Doubles!!!

[Warren_L]

I don't really see the issue. If your doubles are the limiting factor, then plan based on that. Figure out the tank factors for your setup and those of your buddies and go from there - you will know this if you are DIR trained. If not, simply base your planning on cu ft conversions.

 

[diveh3]

Darlym,
I started diving doubles not to long ago- 50 dives or so. I have not put a single tank on since. As you will notice, they hold many more benifits over single tank diving.
I still have a H-27lb and plan to keep it for vacation diving w/family.
Unlike UnclePug, I prefer to dive doubles always, other than the redundancy issues, I like that I can get 2-3 nice dives out of a set of 104s, or if using the scooter-2-3 out of a set of 80s.
It is much easier to board a boat w/singles but I normaly carry a al40 for redundancy if I am diving singles. Not a whole lot of difference climbing up that ladder.

On another note: I'd suggest getting comfortable doing valve drills as you transition into doubles.Make sure you can manipulate your valves and you understand what failures can happen and what to do in the event of a failure. Otherwise your only carrying more gas but not taking advantage of safty values of manifolded doubles.
Have fun!

 

[bladephotog]

Just wondering...when on a dive boat, do you just dive your doubles the same as everyone is diving their single tanks? If the boat is making multiple dives, how do you know how much gas to save for the second dive, and then, what if there's a third dive? How do you manage all that with doubles?

I just started diving doubles, Faber LP95's. I put together a charter on Lake Erie to do three dives near Point Pelee. Since we knew which three wrecks we were doing in advance, my instuctor and I used my RMV to calculate how much time I would have on each wreck. We calculated I had 96 minutes to play with coming out of the water with 400 psi in reserve. All wrecks were non-penetration for me and the last was only 35 ft. deep.

I spent exactly 96 min. on all three and came out of the water with 450 psi in reserve. So we were pretty darn close in our planning.

Plan your dive and dive your plan -- it actually works!

 

[darylm74]

I have an Oxycheq 45lb single wing which I love and I guess I will probably keep it if for no other reason than to give it to a family member that I might get into diving.

The doubles that I dove with belong to my best friend and they are PST LP 95's. He got his bands and manifold from a set of Faber LP 95's that he got through a trade for a new aluminum 80. He took the bands and manifold and traded me back for an aluminum 80 that I had since he really just wanted the hardware and had a couple other steel tanks so now I got the Faber LP 95's and just have to get bands, manifold and a wing, though I have a wing lined up. I like the idea of not having to change out tanks (as diveh3 said) and I found the weight of the doubles (which was 86lbs) not an issue at all. The only word of advice I got before I took them out was not to "turtle" in the shallow water.

The first thing I did when I got down to about 20' and comfortable was started switching between regulators and turning the isolator valve on and off to make sure I was comfortable switching it off in case of an emergency. Once I get my faber's set up and feel 100% confident with them I will head to a DIR-F class.