Spare Air

[Tanked]

Dear God:

You know I don't ask for much. I've never asked for riches. I've never asked for fancy cars or big house. I mostly accept what I have and am quite thankful. You've given me wonderful children, a beautiful wife, and endless springs, caves, and oceans to dive from. But Dear God, please please please stop the Spare Air threads. I can't handle the torture any longer.

Thanks again for everything.

Pete

I'm kneeling right next to you

 

[elmer fudd]

How about this little tidbit, at least with lets just say a 20 cu.ft. pony bottle, you not only have the option to put a gauge on it to determine if there is air in the tank prior to diving it, but if you are diving it, you will feel the breathing get harder as you empty the tank, the spare air basically breathes a few good breaths, then nothing.....Now what?? you still have 40 feet to ascend, and now you have no chance for a safety stop.

I am using an AL40 stage bottle as a pony, and am slinging it alongside me, I don't even realize it is there while I am diving, and the tank is neutral so I don't change my weighting with it either.

You actually get quite a few breaths from one. Not that you wouldn't want to terminate your dive immediately and get to the surface ASAP, but when I checked on dry land I got something like 60 normal breaths out of it on a light charge, (maybe 2600 psi).

It also seemed to me that the breathing got considerably easier as the pressure decreased. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that it's a single stage regulator with an upstream valve.

 

[yarik83]

I bought spare air this past spring and have gotten a chance to test it out. ................

I love the deployment and ease of access. Although I only inhaled 4 times I did notice a couple of things.

#1 it is a lot easier to take it out than to put it back in albeit my spair air is mounted on side of my bcd with opening facing my back or towards the surface when I am floating about facing the reef.
#2 it is very easy to breathe and that is why I think in a emergency situation I would have to stop... think.... calm down.... breathe and control my breathing.

I would love to own a pony bottle but I am not a 220 lbs diver and cant carry more weight on my 137 lbs frame especially with my 2 bad knees. I have hard time climbing back to the boat as it is. While spare air provides me with less air and less versatility... I still think that I have made a smart buy.

On a side note I have a really big problem with opponents of spare air comparing it to a redundant air source when they dive solo. Diving solo requires a higher margin of safety and more redundant air sources such as pony bottles or double tanks or what have you. In a recreational type of situation... which spare air was designed for... the margin of safety is smaller but its really important to understand that spare air is not THE solution but more of a SUPPLEMENT in arsenal of a safe(r) diver.

 

[Cap335]

I always wonder why so many jump on new divers asking old questions
telling them to go search although the posting links to old threads is helpful. I have seen spare air threads before but I learned something new in this one. If you don't like the thread don't read it but remember someone new might add something that you didn't know.

Randy

 

[idocsteve]

Okay, I understand the general consensus is that Spare air is a waste of time and more of a danger than a safety net.

Since when is the "general consensus" the right thing to do?

Don't be a lemming.

 

[Kicker1866]

I can see expereinced divers hate this thread....but as a new diver ( AOW less than one year and 30 dives) I also purchased a SA. I did the research and am well aware that this is only a few extra breaths from 100' ...but I figure at that depth it can get me to my Buddy....if I am around 60-70 I am thinking I could manage it well enough to get me up. However, as I became more confident in my gas consumption and ability to monitor my gas, I started taking a hard look at the reasons I carry SA. No longer am I worried about mismanaging my gas and ending up in an OOG situation.....however, this concern has now been replaced with other "what ifs".

"What if" I run into an equipment failure....."What if" environmental factors cause a delay in my ability to surface...."What if" I am swimming along with plenty of gas to get me to the surface and another diver pops up in my face giving me the OOG signal....well, I figure that under these scenarios SA just is not the tool I need. So I have switched oover to a 18CF pony.

Now...I am a lawyer and tend to worry about life's "What If's" more than the next guy....so consider that with my thought process.

I keep my SA as a back up and will attach it to my 10 yr olds BCD when he gets certified.

My advice? If you are more comfortable having a SA....get one and enjoy your dive....but play with it to understand its limits. Deploy it from 70 feet...60 feet....even deeper....you need to recognize the limits of this tool. I am an advocate of SA...but considerwhy you want it. A 18cf is not much more of a pain and it is enough gas to get you safe from depth.

 

[Tanked]

 

[wrybosome]

Dear God:

You know I don't ask for much. I've never asked for riches. I've never asked for fancy cars or big house. I mostly accept what I have and am quite thankful. You've given me wonderful children, a beautiful wife, and endless springs, caves, and oceans to dive from. But Dear God, please please please stop the Spare Air threads. I can't handle the torture any longer.

Thanks again for everything.

Pete

Request denied - think of it as penance owed from band camp.

 

[Hockeynut]

If a spare air thread starts in the forest, and there's no one there to read it, does it drive people crazy?

 

[sabbath999]

If a spare air thread starts in the forest, and there's no one there to read it, does it drive people crazy?

No, it quickly runs out of gas and just dies.