first deco dive

[Blackwood]

missed this part:

is deco diving really just part of the sport if done conscientiosly.

Yes, absolutely. Deco is a part of diving. That's why you have a computer, maximum ascent rates, etc..

 

[redacted]

What do you think you will decide, on the spur of the moment, to test out next?

 

[ScubaSteve]

What do you think you will decide, on the spur of the moment, to test out next?

......with little to no training to fall back on just in case.

 

[Amphiprion]

No, those are two separate courses, although they're commonly taken together

Perhaps different courses teach it differently, but I can't see why one would take a class dealing with decompression mixes without teaching decompression - unless you typically use EAN50 for recreational diving.

Anyway, that is splitting hairs. The OP should think about taking deco classes if he is interested in deco diving rather than relying on a recreational computer without proper training.

Admittedly I know a lot of people who have done exactly what he did and have gotten away with it, but getting away with something and doing it correctly are quite different.

 

[AfterDark]

I was diving a wreck in pensacola Sunday and my computer was inching toward deco mode while I still had plenty of air(1500psi). I let 0min come and go deciding to test out the deco mode. I started my ascent and the deco stop was displayed at 10' for 2 min. A little anti-climatic since my regular safety stop is more conservative.

Anyway, I was hoping for some feedback from you more experienced divers on whether this would be considered wreckless behavior or is deco diving really just part of the sport if done conscientiosly.

I'd call it diving, but what do I know with only a OW cert and 1935 dives many deco some past 150FSW all on air.

If you knew what your deco time was going to be or could figure it out on the fly and knew you had the air + to deco then fine. If that 2 mins came as a surprise to you which I seem to think it did than ask yourself, suppose it had been longer and you didn't have the gas. Deco is best done planned with more than enough gas to do the stop(s).

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Perhaps different courses teach it differently, but I can't see why one would take a class dealing with decompression mixes without teaching decompression - unless you typically use EAN50 for recreational diving.

Anyway, that is splitting hairs. The OP should think about taking deco classes if he is interested in deco diving rather than relying on a recreational computer without proper training.

Admittedly I know a lot of people who have done exactly what he did and have gotten away with it, but getting away with something and doing it correctly are quite different.

Advanced nitrox is an intro to deco with a 40 meter floor. Then Deco has a 45 meter floor and further deco procedures.

 

[BigDawgDiver]

On a serious note, get trained properly so you don't become a statistic.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I was diving a wreck in pensacola Sunday and my computer was inching toward deco mode while I still had plenty of air(1500psi). I let 0min come and go deciding to test out the deco mode. I started my ascent and the deco stop was displayed at 10' for 2 min. A little anti-climatic since my regular safety stop is more conservative.

Anyway, I was hoping for some feedback from you more experienced divers on whether this would be considered wreckless behavior or is deco diving really just part of the sport if done conscientiosly.

I wouldn't call it reckless ... more like satisfying a curiosity that might, through ignorance, end up with really bad consequences.

Decompression is not a simple subject. And intentionally putting your dive computer into deco is never a good idea. But it's not what is going on with your computer that can hurt you ... it's what's going on inside your body. And you have to remember that your computer is basing its output on a mathematical model ... not on your actual body. So what you are really doing is reducing your safety margins to a level that may or may not ... depending on a whole lot of different factors ... result in a decompression injury.

If you want to understand a bit more about what's going on inside your body when you dive, I recommend the book Deco for Divers. The first three chapters explain it well enough for just about any recreational level diver to develop a better understanding of what your dive computer is really telling you, and why it's not a good idea to push the NDL limit.

If you want to get into decompression diving, get some more diving experience ... then take a course that will train you how to do it properly. Sure, most times you can just follow the numbers on your computer and you'll be OK ... seems easy enough. But things aren't always that simple ... because there are a lot of different things that can affect your ability to offgas properly on any given dive. It helps to understand what those factors are and how to deal with them safely.

Decompression illness isn't something you want to take lightly ... a hit in the wrong place can affect you for the rest of your life.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[parzdiver]

I was diving a wreck in pensacola Sunday and my computer was inching toward deco mode while I still had plenty of air(1500psi). I let 0min come and go deciding to test out the deco mode. I started my ascent and the deco stop was displayed at 10' for 2 min. A little anti-climatic since my regular safety stop is more conservative.

Anyway, I was hoping for some feedback from you more experienced divers on whether this would be considered wreckless behavior or is deco diving really just part of the sport if done conscientiosly.

Purposely going into deco on the computer without the understanding of what the computer will do is a on the risky side. On a recent dive, a diver's computer went into deco because he couldn't find the way back to the anchor line. By the time he and his buddy shot a bag off the wreck (at 125 feet), he had wracked up 45 minutes of deco time. The DM from the boat had to deliver a AL40 to the diver because they wouldn't have had enough air with his back gas. The diver only exceeded NDL by a few minutes, but his computer's algorithm started loading the deco obligation.

I have been through the Deco Procedures class and have a dive computer designed for decompression diving. Before my second dive that day, I ran a couple scenarios, seeing how much deco time I would have based on exceeding NDL by 5, 10, and 15 minutes. Then I figured out how much gas I'd use on the bottom and during deco and made sure I knew I would have enough if I exceeded NDL.

All diving is technical decompression diving (as Randy said earlier), but PLANNED decompression diving is exactly that - you have to plan it to ensure you know the time and gas you will need to safely complete the dive. Otherwise, stick to staying under your NDL.

 

[bamamedic]

OP, I noticed you are from Alabama.
Feel free to PM me, and we'll go diving sometime at ABWA or Vortex, and I'll show you what I do to safely plan and execute deco dives...it'll give ya some food for thought about running a decompression obligation on your computer.

Rita