How Deep Is Air Safe As A SCUBA Breathing Gas?

[Big-t-2538]

BKH - Bull crap you don't experience narcosis at 160 or 177'....and how deep would you go on a tank of EANx 32? why would you dive air past 200...I see ZERO benefit

As for a "safe" region...I try to limit myself to no deeper than 100 to 110 on air.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

BKH once bubbled...
I normally dive between 130 and 160 fsw on air. My deepest so far is 177', with no narcosis effects to date. I'll probably not go below 200' on air...

This from someone who just finished the PADI ow and people wonder why there's so much angst with that agency.

 

[jhelmuth]

Walter once bubbled...
It depends on the individual, their level of training, their experience and the conditions that day. The vast majority should never exceed 100 fsw. I don't check boxes in these silly polls.

Beautiful answer Walter! I'm with you...

 

[Walter]

cd_in_SeaTac,

PADI doesn't avocate brand new OW divers going to 177'. I'm not a PADI fan, but this particular moronic behavior can't be laid at their door.

BKH,

While you may not be aware of the effects of narcosis, you are experiencing it any time you are below about 30 ft. In those shallow depths, the effects are minor, but as you approach 100 ft, you become seriously impaired.

 

[CD_in_Chitown]

I didn't mean to imply that PADI encourages/condones/teaches this behavior. I meant to imply any diver that comes out of an ow course feeling it's appropriate to dive to these depths on air has probably not gotten their money's worth. To single out this agency was wrong,

I don't necessarily buy into the 60/130 ft bottoms for ow/aow but any diver that's been below 100fsw and can't put a finger on the symptoms of narcosis doesn't belong there. I wouldn't go so far as to call the 100fsw line serious impairment, but it's certainly a noticeable affect.

 

[Knavey]

BKH once bubbled...
I normally dive between 130 and 160 fsw on air. My deepest so far is 177', with no narcosis effects to date. I'll probably not go below 200' on air...

Surely you are joking!???!

 

[BKH]

fwiw, the profile is a little old and needs updated, i completed AOW in january of this year and have about 65 dives logged since then...all cold water, drysuit, air, etc.
probably half of those dives have been around 130-140 fsw,
probably a handful between 140 and 150, and one dive to 177.
none of the dives have been outside of my zone of confidence and i personally have never felt any anxiety, disorientation or lack of awareness while diving. i consider the PADI training i received to have been an adequate first step in diving and consider all dives since then as furthering that foundation. i enjoy deep diving and there is plenty to see below 130 fsw...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

BKH - Without seeing you dive and being able to assess your abilities, I'll refrain from making judgemental comments.

But for most divers, 65 dives is just about where they start getting comfortable in the water. Most of us weren't even aware of how little we really knew about diving at that point.

If you are open to advice from someone with a bit more experience ... beware of overconfidence in your abilities, it's a diver's worst nightmare. Given your location and your comments, I can assume that the name Ben Giard means something to you. He was confident too ... and it cost a good kid his life.

If you're gonna dive that deep, take some additional training (AOW in no way makes you an advanced diver) ... it'll prove to be a good investment.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DeepTechScuba]

Walter once bubbled...
I don't check boxes in these silly polls.

Walter, this is a fundamental poll. It asks people to examine their own knowledge and attitudes about scuba, and to make a choice reflecting that perspective.

I agree with you that everyone is different, and therefore everyone has a different answer based on a different skill set. There is probably no right answer, other than concensus.

For instance, 20 ft depth on scuba with air has absolutely no known ill effects on any scuba diver (not considering habitat environments). Yet there is the belief by some [5% so far] that even 20 ft is inappropriate for air.

The other 95% believe that air is safe up to a given point, leading to the issue of where is that point? And how did it get set? And who set it?

30% [so far] believe that air is safe to 100 ft, reflecting cautions they have been told, most likely in training. The banter so far speaks of narcosis as the main concern, but there is no discussion of N2 loading, a much more serious issue, yet it is practically unmentioned.

Could then the 5% who would never use air for diving even only at 20 ft be more correct than the 30% crowd that would go down to 100 ft on air? Or are they both indefensible? Are they both arbitrary doctrines taught by training agencies?

Then you have the deeper arbitrary boundaries set by various technical or professional organizations, with several people here adhering to them, either because it was taught to them as such or else because of their particular experiences.

Lets see how this poll sorts out over the next few days, and talk about what it tells us.

 

[pipedope]

Just another little problem with diving air.

I personally use 130' as my limit on air.

I think that if you are spending significant time deep you really might want to use mixed gas. Nitrogen narcosis, O2 tox, and other factors make high He mixes much more attractive.