the Hypoxic class. More planning, another bailout. I understand what it takes, not ready to commit to it. Those that rush for the next level of training miss the new found enjoyment that the current cert just got them.