howarde:
Nope, but doesn't hurt to talk about it.
Have you ever sucked the bottom out of your air tank?
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Nope, but doesn't hurt to talk about it.
keralucu:
This is a rule of thumb that is commonly used in some parts the US for certain types of recreational dive profiles. In South FL we would used this rule of thumb for contingency planning on drift dives.
This 10:1 ratio for air reserve is based on Imperial units (10psi/1ft). As an example, begin ascent to surface from 100ft with no less than 1000 psi in tank.
Converting this to metric units would yield (10psi/1ft) * (1bar/14.5psi) * (1ft/.305 m) = 2.26 bar/m.
Hey this one case where math with Imperial is actually easier ! :05:
miketsp
Contributor
In my case it happened just once and it was enough of a lesson to not let it happen again.
I was still a relative noobie and was doing a shallowish night dive with an instructor. Just the 2 of us. Anyway when we started the dive conditions were perfect, flat calm.
After about 1 hour I was down to 60 bar and I signalled this and the instructor gave me the signal for just a little more. The same thing happened at 50 bar and at 40 and at 30bar. Then my breathing started getting hard so I signalled I was going up and went.
When we got to the surface conditions had changed and we then had a long gruelling swim into a howling wind and waves. It would have been much more comfortable if we still had a reserve to swim back submerged.
Never again did I leave the decision to the DM.
I was still a relative noobie and was doing a shallowish night dive with an instructor. Just the 2 of us. Anyway when we started the dive conditions were perfect, flat calm.
After about 1 hour I was down to 60 bar and I signalled this and the instructor gave me the signal for just a little more. The same thing happened at 50 bar and at 40 and at 30bar. Then my breathing started getting hard so I signalled I was going up and went.
When we got to the surface conditions had changed and we then had a long gruelling swim into a howling wind and waves. It would have been much more comfortable if we still had a reserve to swim back submerged.
Never again did I leave the decision to the DM.
NYHippo
Registered
On my second dive, I ran out of air. At the time SPG's were not the norm and we dove with J valves. The idea was the valve was up and it would stop sevring air at about 500 psi left in the tank. You would then pull the lever and release the reserve. However, my lever was already down! I don't know if I snaged it on the wreck or what. This used to happen to people with some degree of regularity. So I would bet that many people on this board have run out of air, and are just not willing to admit it.
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Done it - twice on the same dive, back gas and pony. It's a very icky feeling. Hope I never, ever come close to that stupid again. 
dpbishop
Contributor
First law of lobster hunting: the size of the lobster is inversely proportional to the amont of air in the tank.
Second law: The largest surge will strike when you try to grab the largest lobster.
I've sucked aluminum a few times at the end of a lobster or abalone dive; always in less than 25 fsw. But that was when I was young and stupid. Now that I'm old and stupid; I head up at 500 psi no matter how many bugs I see.
Second law: The largest surge will strike when you try to grab the largest lobster.
I've sucked aluminum a few times at the end of a lobster or abalone dive; always in less than 25 fsw. But that was when I was young and stupid. Now that I'm old and stupid; I head up at 500 psi no matter how many bugs I see.
ItsBruce
Contributor
I did it once...very unusual circumstance. I just bought a new regulator (1st and 2nd stages) and a new SPG. Two buddies and I were diving off a very protected beach. At the end of the dive while approaching the beach to exitt, I took a buddies weights so I'd be very negative and lied on the bottom just to see how the regulator worked for the very last breath. (I also wanted to see what the SPG said.) I watched as the SPG bottomed out and sucked until I could suck no more. Then I took the reg out of my mouth and raised my face out of the water. The reg performed well. I could breath easily enough, right up to the second to last breath. My buddies got some very funny photos of me lying there on the bottom with most of the tank above the water.
Greg D.
Contributor
I came close on a dive in a missle silo, after my 5minute stop at 15ft I surfaced with a big 200lbs left. and one other time my spg was showed 200psi withour a tank and I was diving in 20ft of water testing out my new drysuit and sucked my tank completley dry... I knew it was gonna happen but I didnt really care cause I was close to shore and close to the surface, I was on the surface and on my way to shore when my reg started breathing hard, I simply rolled to my back and went to shore but that is as clost to an OOA situation I evwer want to get
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