26 replies to this topic

[normblitch]

Is he named AL40??



nhb

Time to go for that Solo cert.

i've been doing solo dives for awhile now. you actualy need a cert?

who checks it?

Your dive buddy.

Note: This was split from the Diving with Boneheads thread to allow from some insightful discussions on diving with pony/deco/stage bottles. Enjoy!!!

[TekDiveGirl]

Is he named AL40??



nhb

He he he -- my Pal Al --

[normblitch]

Does your Pal AL have a jacket?

http://www.diveritee...gas/wraps.shtml



Norm

Is he named AL40??



nhb

He he he -- my Pal Al --

[TekDiveGirl]

Does your Pal AL have a jacket?

http://www.diveritee...gas/wraps.shtml



Norm

No no no no no -- my Pal's don't wear jackets --- they are too dedicated for that kind of nonsence.

Here are a couple of my Pals

Attached Images

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Edited by TekDiveGirl, 10 February 2006 - 08:10 PM.

[normblitch]

http://www.pbase.com.../image/41723840

Mine are more modest, and like the cuddly jacket in cool Spring water...



nhb

No no no no no -- my Pal's don't wear jackets --- they are too dedicated for that kind of nonsence.

Here are a couple of my Pals

[TekDiveGirl]

http://www.pbase.com.../image/41723840

Mine are more modest, and like the cuddly jacket in cool Spring water...



nhb

No no no no no -- my Pal's don't wear jackets --- they are too dedicated for that kind of nonsence.

Here are a couple of my Pals

Ohhhh -- I now see why your Pals have to wear jackets -- you desert them -- leave them all alone at the bottom -- mine stay tucked close at my side and we share body warmth.

Edited by TekDiveGirl, 11 February 2006 - 10:17 AM.

[normblitch]

Ah, Grasshopper,

Notice that is AL40 EAN100...HE rarely stays clipped on below 20FFW, lest his Owner does something VERY stupid with him at a greater depth!



Norm

Ohhhh -- I now see why your Pals have to wear jackets -- you desert them -- leave them all alone at the bottom -- mine stay tucked close at my side and we share body warmth.

[Diverbrian]

Ah, Grasshopper,

Notice that is AL40 EAN100...HE rarely stays clipped on below 20FFW, lest his Owner does something VERY stupid with him at a greater depth!



Norm

Ohhhh -- I now see why your Pals have to wear jackets -- you desert them -- leave them all alone at the bottom -- mine stay tucked close at my side and we share body warmth.

That is the reason for the bolt snap on my LP45 Steel with the big green label that I can't miss. If you desert them on the wreck, then that pal may desert you when you get lost and you can't find it.

By the way, my other Pal is an AL80. He's big AL and good to 110 ft.

[TekDiveGirl]

Yes yes yes -- difference in cave diving and ocean diving. When you don't know for sure that you will be coming back to that same spot at 20' -- you keep your gas with you.

One way in and one way out -- you have different luxuries and procedures.

Your pal looks like she was getting quite cozy with that fish -- I think you were being cheated on.

Kimber

Ah, Grasshopper,

Notice that is AL40 EAN100...HE rarely stays clipped on below 20FFW, lest his Owner does something VERY stupid with him at a greater depth!



Norm

Ohhhh -- I now see why your Pals have to wear jackets -- you desert them -- leave them all alone at the bottom -- mine stay tucked close at my side and we share body warmth.

[normblitch]

Actually, AL is being WARY in this shot, being ever concerned with the eyes rolling back & the back arching thingie...the Bream SEEM tame, but can attack in a Flash of Scales in the drop of a Hat, er, Hood...

On a serious note, do you ever rig TWO differing deco bottles (say EAN100 & EAN50), and if so, what is the Protocol for mid-water switch??

nhb

Yes yes yes -- difference in cave diving and ocean diving. When you don't know for sure that you will be coming back to that same spot at 20' -- you keep your gas with you.

One way in and one way out -- you have different luxuries and procedures.

Your pal looks like she was getting quite cozy with that fish -- I think you were being cheated on.

Kimber

[6Gill]

On a serious note, do you ever rig TWO differing deco bottles (say EAN100 & EAN50), and if so, what is the Protocol for mid-water switch??

nhb

Well the short version of multi deco bottles for me is as follows
1)signal begining gas switch
2)looking down at tank check lable
3)place hand on 2nd and have team member confirm your holding the correct 2nd
4)remove 2nd stage from bands and route over back of neck(right hand on 2nd while left hand follows back to 1st)
5)confirm left hand is on the tank you want it on then while observing the spg(tank is pre-charged and off) a quick breath will confirm you've got the 2nd matching the 1st.
6)If the spg needle drops then turn on tank
7)now next team members turn

With practice a good 3-person team will do it in under a min. We use two tanks sizes for deco/stage AL80&AL40 and when diving multiple bottles we stack them with the first used gases on the outside.This allows us to easily remove the used bottle and clip it of to a 'leash' where it then floats in the slipstream out of the way.
Anything that I'm not clear or someone wants more details please ask.
The above is one way and there are different thoughts on this.The important thing is to decide,practice and do it the same way every time.

Eric

[normblitch]

Eric,

Many Thanks!

I'm guessing here that you have both tanks on the left side...where does the CPG snap go compared to the lower stage snaps? On Top, middle, or underneath??

Norm

Well the short version of multi deco bottles for me is as follows
1)signal begining gas switch
2)looking down at tank check lable
3)place hand on 2nd and have team member confirm your holding the correct 2nd
4)remove 2nd stage from bands and route over back of neck(right hand on 2nd while left hand follows back to 1st)
5)confirm left hand is on the tank you want it on then while observing the spg(tank is pre-charged and off) a quick breath will confirm you've got the 2nd matching the 1st.
6)If the spg needle drops then turn on tank
7)now next team members turn

With practice a good 3-person team will do it in under a min. We use two tanks sizes for deco/stage AL80&AL40 and when diving multiple bottles we stack them with the first used gases on the outside.This allows us to easily remove the used bottle and clip it of to a 'leash' where it then floats in the slipstream out of the way.
Anything that I'm not clear or someone wants more details please ask.
The above is one way and there are different thoughts on this.The important thing is to decide,practice and do it the same way every time.

Eric

[6Gill]

Hi Norm,
Yes the bottles are kept on the left side.I had to stop and think about the SPG boltsnap,it was something I do without thinking(along with alot of other things if you listen to those around me).I keep it at the bottom of the stack,to me the exact placement isn't as important as doing it the same each time.

Eric

[ScubaDadMiami]

On open circuit, I did it the same way as 6Gill though I really never had to resort to carrying 80s. I would just use a 40 of 50 percent mix (I was toying with the idea of 50/25 but never actually tried it), and a second of O2.

With caving, you put the rich mix on the outside so that you can drop it first. With ocean diving, I suppose you could to it either way. However, I would (and everyone else I have ever seen does) put the first mix on the outside and O2 on the inside.

I know it seems like there would never be enough room for everything. However, it works out pretty well in the end. You just have to make the tail/lower clip shorter on the inside bottle so that the outside bottle can ride along with it.

Here is a pic of one of the ways that I used to do it. However, after this pic, I made adjustments to make the bottles a little more even. The adjustment did a better job of keeping the reel from slipping between the two tanks (which you can see in the pic). I don't have a pic from after making the final adjustments. However, this will give you the idea.

Now that I am a rebreather diver, I have changed over to a sidemount system for my bailout bottles. It is really streamlined. I hope to have pics of it someday. However, I am not up to using more than one bailout bottle . . . yet.

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[Diverbrian]

I was trained with one stage on each side. The lean mix goes on my left, the rich mix is on my right.

I am toying with converting an eighty over to O2 use so that I can fill it 2200 psi and still have a good amount of O2 (as I may be diving a few dives in a remote location and not be able to refill the O2 bottles until I get back to civilization). Then I could have the buoyancy advantages of the AL tank and O2 without the steel tank issues. I am told that the steel is still good for cave where it will get dropped off as Norm discusses. It will lie there real nicely until I get back.

When wreck diving, I typically take all of my deco gas with me. If I am dropping one or two of them off, I am darn sure that I am doing a "one way in" and "one way out" dive. Even then, a wary diver has a plan that will enable them to do deco off of their backgas if necessary (or one deco mix out of two in a situation that may require it).

It involves planning, planning, and yes... more planning.