What is your IWR Kit Comprised of?

[tbone1004]

Thanks, for the info. You can also buy pure O2 Dräger Lar Vs and several units that are sold for mine safety that are easily modified to work underwater. We got a bunch of old Perelli rebreathers and modified the gas manifold for an LP surface-supply for Oxygen.

easiest way to do it and probably the best way is to grab a kiss sidekick without anything on it for less than $5k and use that. Self contained, just plug a gas in and go.
quite a few guys are building DIY chest mounted breathers as well, but for commercial units that I had to buy new, I'd just use a sidekick. A RB80 clone would work as well just put a closed mouthpiece on it. In either event, I would rather a unit that used a cartridge for IWR purposes vs. having to pack a scrubber, but to each his own

 

[Searcaigh]

I just completed the IANTD IWR course run by Don Shirley last weekend, and it was certainly a wake up call for me and 14 of my tech buddies who took the course.

We had discussed this frequently and many of us have been trained by an instructor who had himself used IWR and always had kit on his boat should anything happen. However he left UAE a couple of years ago and our group of tech divers were a bit clueless as to what was really required hence the course which was organised by one of the South Africans in our group.

We now have two lines with measured loops (one foot apart) to use as the downline. A large buoy is used at the surface which is also tied to the boat via a line so it does not drift off any any current.

A Kirby Morgan M48 FFM was purchased with two pods, one for OC and another with a loop for AP valves CCR (as most of our CCR users have Inspirations).

Switch block and QC hoses in order to work air breaks with the tables and also switch to air should a diver tox or show signs of toxing.

Plenty of O2 and at least one tank of air (something we rarely carry as most OC divers use various percentages of Nitrox. I personally only have one tank that has air in it).

A harness to attach the person on IWR so they don't sink.

Ideally you need at least four people to run the IWR, Surface Supervisor, Scribe (taking notes and in charge of Comms to call for help and advice), In Water Supervisor taking care of the person being treated and an In Water Tender to provide assistance, relay messages, and possibly bring down additional gas.

The course was really good, we made many mistakes, but that is how you learn and better to do so under controlled conditions than on a real situation, which we really hope never happens.

Below photo shows the air tank being attached to the switch block which is then clipped off to the victim

Our course lasted three days with Day 1 in the classroom and going over how to assess the victim for IWR and take into account the various risks etc. Days 2 and 3 were practical in the sea just offshore in 12m of water using the FFMs (we had 3 for the course) and all of us taking turns for all of the positions mentioned above.

15mins on O2 moving from 9m to 7.6m will easily take you above 200% CNS before the air break, and we had practiced this for longer periods with no issues.

Where we normally dive off Fujairah in UAE the nearest chamber is a 4 hour drive away and we have to cross a small mountain where the road altitude is 500m above sea level.

Our group is now trained and aware of the hazards and drawbacks. We plan to run a practice of the drills every few months.

Some of the group who participated in the training

 

[iain/hsm]

I've got an OTS Spectrum FFM, 2nd stage, and looking at a gas switch block and Swagelok QCs.

You?

Modified 15.5 with the umbilical for deep water bail out. or used as back up for SDDE with comms
The first umbilical system we used wasnt as fancy with a 2nd stage plugged in.
Used as a down line/safety/ back up/ bail out. But a safe cheap and effective solution.

Its an old idea now, but I was reminded of our "Old Guy's Kit"
You can tell the age by the date stamp on the photos.
If anyone has anything earlier (and can prove it) I would be interested to hear.

Cost of the umbilical new today for a 120 Metres length £950 ($1300)

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[tbone1004]

@Searcaigh what was the logic of having to use air vs. letting you use nitrox? The point is to get the ppO2's lower for a few minutes and the delta between .4 and .6 when at 2ata isn't really that significant and you aren't at 9m for that long. It's negligible when at the shallower stops

 

[Searcaigh]

what was the logic of having to use air vs. letting you use nitrox?

I guess air is a standard gas. On our tech dives the lowest EAN would be 50% and while that is lower than 100% air is a better option.

On a real case you would assess whatever is available though and make the necessary decision based on resources.

 

[tbone1004]

I guess air is a standard gas. On our tech dives the lowest EAN would be 50% and while that is lower than 100% air is a better option.

On a real case you would assess whatever is available though and make the necessary decision based on resources.

what's your next deepest deco/bailout gas? was figuring you'd have a 30/30 ish type mix on you somewhere

 

[Searcaigh]

Our three deep wrecks are at 70m, 80m and 110m but the latter is beyond my level for practical reasons on OC.

But yes if you are implying to use an 18/40 or 15/40 perhaps that is an option.

One point that was made post tech dive was just to hang around on the surface breathing 100% for about 10 mins before de-kitting and getting back on the boat. Doing more to mitigate any possibility of DCS is something we should always consider. Personally I've always hung around 5m on 100% for an additional 5-10 mins once my Shearwater shows that I have cleared, and why not, my S40 is going to need filled anyway before the next deep dive anyway.

 

[tbone1004]

@Searcaigh surface deco is wonderful but surface conditions can quickly kill that plan.

In cave diving we try to shed as much as possible before getting up and out, then take our grand ol time before we come back to get the rest. Easier in sidemount obviously than backmount. In the OW though I try to stay on O2 in the water as long as possible before subjecting myself to surge

 

[Searcaigh]

surface deco is wonderful but surface conditions can quickly kill that plan

Totally agree there, nothing worse than bobbing around on the surface i rough seas irrespective if it was a rec or tech dive, always good to check weather reports before going diving in the ocean.

 

[RainPilot]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Again. All off topic posts have been removed. The topic is about IWR kits, NOT the need for IWR. Anyone not playing nice will be thread banned. If someone wants to discuss IWR issues please feel free to start a new thread.

As you were.

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