Question What's your safety stop depth?

[ATJ]

When I do an NDL dive with my Shearwater computers, I leave them in tech mode, and I have the SurfGF mode open in one of them.

I tried Tec mode and didn't like the display at all so went back to Rec mode on my Perdix.

I was able to add SurfGF to the right of the bottom row above temperature and time. I'm not sure mine has even gone over 80% but all of my dives have been 16m or shallower on 25% nitrox since I added it.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I tried Tec mode and didn't like the display at all so went back to Rec mode on my Perdix.

I was able to add SurfGF to the right of the bottom row above temperature and time. I'm not sure mine has even gone over 80% but all of my dives have been 16m or shallower on 25% nitrox since I added it.

I'm curious. For dives that shallow why are you using 25%? That’s giving you little benefit over air. You could easily dive 36% and get significantly more benefit out of the Nitrox.

 

[ATJ]

For dives that shallow why are you using 25%? That’s giving you little benefit over air. You could easily dive 36% and get significantly more benefit out of the Nitrox.

Because I do two hour dives and have ended up with almost no NDL with air and have to cut a dive short.

25% gives me more than enough NDL and I'm not using more oxygen than I need. (I fill my own tanks so I'm paying directly for the oxygen.)

 

[Damselfish]

As long as I'm between 10-20ft, my computer has little opinion on the matter. I usually hang around 15 ft, unless there is more to see higher or lower. I have no "setting."

 

[Nemrod]

Between 15 and 20 feet for five minutes. And for dives below 80 feet I do a half maximum depth pause for 1 minute during ascent.

James

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Because I do two hour dives and have ended up with almost no NDL with air and have to cut a dive short.

25% gives me more than enough NDL and I'm not using more oxygen than I need. (I fill my own tanks so I'm paying directly for the oxygen.)

Ahhhh. Makes perfect sense.

 

[TMHeimer]

I would imagine the parameters for the optimal depth-- and time-- for a safety stop of course depends on depth and time of your. Since most of my shore diving ranges between 10 and 30 feet, with the majority of time around 20-25 feet plus a little time going back to shore getting shallower, I don't think about a safety stop. Likewise, a dive to 50 feet for 25 minutes is different than 90' for 25 mins. Maybe the safety stop for for the latter should be different than for the former?

 

[ATJ]

I would imagine the parameters for the optimal depth-- and time-- for a safety stop of course depends on depth and time of your. Since most of my shore diving ranges between 10 and 30 feet, with the majority of time around 20-25 feet plus a little time going back to shore getting shallower, I don't think about a safety stop. Likewise, a dive to 50 feet for 25 minutes is different than 90' for 25 mins. Maybe the safety stop for for the latter should be different than for the former?

Good point. And I think the terrain also makes a big difference. One site I dive, I basically do my "safety stop" as I'm swimming towards the exit. The depth starts at around 6m and gets to around 3m right near the exit. I just swim slowly, taking around 5 minutes to get from 6m to 3m.

 

[Ayisha]

You missed a safety stop option which many of us practice.
"I don't stop at one depth, I spend at least 5 minutes sliding up between 30ft and the surface"

Yup, I didn't vote either since that option isn't there.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I didn't vote either, as my SOP SS isn't on the poll.

I hold horizontally at 18' for no less than 3 minutes but will often do 5 depending on what's up. Then the rise to the surface is as slow as I can make it. It's almost a game that I play with myself to work on control.