Redundant Air System

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PullmanSCUBA

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Location
Belfair, WA
# of dives
25 - 49
Hey all,
Im new to psd and just started with my local psd team in July. I was looking to see what people are using for redundant air systems. I KNOW this is going to spark a debate over wether the spare air is really worth the money. I KNOW people are going to say that the spare air system is a waste of money.

That aside... what are the best redundant air system for psd's? Given depths that most psd call outs are at. Just looking for a good starting point in the search for a redundant air system.

If this has been posted before I apologise. I was not able to find it in the forum.

Thanks for any help you can give me!!!
 
What's a PSD?

And Spare Air's are junk :)
 
What's a PSD?

And Spare Air's are junk :)

The forum you're in and I agree about the Spare Air.:wink:
 
I use doubles for deeper stuff or very long search patterns and my single cylinders have the old Beuchat bi-valves for running independent 1st and 2nd stages.
 
If you want true redundancy you need doubles or a pony. Spare Air has no place in this discussion.

If you are wearing a full face mask, things get more complex, but the dubs/pony is still the way to go. Just make sure you train for bailing out of the FFM to the redundant and have a backup mask. A gas switching block is another choice for FFM, but does not fix the problem of a second stage failure of the FFM.
 
In northern europe bi-valves with two indepenent 1st and 2nd stages are very common. But you also will find doubles. And as Troutmaster mentioned before, if you are using a FFM, you always should have a backup mask.
 
We use a 30 cu ft pony bottle with a kirby morgan block to switch to pony without removing the ffm, and an Octo on the pony for complete redundancy. Stay away from the Spare Air for PSD, if for no other reason (and there are many) that in PSD you want to be as uncluttered as possible
 
I am confused by this. "Given depths that most psd call outs are at." We are called out on a huge spectram of depths and conditions... Our unit is pretty new to FFM but we use the AGA and wired tether to the surface, and report air supply every 5 min by com. we cary a spare mask and have either a octo or most of us have a version that is integrated to our inflator hoses. We come up with a min of 500 pounds in the tank and if something happend mechanicaly, which if equip. is properly maintained it shouldnt, but if it did.. we change masks, use the oct and end the pattern.

If I am missing the point for any extra equipment than that I would like to learn what and why. but KISS method has alway worked for us in the past. from deep over 60 foot searchs with blue(black) water ascents to 8' river dives weaving through cattle fences and riprap...

I believe simple and streamline for PSD.
just my .02
Clay
 
1 point of the pony/sideblock with FFM being PSD's don't get to dive in pristine conditions. When diving in contaminated water, one needs to be encapsulated.
 
A diver, any diver, should always "hope for the best, but plan for the worst." One of the big plus points for recreational divers using "the buddy system" is that there is always a completely separate totally redundant gas delivery system. Namely the buddy's gear. With our PSD, and the majority of teams I've dealt with in my travels, there is normally only one diver in the water at a time. Even with the standby diver sitting on the surface and ready to go, a PSD should always have a completely redundant gas delivery system with them if they are in alone. Always.

We use to believe in KISS, then we lost a diver that would have survived with a redundant system, now we have one.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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