Need advice about doubles equipment

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I was hoping to hear from someone who has traveled with tanks. I understand you are required to empty and leave them open when flying? Most shops will require an inspection before filling if this happens, which would require dismantling the set up to remove the valves. It may be worth the inspection cost if it was an extended trip though. I would consider it.

I think as far as what gear you get, you should talk to your instructor(s). Ideally if you are going to get into tec diving, he should be more of a mentor so he can get to know you and evaluate when you are ready for this type of diving. It is NOT for everyone, whether they believe they can or not. An instructor telling you that you shouldn’t do it may save your life. It is not all about skills in the water.

I would not plan on using rental gear for tec diving. (Unless you are in a hurry to leave this world):05: You will want to get your own, set it up and use the same set up over and over so it becomes second nature to you. This is not possible in renting. Plus you do not know what kind of shape it is in. It is risky enough doing this kind of diving without using equipment you do not know anything about. Going to the surface is usually NOT an option in tec diving. Therefore you MUST handle ALL emergencies underwater. You are (greatly) increasing the chance that these will come up, using rental gear.

I have had to re-purchase equipment several times now over the last year, because I kept listening to everyone about what I should get and buying it before I was educated. It usually was not appropriate for what I wanted to do. I ended up with two full set ups, and fortunately I was able to give a lot to my wife. It is good to get opinions, but in the end you should have picked an instructor/mentor whos opinion you trust, and listen to them. It may save you some money in the long run.

As far as costs, if you are planning on not spending a lot of money, then tec diving probably is not for you. Good equipment for this is expensive. (There may be a few horse collar divers our there that try to tell you otherwise, but forget it). I wouldn’t worry about extra air costs so much, as nitrox is only about twice what air is, but you won’t likely be using helium (the costly gas) anytime soon, and really won’t need it unless you plan on going deeper than about 150 ft. anyway.

Just keep researching and reading for now, and save up until you can get your entire ensemble. A single tank with a pony is a very good set up for normal rec. diving, and even wrecks, if you plan your air requirements well (and then dive your plan). :wink:

Good luck.

-Steve :14:
 
Yes, I'll try to do a checkout-type deco dive with an instructor or with an appropriately qualified DM. That way I'll see what equipment is used and I can ask questions about it.

I don't fully trust the instructors for gear advice though because some of them sell gear themselves or get a % from students they refer to someone who sells, so their advice is subject imo. Also, I like to hear a range of opinions.

About manifolds, I have some very basic questions:

1) Do you buy them specifically for the type of tanks you use, or do they generally work with different size tanks?

2) What are the pros and cons of different pressure rated manifolds, say 200 bar vs. 300 bar?

3) What's involved with manifold maintenance? (cost, diy?, frequency,...)

4) What else should I ask about manifolds?

About renting equipment, I've had only good experiences when it comes to reliability, and some not so good experiences when it comes to fit of wetsuits, fins, masks, etc. The way I see it though, if my equipment fails under water, I can always just swim to my buddy or DM/instructor, and make the ascent while breathing of their gas. The probability that both our gear would fail on the same dive at the same time seems small enough to be acceptable. I'm talking about diving in warm, clear, easy, Philippino waters and no overhead environments, I'm sure things are very different in the cold, deep waters where many of you dive.
 
Another basic question: Why are tank bands so expensive? $100 or more for a kit seems like a lot to me for basic steel hardware, and I'm just curious why that is?

Also are there significant differences between them other than size? For example, scubatoys sells the dive-rite kit for $100 whereas I've seen some other sites ask for around $150 for similar looking bands and bolts.
 
*Floater*:
Another basic question: Why are tank bands so expensive? $100 or more for a kit seems like a lot to me for basic steel hardware, and I'm just curious why that is?

Also are there significant differences between them other than size? For example, scubatoys sells the dive-rite kit for $100 whereas I've seen some other sites ask for around $150 for similar looking bands and bolts.


You question should be started from "why scuba equipment price so expensive?"
There is also $50 band that works well. There are many factors about the price.

1. market size
2. brand value
3. advertize cost
4. customer service cost
5. rip off.

Many divers argue that Highland band is the best, others also contend that there is not much difference. So, it is your call.
 
*Floater*:
Another basic question: Why are tank bands so expensive? $100 or more for a kit seems like a lot to me for basic steel hardware, and I'm just curious why that is?

Also are there significant differences between them other than size? For example, scubatoys sells the dive-rite kit for $100 whereas I've seen some other sites ask for around $150 for similar looking bands and bolts.


Well, near as I can tell, the bands do a couple of things. First, they hold the tanks some exact distance apart. Second, they hold the tanks parrallel to each other. Third, they don't let one tank slip in relation to the other. All of these things seem pretty simple, unitl you realize that at the top of the tanks is a manifold with your breathing apparatus attached. A small slip of one tank could break the manifold. Considering that the tanks and related hardware weigh 80-130 pounds, making sure nothing moves is a pretty serious task for something that costs $100. If the tanks move, you break the manifold and get to replace it for $250-$300.

I'm sure the Dive Rite product is very nice. I've seen them and held them. Highland Mills has a great reputation for making quality bands and other products, and that's what I have. I'm sure either will work.
 
Unless you can drive to your destination, trying to travel with tank(s) just doesn't make sense. As stated, you can rent doubles in a few places if you travel to cave country. In Florida that means Steel 95s, 104s, etc., Mexico, AL80s and....AL80s.

Your cave instructor can sign you off for doubles which will allow you to rent tanks without Full Cave cert. We rent from Cave Excursions without any problems. You always should call 4-5 days ahead to make sure they hold some tanks for you.

If you do need to travel with equipment, Ground Shipping is probably the only way that makes financial sense. Cave Excursions offers storage rental which can make sense if you travel to that area enough and can afford to purchase some extra gear.
 
you have a good idea about just keeping a eye out and getting it in no hurry
you can save alot of money that way

i saw about a week or so ago somone sellin a BP/W 2 sets of regs SPG and twin 100 i think for 1200.00
all looked to be in great shape
he claimed he was in the middle of a devorce and had to sell it..
somone got a good deal..
i just sold a set of double Faber LP 72's for 300
1 year old hydro with bands and manafold.
thers good deals out there if your patient.
if you want it now. then its gonna be really expensive
good luck
Ray
 
Update: I had my first doubles dive two days ago and I'm not going back. The resort had manifolded doubles (Al80s) so I used those with my DSS setup and a used Halcyon explorer 40# I bought from a member here at SB. I just did rec diving and everyone else was using singles, but it felt good to have so much gas. Usually I'm always the first guy to run low, but no more. I'm leaving for another dive trip tomorrow or the day after and if the resort I visit doesn't have manifolded doubles then I'll just use independent ones.
 
Stephen Ash:
As far as the class your GF is going to take... I would be a little surprised if it turns out to be a "deco" dive. Standards for AOW and Nitrox do not allow the instructor to exceed rec limits.

The instructor said it would be a real deco dive, but his friend (presumably also a NAUI instructor) who lead some of the dives said the same thing as you about not exceeding rec limits... He said we would use EAN27, but program our computers for air, push them into deco and then do some deco stops.

The idea was to simulate a situation in which for whatever reason you unintentionally end up in deco, so you have to do deco stops on the fly. Our plan was to go to about 38m and stay there until our computers were in deco, form a daisy chain and ascend directly in open water to 30m for 1min stop, then to 20m for 2min, 10m for 3min and finally 5m for 5min. At this point we were to break the chain and instead grab a hold of my gf from back of her bc while she would attach a spool to an smb and deploy it, followed by the final ascent.

In general the idea would be to make these increasing stops at every 10m depending on the relative air supply - remember that this was to be an unintended deco, so the plan would be dictated by remaining air.

What happened though was that the resort lost electricity over night, so they couldn't fill the tanks with nitrox so we went down with air. Also, I only got to about 36m, my gf just hit 38m when the instructor already wanted to head up (whereas we were supposed to stay there for 10-20min depending how long it took for our computers to hit deco).

He then ascended to 30m and started looking for a nurse shark that had been sighted there earlier but didn't find it, and I asked about what happened to the plan, so we then did the daisy chain ascent in open water and smb deployment, which was pretty cool. In his defense, the guy was wearing a Suunto so he was already in deco whereas my Versa Pro was in the green the whole time and my gf's versa pro peaked at the first yellow. It was a pretty cool exercise though and in hindsight I'm not sure much would have been gained anything by staying at depth for another 15min - plus my gf said she was narced anyway.
 
Floater. I would humbly suggest you get some instruction on those doubles before you start diving them. ESPECAILLY with the independent doubles as you will need to switch back and forth between tanks during the dive, and monitor two SPGs.

I did my first doubles dives under the watchful eye of an instructor, and I would suggest the same to anyone. Take it slow. I've owned a set of doubles for a month, and haven't even put them in the pool yet.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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