how do you ascend SAFELY???

[paintsnow]

my question to the members of sb is what are your procedures for acending from a dive.

please include the following:
-how many feet per minute
-how long of a safety stop do you do if you do one
-at what dept do you do the stop
-do you do deep stops

im looking for replyes from everybody even deco divers
im just here to learn more and i really need to figure out what the safe acent rate is

also i think i recall somebody telling me how the rates should be 60 fpm until 30 feet then 30 feet per min
is that correct or am i getting the numbers mixed up?

i would like to thank anybody that contributes in advance

 

[pupdiver]

Are you already certified?

This is something that is covered in any open water course. If you have been certified, just look through your old materials. If you are not certified, you will be able to ask during your class.

 

[paintsnow]

i dont have my old manuals

the main thing is that i want to know what the safe acent rate is
and if there is a different one below a different dept which if i recall correctly there is.
(but of course i cant rember the numbers)

 

[dannobee]

I like to inflate my drysuit and BC at depth to zoom straight up, and pop up completely out of the water like those penguins on the discovery channel. Sometimes I can clear the gunnel on the boat :11:

Just kiddin' of course. There's some data to suggest that making a stop at half of your max depth for a minute or two, then your usual safety stop makes for a safer ascent than the 60fpm/30fpm thing. I mostly do deep stops and ascend at 30 fpm until the safety stop at 15 ft for 3 minutes. The last 15 feet take a minute, too. This, of course, is no deco diving.

 

[paintsnow]

what exactly is the 60fpm/30fpm thing?
i just found my old dive tables

and they say 60fpm on ALL dives with a 3 min stop at 15 feet

 

[Dive-aholic]

Standards used to recommend 60fpm. Some agencies have started recommending 30fpm. For recreational diving, I recommend the 30fpm rule. It's a little more conservative and doesn't add significantly to any nitrogen buildup. Deeper dives may require different ascent rates. It just depends on the gasses your diving and what your schedule is. Slower ascents on deep dives can add to your deco obligation. There are different schools of thought on this. I'll usually run the profile through my deco program and follow the ascent rates recommended.

As for safety stops - for recreational dives, I'll usually hang out at 20 for at least 3 minutes, longer if I was on the liberal side of the limits. The 10' stop may or may not happen depending on my profile. For deco dives, it depends. Some of the sites I dive don't really allow for 10' stop. I'll hang out at 20' for my deco obligation and then usually add another 5-10 minutes depending on what the initial obligation was. This is all on O2. If I can hang at 10' I will until the little bars on my computer drop down a couple. It's probably being way too conservative, but I haven't taken a chamber ride yet.

I haven't had a dive profile that required a deep stop yet, so no I don't do those. Again, I've read a couple schools of thought on those. I lean towards the no deep stop school because of the added deco that you can buy while doing a deep stop, but I haven't completely ruled them out yet. If I ever come across a situation in which one is recommended, I'll research it more.

 

[markr]

what exactly is the 60fpm/30fpm thing?
i just found my old dive tables

and they say 60fpm on ALL dives with a 3 min stop at 15 feet

The 60 fpm with stop at 15' is what is on the tables and what's taught in OW cert. class. Some computers use a more conservative ascent rate of 60 fpm below 60' and 30 fpm above 60'. Depending on the computer, it may also suggest stops at lower depths then 15'. Some divers not using computers also advocate the slower ascent rates and stops at lower depths.

 

[PerroneFord]

I cannot tell you what is correct. I can only tell you what I do, or strive to do.

How many FPM: 30
How long of a safety stop: I do not do safety stops
At what depth do you do the stop(s): Determined by the dive depth and length
Do you do deep stops: Yes.


Since the majority of my dives are within NDL limits, I try to keep my ascent rate to no more than 30fpm. I stop every 10ft starting at about 50ft (or 70ft on dives between 100 and 130ft). Those stops get progressively longer as I get up to 10ft. From 10ft to the surface, I generally take my time, sometimes hanging around for 10-20 minutes or more. Upon surfacing, unless I am getting on a boat, I do my dive de-brief in the water to give myself even more time to offgas. I then slowly make my way out of the water.

If I have another gas to breathe, then I follow the plan for the dive in terms of what depth that mix will be used and for how long.

But in general, I try to spend as much time shallow as I have deep, if possible, and I am not in any hurry to get out of the water. I've found that I feel very good post-dive when I follow these basic rules.

Your experience may vary, and I suggest you get the very best instruction you can.

Best of luck.

my question to the members of sb is what are your procedures for acending from a dive.

please include the following:
-how many feet per minute
-how long of a safety stop do you do if you do one
-at what dept do you do the stop
-do you do deep stops

im looking for replyes from everybody even deco divers
im just here to learn more and i really need to figure out what the safe acent rate is

 

[paintsnow]

dive-oholic:
what is the name of your deco program and where can i get it?
im hoping its free and im guessing you put in variables and it tells you if your safe or not?

thank you all for you help i never would have though to acend at 30fpm but will definatly consider it now if not adopt if compleatly

 

[TSandM]

When I got certified last year, the written materials (PADI) said 60 fpm, but our instructors told us that 30 fpm was recommended, with an optional three minute safety stop at 15 feet.

Subsequent training taught a 30 fpm ascent to 50% of max depth (within recreational limits), and a 10 fpm ascent thereafter.

If you look at the profiles generated by decompression software, the shape of the ascent curve is kind of an inverse exponential curve -- the slope is steep at the beginning, and gets progressively more shallow (you spend longer as you go shallower). Since, in a sense, all dives are decompression dives (in that you absorb nitrogen at depth, and must offgas it on ascent), it makes attractive sense that the ascent curve should always be more or less the same shape, even within "no deco" limits.