Deco gas planning and risk mitigation.

[elan]

Generally speaking you do not plan for two failures (ie, the loss of "Rock Bottom" back gas AND the loss of deco gas). If somehow I lost my deco gas I would begin my deco. obligation on back gas. It's almost certain I'd have more gas left in my tanks than your probably thinking because we planned this dive with "Rock Bottom" protocols. After the first 5 min on deco. my buddy and I would swich. He would go to back gas, I would go to his bottle (EAN50 or o2) and we would continue like this 'till we completed our obligation. Depending upon gas remaining at the end of our deco obligation and sea conditions, we may add on a few minutes to cover ourselves.
Hope this helps.
Remember YMMV.

K

Yeah that helped. I had similar thinking... I either plan on a loss of my back-gas in a form of stage or free flow or loss of my deco in a form of the deco bottle.

 

[Captain12Pk]

Yeah this is what my tech instructor says - when doing your planning count only on yourself. One should be self sufficient.

Your Tech. Instructor told you "when doing your planning count only on yourself."? How do you plan for a back gas failure?

 

[elan]

Not true. Not true at all.

I do not see anything wrong with the logic of being as self sufficient as possible

 

[Randy43068]

Yeah that helped. I had similar thinking... I either plan on a loss of my back-gas in a form of stage or free flow or loss of my deco in a form of the deco bottle.

this will not sound so good, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Go take a deco class.. seriously.

an Internet Sage once said: "It's a bitch learning to dive on the Internet." or something similar.

 

[elan]

Your Tech. Instructor told you "when doing your planning count only on yourself."? How do you plan for a back gas failure?

This can be a broad question. I'm still reading on the subject so I cannot give you a full set of answers. My understanding with just doubles you can handle 1 reg failure and one tank neck seal failure. If you have a stage with the back gas you can handle total lose of the doubles, given you do not lose the deco gas as well.

He does not say do not dive with buddies but to have the right attitude of being able to resolve as many problems yourself as possible.

 

[Randy43068]

someone is gonna die...

LOL

 

[elan]

this will not sound so good, but I'm gonna say it anyway. Go take a deco class.. seriously.

an Internet Sage once said: "It's a bitch learning to dive on the Internet." or something similar.

Nope I'm not learning to dive on the internet.

There is nothing wrong with listening to people's opinions and thoughts.

 

[Captain12Pk]

This can be a broad question. I'm still reading on the subject so I cannot give you a full set of answers. My understanding with just doubles you can handle 1 reg failure and one tank neck seal failure. If you have a stage with the back gas you can handle total lose of the doubles, given you do not lose the deco gas as well.

He does not say do not dive with buddies but to have the right attitude of being able to resolve as many problems yourself as possible.

Sorry Elan, but this isn't completely accurate. If you have a "total loss" of back gas at say 150 fsw, and your immediate solution to the problem was to go tour EAN 50 bottle, I give you maybe 2 minutes to live... tops.
The key here is to think through the potential problems and evaluate your resources. Employ available resources as necessary. I completely agree that you need to be self sufficient. But that doesn't mean you ignore your buddy as a resource.
At this level of diving you really cannot expect to be 100% self reliant in every emergency situation.

K

 

[Captain12Pk]

Nope I'm not learning to dive on the internet.

There is nothing wrong with listening to people's opinions and thoughts.

Nothing wrong with asking. As you said earlier, you're still doing the reading. You're instructor will get you thinking more. Just wait 'till he starts throwing practicals at you. You'll learn that it is possible to cry underwater.

K

BTW, stuff you're likely to need most often in the right pocket (wetnotes, smb, spool), mask in the left pocket. Outside of training, hopefully it's the item you need the least.

K

 

[LiteHedded]

carry 1.5x the deco gas and share your buddy's bottle