Checking your buddy's gas

[Searcaigh]

Normally I dive solo, but when I have a regular buddy I already know their gas consumption and check probably twice on a dive.

With the rare chance I am diving with an instabuddy I will be checking when I reach 150 and 100 bar in order to measure their gas usage and compare to mine in order to gauge how the dive is going

 

[NAM001]

As far as this thread is concerned i dont think there is a difference between a rec and tech dive as much as there is a difference in the rec and tech approach to the dive. Once one learns the tech side of planning and conducting the dive. It all becomes moot. When you cross over to conducting dives in a more tech manor you just cease asking someone for tank psi every 5 min because you have planned for this prior to getting wet. All parties of the dive is on the same page. The assumption is ....all is ok unless it is stated otherwise.... On the rec side it tends to be all is uncertain unless some one says it is ok. So to answer the poll question it will strongy depend on what the participants are. tech w/ tech, or rec w/ rec or a mix. The other thing is that one does not have to posess a formal tech card to be diving with a tech mentality. I guess we would have to call then undocumented tec divers. The mixed group is what i find interesting in that, does the tech stick to the tech mindset or regress to the lowest common denominator, "the new OW" And if so is it because of an obligation of oversight of the new OW or just a patronizing action so as to allow the newby to gain experience and confidence at thier own pace.

 

[Ste Wart]

So this thread has sprung up because of me posting in another forum.

I am technically trained and I insist on Air checks. I am also English and have done formative diving under Australian Regulations. I think this is important to mention as this is forum is largely American based.

 

[clownfishsydney]

For all the people I regularly dive with, I never check as I know their air consumption is good and as long as I have lots of air left, they will have more than enough. If a person joins our club, I will ask them regularly until I know what they are like. The only other time I might ask is on a couple of shore dives where there are options to extend the dive or head straight back to shore. If there has been little current and I believe that we might all have enough air to go the long way, I will check with everyone to ensure they have more than enough air to do the extra bit.

 

[dbulmer]

So this thread has sprung up because of me posting in another forum.

I am technically trained and I insist on Air checks. I am also English and have done formative diving under Australian Regulations. I think this is important to mention as this is forum is largely American based.

North American based - you don't want to upset the Canadians

 

[Ste Wart]

So this thread has sprung up because of me posting in another forum.

I am technically trained and I insist on Air checks. I am also English and have done formative diving under Australian Regulations. I think this is important to mention as this is forum is largely American based.

North American based - you don't want to upset the Canadians

Can you upset a Canadian?

 

[Lorenzoid]

So this thread has sprung up because of me posting in another forum.

I am technically trained and I insist on Air checks. I am also English and have done formative diving under Australian Regulations. I think this is important to mention as this is forum is largely American based.

Gas checks during a dive? During a dive we Americans do GUN checks!

 

[Wookie]

Gas checks during a dive? During a dive we Americans do GUN checks!

I know the weapon works. I do ammo checks.

 

[HowardE]

Now thats the understatement of the year (if I havent messed up on the tables)
Assumiung EAN32, 60 feet, 60 minutes dives and 60 min SI between all dives, youll max out at pressure group X on the PADI tables on dive number 4 and as long as you keep doing 1 hr SIs you'll be able to do an infinite number of dives to 60ft for 60 minutes. And that on the RDP...
Havent looked at the o2 calcs though, guess those could start being an issue if you do back to back 1hr in, 1 hour out for too long

Not to hijack the thread, but...

Understatement?? I don't think so at all...

Do the calcs.

First of all. Dives around here are 2 tank trips. If you did a 2 tank trip in the AM, followed by a 2 tank PM dive. This would also include a 2 - 3 hr surface interval between dives 2 and 3 since the boat would go back in - change over - and then back out. You might run into coming close to your NDL on the 4th dive of the day, or maybe some O2 loading after several days of the same profiles.

The O2 1/2 life is 90 minutes. Regardless of what your computer says, Oxygen saturation is extremely unlikely for recreational diving. Additionally, if you're diving something like 32 - 34% on a 55 foot dive. What is your PO2? What's the oxygen tolerance for that PO2 for a 24 hour period? Even with that highly conservative table, again, you'd have plenty of diving for a few days of 4 dives a day

I'm with Howard too.

I'm marking this day in my calendar

 

[Tigerman]

po2 at 60 ft on 32% is .9 and given that I generally do 3 dive days with much higher po2 for a couple of weeks straight, I dont THINK youll be clocking out on o2 even doing 5-6 dives a day to 60ft for 1 hr, but Id be checking that to make sure if I actually where to do it.
The reason why I called it an understatement that the NDLs for such diving where "not a big concern" is that unless I completely messed up the tables, at 32% it would be of NO concern..
PADI EAN32 RDP max out at X after dive 4 and you bounce X(post dive) -> F(post 1 hr SI) -> X -> F -> X... on consecutive dives, but with 5+ dives you'll be out 10 hrs straight too so it'd be a LONG day of diving..

EDIT: Quick google and look at the DSAT ppo2 table it "only" allow 360 minutes of exposure within 24 hrs on a ppo2 og .9
Then again, that IS using tables which isnt known to be very liberal (nor taking multileveling into account)