SCBA vs SCUBA

[**ping**]

Don't worry, mate.

You will not be lugging around 50 lbs worth of gear as you did when you were a firefighter. No matter what an airhog you are, you will be fine with your standard AL 80s.

Diving is about experience just as much as it is about skills. You cannot possibly judge before you have done a couple of dives (I'd say around 15) wether you will need a bigger tank in the long run.

Every single one of us here who got certified once burned through their first few tanks in 30 minutes at 45 fsw... thats normal. You will be excited, you will be (positively) stressed and you will most probably be starting to coming to grips with maneuvering all you bulk around underwater. That all results in higher air-consumption and is completely normal.

After a few dives, you'll feel more secure, more comfortable and more relaxed and you will notice your air consumption going down.

I started out with 30 min worth of diving time at 30 feet.

Today, a regular multilevel dive with a few minutes at 90 and then gradually taking the dive shallower lasts me 60 - 70 minutes...

 

[Damselfish]

Thanks, the only worry I have about OOA is that for scba, you can "huff your pit" and be relatively fine to exit... I don't think that nice comforting (but smelly) option will be there to comfort me.

It's actually pretty unlikely you will ever have an OOA, and if you do you will have other options that smell better.

 

[lowwall]

After a checkout dive, a divemaster once asked me if I was a firefighter. I'm not, so when I asked why, she explained that big guys like me tend to suck air, but my consumption was quite good for someone with so few dives. She then told me the biggest exception was firefighters. Apparently, good physical condition, familiarity with SCBA and the ability to keep calm under situations that stress most folks makes firefighters great candidates for diving.

The point is, your air consumption probably won't turn out to be a problem at all. And it absolutely won't be a problem while you get certified.

If you are really worried about it, you can practice good breathing habits from the start, inhale and exhale slowly and deeply.

Once you are certified, you can think about whether purchasing tanks makes sense. Just keep in mind that there are a bunch of factors in determining not just whether you should buy but also what you should buy, including: air consumption, how much of your diving is local, what types of exposure suit you'll typically be wearing, local availability of high pressure fills, boat versus shore diving.

The standard Al80 also has a built-in safety margin when it comes to DCS. You wouldn't want to depend on this, but even if your depth guage or computer failed in some non-obvious way, as long as a diver left the bottom with enough enough air for a standard ascent with safety stop, it's pretty unlikely that he or she would have on-gassed enough to get badly bent. This isn't true for the larger tanks.

BTW, running out of air is extremely unlikely if you follow the rules. Remember, you are doing recreational diving. Nobody's life depends on you pushing the limits, so don't.

 

[fringefan]

You might want to check out an air integrated computer to give you a true idea how much air you are using and if using that in comparison to the dive tables you will most likely gain valuable diving time.

 

[harold3]

Thanks all for your information, at this point in my research all the information I can get is good! My classes won't start soon enough.

I have another question, without wanting to start a new thread on the matter (don't want to spam the board). Again, because of my previous experiences I'm kind of wondering about the buddy system. Buddies or teams in my experience are highly trained individuals that have trained together, worked together and have integrated as a unit. (as the old saying goes, I breathe when he exhales and vice versa). People with a HazMat specialty doubley so.

Now, diving in my mind would be a fairly dangerous activity on it's own, offsetted by training and experience. But, the buddy system confuses me. I mean... Maybe I'm not competent enough yet to make a judgement call on this (and that is most likely the case, very likely the case) but the safety of diving with insta-buddies and day buddies seems dangerous on it's own. An unknown teamate is a dangerous teamate. Now ten to one when I begin diving, finding a regular dive buddy is going to be a huge problem. I'm sure it can be done, but unfortunatley I don't have many friends as interested in scuba enough to take classes with me. This means I'll have to enter this new community pretty much solo and at the mercy of random teaming up. (I'm not even considering going by myself if that's what that sounds like. especially not new and with no experience, I'll probably stick to group dives or some other structured environ until I find a regular buddy)

But... the buddy system... comments? Are my concerns valid... I don't see how teams can be so ad hoc.

Thanks again.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

If you live in an area where the rental/Fills are more expensive the tank may pay for it self sooner. Where I live Tank rental at the Quarry is $11 a day and $7 air fill's.

Anyway lots of other more important stuff to get before then (Reg,BC etc....)

Enjoy your class and have fun!!

 

[AaronR103]

Thanks all for your information, at this point in my research all the information I can get is good! My classes won't start soon enough.

I have another question, without wanting to start a new thread on the matter (don't want to spam the board). Again, because of my previous experiences I'm kind of wondering about the buddy system. Buddies or teams in my experience are highly trained individuals that have trained together, worked together and have integrated as a unit. (as the old saying goes, I breathe when he exhales and vice versa). People with a HazMat specialty doubley so.

Now, diving in my mind would be a fairly dangerous activity on it's own, offsetted by training and experience. But, the buddy system confuses me. I mean... Maybe I'm not competent enough yet to make a judgement call on this (and that is most likely the case, very likely the case) but the safety of diving with insta-buddies and day buddies seems dangerous on it's own. An unknown teamate is a dangerous teamate. Now ten to one when I begin diving, finding a regular dive buddy is going to be a huge problem. I'm sure it can be done, but unfortunatley I don't have many friends as interested in scuba enough to take classes with me. This means I'll have to enter this new community pretty much solo and at the mercy of random teaming up. (I'm not even considering going by myself if that's what that sounds like. especially not new and with no experience, I'll probably stick to group dives or some other structured environ until I find a regular buddy)

But... the buddy system... comments? Are my concerns valid... I don't see how teams can be so ad hoc.

Thanks again.

Your concerns are definately valid. Check out the Accidents and incidents forum for insta-buddy horror stories. Your plan of sticking with groups at first is a good one. Sooner or later you'll find a group of divers you trust, even out of the insta-buddy pool. In the Ocala area there should be no shortage of divers. You can also try posting on here to find a buddy.

Nice thing about insta-buddies over friends though, I never feel bad about keeping them between me and the shark.

A

 

[Snowbear]

But... the buddy system... comments? Are my concerns valid... I don't see how teams can be so ad hoc.

*Teams* usually cannot be ad-hoc, though I have had first-time dives with a couple of people who had similar training as my own. We dove as a team through the whole dive, which allowed us to relax and enjoy the dive, rather than have to worry about a BoC (Buddy of Circumstance) either getting into trouble or swimming off.

It's similar to the fire service - you can go into an IDLH atmosphere with any similarly trained firefighters and know your teammate knows what he and you are doing and you're working toward a shared goal.

As for not being able to find a regular buddy you can dive with any time, build a pool of reliable team-mates. You can start out by checking with the LDS that certifies you about a local 'buddy list.' They should know most, if not all of the divers and their skills if they dive with the shop with any frequency and should be able to recommend a few.

Being in Florida, just hang out in the Conch Divers forum and join in some of the group dives they do. They should be able to hook you up with some good buddies or even a mentor

 

[DiveMaven]

I'll have to add that when you buddy up with someone for the first time that you explain how you feel about what a buddy is supposed to be, and go over how you would prefer to dive together. Get feedback from them about what they think buddying up means. If you don't match, you don't get warm fuzzies from what they say, or for any reason you're not comfortable with their philosophy of being a buddy, DON'T buddy with them.

My husband is one of those HazMat guys and he definitely has specific ideas of how we buddy together. Doesn't bother me in the least, but he couldn't buddy with just anyone because of his comfort level. He's also a big guy (6'4", 215) and doesn't suck a tank down very fast at all. He may go through an SCBA at a HazMat scene pretty quickly, but not underwater with SCUBA on a recreational dive. Definitely rent for awhile, it'll help you decide how big of a tank you want and whether you want steel or AL.

I agree that you should go hang out in the Conch Divers forum, you'll find great people there to dive with for sure.

 

[cfdfirediver]

Firefighter, Haz-Mat Tech, SCUBA Team, Air Hog
I agree with every everyone! I`m usually the first out of air with SCBA but about the same as everyone else with SCUBA. Your more relaxed the work is easier (except Rescue Diver class) and the experience with PPE makes you more confident. As for buying tanks I would only if you are a member of a Dept. with a dive team (free fills!). The upkeep of tanks can be expensive Especially if you don`t dive often.