I am a new diver, and from my class and other reading I was under the impression that after 100 fsw you have a chance to get a bit of nitrogen narcosis and after 130 or so it's almost a certainty... but I see people posting here who have gone to 180+ on air. What's the deal?
How to go deep on air?
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H2Andy
Contributor
well, basically, as soon as you are inhaling nitrogen under pressure, you are getting narced, it's just that you don't notice the effects until, say, around 100 feet or so, and they continue to increase as you go deeper.
those people who say they've never been narced are wrong. they basically haven't noticed the symptoms. but their performance (as compared to the surface) has degraded due to nitrogen narcosis.
so, essentially, it comes to how degraded your performance gets and how well you can adapt to the symptoms.
so ... yes.. you can dive deep on air. some divers will dive down to 250 feet and over on air.
is it advisable? i wouldn't do it. the Rouses (from the book The Last Dive) died because of impaired mental ability at 280-ish feet due to diving that deep on air).
can it be done? yeah. before trimix, people dove that deep on air 'cause they had no choice.
those people who say they've never been narced are wrong. they basically haven't noticed the symptoms. but their performance (as compared to the surface) has degraded due to nitrogen narcosis.
so, essentially, it comes to how degraded your performance gets and how well you can adapt to the symptoms.
so ... yes.. you can dive deep on air. some divers will dive down to 250 feet and over on air.
is it advisable? i wouldn't do it. the Rouses (from the book The Last Dive) died because of impaired mental ability at 280-ish feet due to diving that deep on air).
can it be done? yeah. before trimix, people dove that deep on air 'cause they had no choice.
Narcosis can set on before 100 fsw. I've personally felt the effects at 80 fsw in cold dark water and know others that have had the same effects. All dependent on the day of course.
YMMV.
Unless you go to trimix you don't have that many options though, for reducing Narcosis. The other question of course is "what's at 100+ feet that you want to see". I know my personal answers, but it really depends on you of course.
I know people who still dive deep (130+) on air and personally I don't understand it
YMMV.
Unless you go to trimix you don't have that many options though, for reducing Narcosis. The other question of course is "what's at 100+ feet that you want to see". I know my personal answers, but it really depends on you of course.
I know people who still dive deep (130+) on air and personally I don't understand it
Sideband
Guest
I know a guy that was so narced at 90' that he was useless and had to be physically assisted back to the line and part way up. He remembers nothing of his time on the bottom.
Joe
Joe
occrider
Contributor
At what depth can you get oxygen toxicity while diving air?
you dont 'get oxygen toxicity'. Oxtox is described as the effects on your body while diving oxygen under pressure. Pulmonary and CNS (central nervous system) effects are the two components.occrider:
There are guidelines to avoid/minimize this, most notably the PPo2 we dive.
If doing a long, cold, with lots of deco dive, one would perhaps dive not dive beyond PPO2 of 0.9. Most recreational dives are advised to be done with 1.4. And deco, being the non working part of a dive can easily be done on 1.6.
I have seen divers dive beyond 1.6 and divers do no more than 1.0.........
Oxtox also depends on your ability to handle the effects, some very fit young people seem to cope better than not so fit people diving 1.4.
Bottom line is that the agencies have all agreed that 1.4 is a good median to dive with under normal circumstances and at no time should anyone go beyond 1.6 (while still, probably in deco).
But I am not a scuba trainer, and I would advise to get proper training in the effects and dangers of diving O2 (in any percentage) under pressure....
occrider:
It depends, Oxtox is very dependant on the individual. With some it can show up at PPs as small 1.4 - 1.6 ,and there is some evidence of even less, But it is also dependant on exposure time. You don't just Tox at a certain number, there is no line you can point to and say "exceed this number and you tox". A good ABSOLUTE MAX PPO2 is 2.0 - reached at (IIRC) 281 FSW, A more realistice number is 1.6 reached @ 218 FSW.
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