Does anyone who understands the Suunto algorithm know if this is a valid statement?

[lamont]

Hey lamont! You must have ESP along with your superior engineering skills cuz I was just trying to figure out how to PM you when you posted your response.

Did you realize you were the one who originally posted the statement in a 2007 thread titled "Doing Light Deco as a Recreational Diver" :shocked2:

Heh, well take it from me, that guy was an idiot, I suggest you disregard everything he wrote... I'm so glad he's off the forums now...

 

[cbm32]

Amazing how black and white some people see the world.

 

[gasgirl]

Heh, well take it from me, that guy was an idiot, I suggest you disregard everything he wrote... I'm so glad he's off the forums now...

HAHA! At least no one is calling you crazy (thanks for that, LowVizWiz!)... of course, that is only an assumption based on your status of "Not Certified"... but then again, I have been outed in this forum on my bad judgement based on my assumptions...

 

[LowVizWiz]

IMO you fared pretty well I've seen flames fly for much less than you've done.

 

[racerx_]

I think everyone understands your question and the reasoning behind it, but riding your computer as a plan is a good way to end up hurt. As mentioned, there are many individual factors at play, and there are enough cases listed of people getting bent within the recreational limits to make me think that what you are suggesting is simply not worth the risk. Granted those people may be bent for other mitigating factors, but by intentionally going in to deco so you can look at a fish for a few moments longer is adding a risk factor to your dive and if anything else doesn't go properly (equipment, ascent, buddy problem, current) then you will be in serious trouble.

In the states there's sort of a prevailing anti-suunto sentiment due to conservatism. Funny thing is here in Asia it's 90% of what people use and they seem to be getting along ok i dont personally dive one but i have yet to be on a dive where it limited anyone in the group who was diving a suunto, including doing a very full day of diving in bali with me on nitrox and the dm on air with his suunto.

dive safe!

 

[gasgirl]

IMO you fared pretty well I've seen flames fly for much less than you've done.

Well, for the record, I was just posing my question based on other threads I had read searching this topic on the SB forum, and frankly, I did not come across anyone being flamed for making this statement posted by loosebits in 2004 in a thread titled "Frustrations with Suunto RGBM":

'Taking my Vyper down to Coz always gives me a headache. Often on the 2nd dive for the day on a long dive series, it will be within a few minutes of going into deco. When it gets down to 1 min, I ascend a few feet and it then shows 3 mintues (lather, rinse, repeat) however by the time I get within saftey stop range, I am no where near the NDL.

I played around with the dive sim function and I noticed I could rack up a small amount of deco (10 mins perhaps) and it would clear before I brought it up to the ceiling.'

However, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I will not second guess your assumptions of whatever it is you think I did.

Best Fishes to all!


.

 

[ajduplessis]

"Realistically on a Suunto with 5 minutes showing (2 mins mandatory + 3 mins safety stop) you're not in much danger at all. You can probably even go across that by another 5 mins at depth and while the Suunto will probably be telling you 10+ mins of deco to do, you'd be fine blowing it off if the absolute worst case happened to you."

I started a thread in the Advanced Scuba Discussion asking about how best to dive in Cozumel while using a Suunto but I was getting off topic from getting this question answered.

To answer you question: Yes, you should be fine. What you do have to understand is that cutting corners in diving is never a good idea. Stick to what you have learned.

If you do dive with other divers and you come close to you NDL while buddy is not, rather ascent 10 or 12 ft above them, thus increasing your NDL. If you do reach you DC limits rather end the dive.

 

[TSandM]

gasgirl, loosebits' statement was entirely true -- you can incur a deco obligation on a Suunto computer, and have it clear as you multi-level the dive up. You can do it on some other computers as well; any computer that gives you credit for offgassing above the offgassing ceiling will clear some deco during your ascent. And the reason why is pretty easy to understand, if you look at some of the graphs that decompression software generates for technical dives. Technical dives include a segment which is considered bottom time (which often is not spent at a single depth, but within a certain RANGE of depths) and then a portion of the dive that is considered "decompression", which is periods of time spent at specified depths while ascending -- sound like a multi-leveled dive?

The objection we're trying to articulate is that, if your dive plan is to incur a deco obligation on your computer and then multi-level the dive to clear that obligation, you are gambling that a) you will have the gas to do the amount of multi-leveling that's required, and b) you won't have any kind of a problem that prevents you from extending your dive long enough to clear the deco obligation. Gas is an absolute limiting factor. When you no longer have enough gas to stay underwater, you MUST surface. And a variety of factors can deplete your gas faster than you think; swimming into current, having any sort of leak, or having to share gas can have a huge impact on the supply you have to do your multi-level portion of the dive. Equipment or personal problems can make that extension unpleasant or intolerable, but once you have committed to the profile, it has to be done, or you have to accept the additional risk involved in not doing the multi-level portion that you need to clear the computer (and, one assumes, the decompression obligation that you have).

I get the feeling you think we're piling on you, and we aren't. I know at least Lamont and I do technical dives. I'm not allergic to deco. But I also know how to do the gas planning for it, and I also know how much risk I'm willing to take while diving a completely non-redundant equipment setup. When I think I'd like to incur some deco, I stack the odds that I'll be able to complete it safely by establishing some personal redundancy, and by diving with buddies who gas plan and also have redundancy. That way, the dives are smooth and easy and stress-free.

 

[Paul S]

Speak for yourself.

I wrote my first ZHL-16b implementation in the time between doing my open water course and doing my first open water dive.

As have I but...

RGBM is impossible simply because its a trade secret.

Bingo! That was my point.

Regardless, I'm not making bulhmann calculations on the fly on a dive.

 

[Agility]

If you are interested in the background of decompression
Amazon.com: Deco for Divers (9781905492077): Mark Powell: Books
would be a great book to read.