Petrel 20ft safety stop?

[ianr33]

What i have found out is that it is less protective than the recreational units. So when it tells you to do a 5 in stop you do 5 min not 3 or 4.

Well,yes.

The stops the Predator gives are required,obligatory,decompression stops. Not optional "safety" stops. Decrease the conservatism before the dive if you don't want to stop for so long,but be aware of what you are doing and the possible consequences.
Not fulfilling a decompression stop should only be done for a very,very good reason, e.g medical emergency or perhaps large hungry sharks. If you can't finish the stops because you don't have enough gas then you have majorly screwed up!

 

[NAM001]

I agree 100%.... As in any tool you have to know how to use it.

Well,yes.

The stops the Predator gives are required,obligatory,decompression stops. Not optional "safety" stops. Decrease the conservatism before the dive if you don't want to stop for so long,but be aware of what you are doing and the possible consequences.
Not fulfilling a decompression stop should only be done for a very,very good reason, e.g medical emergency or perhaps large hungry sharks. If you can't finish the stops because you don't have enough gas then you have majorly screwed up!

 

[Slamfire]

Julian, did you get the Petrel from Ocean Quest? I heard that they recently became dealers.

One thing to note is that the Petrel is intended to be used by divers in a different context than those divers using 3 min safety stop at 15 feet. The safety stop is intended to be used on dives that stay within the NDL done by divers that have no training or knowledge for planned mandatory decompression dives. Most divers these days do not get any planned decompression training. The 3 min safety is intended to be used in this context. The Petrel is not.

Once you obtain knowledge in planned decompression dives, you realize that there is much more to a safer ascent behavior than to just stop for 3 mins at 15 ft (even while still keep it within the NDL). The need for a computer to give you an automatic 3 minute count down at 15 feet usually goes away with this realization.

 

[Julian55]

Yes I got it from Ocean Quest, I asked them to bring it in. I'm aware of the differences, I was told some of more advanced computers do but OC didn't know as they hadn't sold them(Shearwater)before. I was going to get a Kaon but at $799, plus $99 for PC interface for only $50 more the Petrel has all the Kaon has and more, plus it feels much tougher and the customer service is top notch.

After doing a few dives and lots of research, plus many helpful posts and PM's here I think I have learned more in the last month about diving and decompression than the 6 years of diving so far. Now to sign up for an entry tech course!

 

[HIGHwing]

These recent questions on the Petrel have me wondering why purely recreational divers are buying them. It's way more computer than is needed for that level. If you are looking for the OLED display and the conservatism then why not buy the Atomic Cobalt?

Explain "conservatism". The Cobalt runs a proprietary version of RGBM, which means what exactly?

 

[ianr33]

Now to sign up for an entry tech course!

Just watch out for the depth limit on the Predator.

 

[exposure]

Julian, sign up your tech course and you'll realize how a wrist slate can replace a computer


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[vascuba67]

These recent questions on the Petrel have me wondering why purely recreational divers are buying them. It's way more computer than is needed for that level. If you are looking for the OLED display and the conservatism then why not buy the Atomic Cobalt?

The Atomic Cobalt is under recall. I'd personally stay away from that one. I love my Petrel. If recreational divers want to purchase, then go for it as long as they understand the true purpose of the computer. Certainly, any of the puck computers under $500 will do just fine for managing two gases.

 

[Jax]

Just watch out for the depth limit on the Predator.

Hey! That's a Pursuit, Darn it!

 

[HIGHwing]

One advantage to not having the safety stop automatically presented is that I don't have to rush into the bait ball of people trying desperately to get their computers to activate the safety stop. I usually just hang out with the wife at about 25-30ft and watch the action above.