Dive class - did you get your tank's worth?

[fisherdvm]

With the economy of time, how many folks get their full tank of dive during your OW or AOW dive? And how many of you get the bare minimum - I mean 15 or 20 minute, then surfaced - so you can squeeze 2 dives out of 1 tank?

I remembered that we burned a tank for each dives when I did my OW and AOW. It seems like more dive instructor's now are pushed for time, perhaps it is a boat dive thing where you are limitted in time on the surface interval or is it simply trying to save time and money all together. When my son did his OW dives, it was a prompt 20 minutes, surface, and back down again, for a total of 40 minutes on day 1, and 40 minutes on day 2.

My belief is that the more time a diver spend under water, the more skills he will hone. 4 or 5 fifteen or twenty minute dives just doesn't do it in my book.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

In my OW class my instructor didn't bring me up till my tank was down to reserves ... took me 15 to 20 minutes each dive ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[spectrum]

Did it all on 2 tanks for OW.

Weekend 1 all of the skills and a brief free swim.

Weekend 2 Instructor led my wife and I on a tour and pronounced us divers. It was a solid one tank dive.

By the time I did AOW my usage was down and my air was not a factor. As my dives go they were short.

Pete

 

[Sas]

Most of my OW course dives were cut short because of low air in another student, though a couple times I would be getting close to 50 bar. Or also because of the cold, particularly towards the end of the day. Water temperature was about 20C which I thought was toasty but a few people were used to warmer diving I guess.

My OW dives' run times were (in order):
CW
Spent all day in the pool, used two tanks but we all changed at the same time. Had a fair bit of air both times and probably could have made it on one tank but I think the change was for practice.
Day 1
27min at 4m
25min at 4m tank change
52min at 4m
Day 2
25min at 5m
30min at 5m tank change
60min at 5m
Day 3
27min at 18m tank change
35min at 11m

So over 4.5 hours, be interested to hear how that compares to other OW courses. I thought I did a fair bit underwater but really have no basis of comparison.

 

[fisherdvm]

To me, an important part of learning is taking the gear apart, and putting it back together again. When confined water are done in 2 days, and open water done in 2 days - that just doesn't get one comfortable enough with their gear. I hope at least they made you take your gear off during the surface interval, and not doing a pseudo interval floating on the surface.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

We did a full tank (AL80) on each dive in OW.

In my AOW course 2 of us where diving Steel 120s the other 2 students where diving AL80's so our dives were controlled by there air supply.

 

[maged_mmh]

we did the drills in about -average- 20 mins. spent the rest of the time enjoying the dive & playing around with other students

 

[TSandM]

I have no clue whether I used the gas. I used all the concentration and courage and physical stamina I had, I remember that.

 

[DiverBizz]

I wanted the very first dive to last much longer too bad my tank had other plans.

 

[kidspot]

Going back through my logbook:

OW 1:
Aluminum 50
Start 3400 psi
End 500 psi
Time 34 minutes
SAC 1.04

OW 2:
Aluminum 50
Start 3400 psi
End 700 psi
Time 32 minutes
SAC .94

OW 3:
Aluminum 50
Start 2600
End 100 psi
Time 36 minutes
SAC .83

OW 4:
Aluminum 80
Start 3300 psi
End 650 psi
Time 63 minutes
SAC .74

OW 5:
Aluminum 50
Start 3300 psi
End 750 psi
Time 38 minutes
SAC .82

OW 6:
Aluminum 80
Start 3500 psi
End 900 psi
Time 48 minutes
SAC .93

I'd say I got my tanks worth on each one

btw - I took a student out the other day and we got 70 minutes on our Aluminum 50's for Confined water dive #5

Aloha, Tim