How many here were scared to death and still completed OW classes?

[J J]

I didn't say my fear is/was logical!! I realize I can swim in any direction and get out from under it - but with bad visibility (silt-out conditions with bunches of training divers), the totally unrealistic fear that I'll have SOOOO much air in my BC that I'll be basically GLUED to the underside of the platform ... seriously, I'm describing a nightmare and not a reality (I know this). But this is what unrealistic fears are made of, and it's one of the many things that induce diver panic. Our anxiety overrides our ability to think logically and creatively. I've had a panic moment (or two) since then, and learned that I can best take care of myself by staying calm, breathing and asking myself 'what is the next right thing to do?'. But as a diver-in-training I wasn't there yet - and I can still feel that anxiety. (I have other, more important issues, to work on in therapy - this is waaaaay down the list!!!!!!).

I just got my OW in Sept. at Mermet, and the thing that still freaks me out are the weekend crowds on those platforms. It social anxiety, low vis. due to the silt, and fear of loosing my buddy/wife among the throngs of students moving across and practicing on those platforms. It's a whole different place this time of year when there are probably only you and a buddy. Much less anxiety for me.

 

[Neilwood]

Second follow up (not that anyone probably cares).... I completed my confined water dives (in one day yesterday. Now on to the OW in a couple of weeks in Oahu. So, I guess I’m over the jitters (I hope).

I would second what Ray and Kimela have said. We are all really passionate about scuba and absolutely LOVE to hear about new divers.

I (and I will bet quite a few others in this forum) get a huge amount of satisfaction from seeing a timid new diver blossom into a keen diver and even more so if a comment or two have maybe helped getting over an issue.

Just remember that, like all things, more people post about the bad things than the good. For every bad experience on the forum there are probably dozens if not hundreds of people just getting out there and doing it (and never ever hearing about the forum).

 

[dberry]

On an ALUMINUM 80. I was new but I knew that the max they can hold is 3200.

?

 

[J J]

the next dive my tank pre dive registered 3900 psi. On an ALUMINUM 80. I was new but I knew that the max they can hold is 3200.

My experience is that they can hold a lot more than that. I think US hydrostatic test pressure is around 5000 psi. I routinely see them filled to 3400. Esp. if it was a cool night when they filled them and a warm day. There was even a thread where people were trying to find places to overfill (> 3000psi) tanks. My guess is that the tank got filled heavy in the shade, and then sat in the sun on the boat and pushed the pressure way up. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

I did my certification in Kawaii.

All the confined water was done in a quiet corner of what was actually a harbor (we saw a seal at one point while doing mask skills!), although we walked in from a beach. I did have the issue of the instinctive resistance to that first inhale when underwater... The other student couldn't get past that though (there were only two of us). She was there with her significant other who was already certified and watching from the beach. I don't know if she had been pressured into the training, but she was clearly very uncomfortable. And after more than an hour (or at least that's how long it felt) of trying to get her comfortable breathing, the instructor gave up and send her back to the beach (we were still in about 4-5 feet of water) and refunded her.

I then got the rest of the training one-on-one, which was great. But once I had gone through all the underwater skills I realized that that poor woman would have never have been able to complete them without panicking. I found it un-natural enough and I was having a great chilled zen day.

So I wasn't scared to death (just physically uncomfortable and having to override the natural instincts to panic). But I saw someone who was clearly not ready at all, and scared. And so once I was certified and taking the opportunity to dive in nice places, I only asked my wife if she was interested once. She said no, I didn't push it. No-one should be coerced into this kind of activity.

But if you really want to do it, fear can be overcome, even if it takes a lot of pool time to get comfortable. To echo a concern voiced earlier, the move to 'confined' water (like my training) doesn't help people who need more time to get comfortable. But doing everything on vacation (I had been on try-dives both in a pool and the sea over the years before, so had no concerns about my comfort level) is not a great idea. You have limited time and that pressure is unlikely to help. More time in the pool with calm and patient instructors is always good.

I feel similar about not pushing others or friends. If they say no then I dont want to put them in an uncomfortable position.

 

[NAUI Wowie]

?

I read in I believe the manuals that a standard AL80 can be filled to 3200 psi and a high pressure steel tank can be filled to 3442

Are you saying this is not true and that we can fill them to higher pressures? I do know that testing can go very high but im talking about fills.

 

[Degenerate]

I read in I believe the manuals that a standard AL80 can be filled to 3200 psi and a high pressure steel tank can be filled to 3442

Are you saying this is not true and that we can fill them to higher pressures? I do know that testing can go very high but im talking about fills.

All my HP steel tanks are rated for 300 bar (4351psi), and I routinely get them filled to around 330 bar (4786psi).
If I paid for a fill and only received 232bar (3442psi) in my steel tanks I would hook someone in the gabber.

 

[tursiops]

All my HP steel tanks are rated for 300 bar (4351psi), and I routinely get them filled to around 330 bar (4786psi).
If I paid for a fill and only received 232bar (3442psi) in my steel tanks I would hook someone in the gabber.

Not all high pressure steel tanks have the same working or test pressures. Your tanks are very unusual in the US, and very unlikely to get a fill that high.

 

[Degenerate]

Not all high pressure steel tanks have the same working or test pressures. Your tanks are very unusual in the US, and very unlikely to get a fill that high.

I suspected that was the case.
300 bar steel tanks (and overfills) are very common in Sweden.
232 bar steel tanks are also pretty common.
200 bar alu tanks are mostly used as deco bottles here.

 

[dberry]

I read in I believe the manuals that a standard AL80 can be filled to 3200 psi and a high pressure steel tank can be filled to 3442

Are you saying this is not true and that we can fill them to higher pressures? I do know that testing can go very high but im talking about fills.

In the U.S., each type of cylinder has a "service pressure" or "working pressure". Most Al80s have a working pressure of 3000psi. That means that if filled to 3000psi the tank will hold 80 cf of gas (really 77 cf, don't ask). Filling tanks to higher pressures is not uncommon in certain regions (or at some shops) - e.g. a "cave fill" refers to a high fill common in Florida cave country. And as JJ mentioned, the pressure in a tank changes with temperature, and gas right from the compressor can be quite warm. Many places will "overfill" so that it'll be near the service pressure after it cools. Otherwise you end up with a "short fill" (less than the advertised cf of gas in the tank).

I just returned from a liveaboard where both Al and steel cylinders were filled to ca. 3200-3400 before every dive. There's no question the cylinders can safely take this pressure, it comes down to whether the filler has the inclination (or time).

NOTE: the concept of a "service pressure" only applies to imperial tanks (AFAIK). Metric tanks are defined by their actual internal volume, which when multiplied by the pressure in bar gives the actual amount of gas in the tank. Many of us feel this is a more common sense approach, YMMV.