Costa Rica Problems

[upton7418]

I was looking into going to Costa Rica this year, but a friend of mine told me that there are problems with dive tanks there. He said that there is a history of tanks not being filled full and dive having to be cut short because of this. I was wondering how true this was?


thanks...

 

[Valwood1]

I was looking into going to Costa Rica this year, but a friend of mine told me that there are problems with dive tanks there. He said that there is a history of tanks not being filled full and dive having to be cut short because of this. I was wondering how true this was?

You need a lot more details from your friend. Such as (1) area of Costa Rica; (2) particular dive op(s) shorting the fill; (3) etc.

I've dived out of Playa del Coco area a couple of times, and have had no problem with shorted fills. Dive op was Summer and Salt, which was excellent. Other ops there get fine reviews on this board.

Gulf of Papagayo has excellent diving, and a lot of dive shops. You'll miss a good experience if you forego CR without a more thorough investigation.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

I guess that you got "Hoaxed".
Most of the dive ops limit dive time to 45/50 minutes, like almost everywhere in the world.
On special request longer dives can and will be made, but usually people breath down their Tank to 750 PSI in about 45 minutes and then it's time to ascend.
Most scuba tanks in Costa Rica are 80 cft Aluminium and filled to 3000 PSI.
I personally nor heard of that nor had never any issues with incomplete filled tanks while diving in Costa Rica.

Chris Karrer

 

[upton7418]

that actually why i'm posting here, so that i can see what the experiences are. I was looking into staying at Ocotal Beach Resort in May...I still plan on going but was just seeing how what his experience with it compares to others...

 

[cappyjon431]

We get a lot of divers who come here after diving in various locations in costa rica and I have not had anyone mention getting short fills. As a dive operator, I can say that an occasional short fill does occur (sometimes caused by a leaky neck o-ring), but I have not heard of anyone intentionally providing short fills to shorten dive times on charters.

 

[scubafanatic]

I guess that you got "Hoaxed".
Most of the dive ops limit dive time to 45/50 minutes, like almost everywhere in the world.
On special request longer dives can and will be made, but usually people breath down their Tank to 750 PSI in about 45 minutes and then it's time to ascend.
Most scuba tanks in Costa Rica are 80 cft Aluminium and filled to 3000 PSI.
I personally nor heard of that nor had never any issues with incomplete filled tanks while diving in Costa Rica.

Chris Karrer

......Chris, that's rather debatable....most of the placed I've dove don't have dive time limits, but maybe you mean it's the 'policy' in Costa Rica ? I assume you've promenently disclosed your own dive ops dive time limits on your WWW site or verbally to customers BEFORE they book/dive with you ? I, for one, will NEVER book/do business with any dive op that limits dive times and/or does 'short fills'...I consider this to be outright theft/fraud/deceptive/unethical....it is a deal-breaker for me when 'shopping' dive locations/operations....you might be a nice guy, and the diving there might be good too....and you are certainly entitled to run your dive operation as you see fit, but I would never do business with your operation for this reason, so at least be honest enough to make sure your customers know, up front, that this is your policy.

 

[ryssyr]

Most of the dive ops limit dive time to 45/50 minutes, like almost everywhere in the world.
Chris Karrer

I have dove a lot of places "in the world" and never had any dive op tell me that 45/50 minutes was the limit. My warm water diving experiences are >60 minute dives (depending on depth and profile of course) but 45/50 minute limits is a non-starter for me booking trips with any op.

 

[HerraduraDivers]

As cappyjon431 mentioned, tanks can leak during transportation, but for me it's good education that the Instructors/Dive Masters take the not full Tank and leave the full ones to the customers.

As i wrote:

On special request longer dives can and will be made, but usually people breath down their Tank to 750 PSI in about 45 minutes and then it's time to ascend.

I meant tis considering a average dive depth of 45 ft like here (and other places i dove) for example.

The pacific coast of Costa Rica is complete different than any carribbean style dive location and diving here is somehow more "complicated" due to surge, current, waves and sometimes low viz.
It is my mission to provide fun and safety to our customers and this includes thet the dive finishes when the first of the group reaches 750 PSI.

As i already said, everybody is free to hire a extra Instructor (we only have Instructors) and get guided by him as long as possible. The other soluton is to rent all the necessary gear and a boat, then everybody can dive with your buddy as long as you want on his own responsability.

I also want to mention that we rarely receive complains that our dives are too short.

Chris Karrer

P.S. Hurgada (Red Sea) is the only place i dove where there where no time limitations, viz is about 100 ft and there where no guided groups. Everybody was dropped with his Buddy (knowing him or not) and had to navigate back to the Ship.

 

[diverken374]

......Chris, that's rather debatable....most of the placed I've dove don't have dive time limits, but maybe you mean it's the 'policy' in Costa Rica ? I assume you've promenently disclosed your own dive ops dive time limits on your WWW site or verbally to customers BEFORE they book/dive with you ? I, for one, will NEVER book/do business with any dive op that limits dive times and/or does 'short fills'...I consider this to be outright theft/fraud/deceptive/unethical....it is a deal-breaker for me when 'shopping' dive locations/operations....you might be a nice guy, and the diving there might be good too....and you are certainly entitled to run your dive operation as you see fit, but I would never do business with your operation for this reason, so at least be honest enough to make sure your customers know, up front, that this is your policy.

I agree! I was just scouting out diving in Costa Rica as I will be there with my nondiving wife at the end of Feb. I thought that I could get a dive in while I was at Jaco Beach. At 45' I would expect a dive of at least 60 + minutes.

 

[cappyjon431]

Sometimes boat schedules and crew limitations limit the lengths of dives. If the shop has both morning and afternoon dives the morning boats need to return in sufficient time so that the boat can be turned around in time for afternoon trips. We run into this issue occasionally. We are required to hire Panamanian DMs but they are scarce (as are Panamanians interested in being trained as DMs). If we only have one DM on duty on a particular day it would be pushing his NDLs to do four one hour dives (2 morning, 2 afternoon) and often a night dive as well, which is compounded by the need to turn around the boat and the need to get divers for the afternoon trip equipped for their trip. We strive for 50-55 minutes a dive.

I dived in the Florida Keys for many years and captained/DM'd/instructed there for many years as well. Most operators there have a 50 minute time limit, even on shallow sites such as Molasses Reef, Dry Rocks, and the Elbow.

I