DIR answer to Diving a single steel cylinder in a wetsuit

[serrada]

While reading the post “Diving with a steel cylinder and a wetsuit??? A dangerous idea?” I did not see the full correct DIR answer to the poster’s question.

The correct DIR answer regardless of cylinder type is:

1) Diving environment – in a cave a diver doesn’t have to worry as much being slightly overweight because the cave has a bottom.

2) The divers on a near empty cylinder needs to be able to safely make a deco stop at 10’ of water without floating to the surface with an empty BCD and being neutrally buoyant.

3) Lastly, is a diver needs to be able to swim against the weight of their configuration in the event of a BCD failure with full cylinders.

I personally, like using a steel 100 HP and with removable weight and the above mentioned works well my buoyancy body type.

I’d definitely practice the above in shallower water without the danger of sinking to deeper water. You can always use an aluminum Plate and trim weights etc. to get correct buoyancy with a steel cylinder. Also, at least carry one SMB and possible two for the added security.

Furthermore, and most importantly, if you cannot swim against your system to the surface with a full cylinder, item No. 3 above, in the example of ocean ledge diving and you have a BCD failure while breathing an EAN mix; a diver might sink too fast to inflate an SBM die of oxygen toxicity.

That’s my two cents.

 

[stu_in_fl]

a diver doesn’t have to worry as much being slightly overweight because the cave has a bottom.

everything has a bottom but you don't necessarily want to be there.......

 

[TSandM]

It comes down to the concept of a balanced rig. You need to be weighted sufficiently to hold a stop at 10 feet with near-empty tanks. At the same time, you need to be able to swim up your rig in the event of a complete failure of your wing. In a single steel tank, with a thin wetsuit, this may be possible, since your total negative buoyancy and the buoyancy you lose with descent doesn't add up to much. With thick wetsuits, which can lose over 20 lbs of buoyancy at depth, or with doubled steel tanks, where the negative buoyancy at inception of the dive is great, the likelihood of being able to swim the rig up is low. In that case, you either need to have a ditchable component to your negative buoyancy (eg. weight belt) or you need redundant lift. Redundant lift is preferable, because it may not be possible to control one's ascent after ditching weight. In the DIR view, doubled wings are not acceptable as redundant lift. A diver doing deep dives or using doubled steel tanks should be in a drysuit.

 

[Vayu]

or carry a lift bag

 

[ekewaka]

I personally, like using a steel 100 HP and with removable weight and the above mentioned works well my buoyancy body type.

In a single steel tank, with a thin wetsuit, this may be possible, since your total negative buoyancy and the buoyancy you lose with descent doesn't add up to much.

Just so no one gets the wrong idea, it should be noted that diving with a single steel tank and a wetsuit does not work for everyone. If you are the type of diver who needs a metric ton of lead sink, then you will probably be alright with a steel tank. I can dive with 3mm wetsuit and an AL80, and I am a few pounds overweighted, even without my can light. If I were using a steel tank, then I would be significantly negative. I dive only aluminum tanks with a wetsuit for this reason. My fundies instructor actually said that one of the other students could use a steel tank with a wetsuit, but that I should not. It is just one of those things that works for some people and not others.

 

[Jay Roy]

I’d definitely practice the above in shallower water without the danger of sinking to deeper water. You can always use an aluminum Plate and trim weights etc. to get correct buoyancy with a steel cylinder. Also, at least carry one SMB and possible two for the added security.

What kind of security is carrying two SMB's going to give you? They aren't backup buoyancy compensators..They're (as the acronym suggests) Surface Marker Buoys

 

[jeckyll]

...
The correct DIR answer regardless of cylinder type is:

1) Diving environment – in a cave a diver doesn’t have to worry as much being slightly overweight because the cave has a bottom.

...
That’s my two cents.

Wait, I'm not cave certified by any means, but hitting a silty bottom in a low (no?!) flow cave is not really and answer to the problem I'd think. I remember something about being able to keep my buoyancy within a rather small margin in my fundies class

So is this _your_ idea of the DIR answer? Because I have strong suspicions that that is not _the_ DIR answer.

Just my $0.02

 

[Jason B]

The correct DIR answer regardless of cylinder type is:

1) Diving environment – in a cave a diver doesn’t have to worry as much being slightly overweight because the cave has a bottom.

Couple comments on this one. For one thing, your thread title is "diving a single steel cylinder in a wetsuit" - GUE does not promote diving a single tank in a cave.
On another note, Eagles Nest is a cave and has a bottom.... let's see it do you any good. You won't be walking out if that is what you are insinuating. Blanket statements like that don't work.

 

[Steve R]

I think the DIR section needs a filter change soon.

This type of thread is becoming too common here and it's getting so I can't tell the difference between here and there.

I'm gonna give you a quarter back serrada, so if you leave now you're twenty-three cents ahead of the game.

Oh, and nice transmitter.

 

[grazie42]

I´m not DIR but saying that any agency that teaches cave-classes (this obviously includes GUE) is "ok with the idea" or don´t worry much about bouyancy in a cave "because it has a bottom" is about as close to slanderous as you can get...

I thought trolls weren´t allowed in here?