Need advice on bp/w and deep dives..

[Manta Aria]

OK, I need some advice.. I am thinking of getting my Deep Diver cert this summer. I was also thinking of picking up a bp/w(SS backplate) and a second PST120 and a pony rig to mount on it . Right now I have a Black Diamond BC with a single PST 120, if I mount a second 120, it WILL tear the backplate right off it :redhot: . Should I:

a) Get the bp/w+120+pony BEFORE the class or should I..
b) dive the class with my present rig and not worry...Buy the bp/w AFTER
c) dive the present BC with the pony rig

I just want to be safe and still not make myself crazy about this ( I overanalyze EVERYTHING :spock: ). I know alot of you dive bp/w with ponys and twin ladies. At what point did you begin to do so as you SOP? Is it too early for me to be thinking about this :babycrawl ? Any advice would be great!
Thanx!!

 

[OE2X]

Question:

1.Why would you have a pony if you were diving twins? The only reason I see carrying a "pony" would be as a deco bottle, travel gas or stage bottle. Then it no longer becomes a pony. I personally don't know anyone who dives a pony and twins. Just not necessary when you can isolate your tanks/regs and wearing 240 cf of back gas.

2. If you are doubling 120's then I hope you are diving a drysuit for inflation redundancy.

If you want to go doubles and still want to have a pony - then get a 40 cf and sling it like a deco bottle. You will use this configuration later if you are doing deco dives.

For a deep dive unless you are a hoover, then a single 120 should allow you more than enough gas for you and your buddy to safely be at 130' (which is what your course requirment should be) and stay within NDL. Get to know your "rock bottom" for your tank.

As to the BPW: right tool for the right job. If you think that you will be diving for a while with a single tank - get a single bpw. For cold water NH/Maine diving you will likely want a heavy BP/STA to get some of the weight off your hips. When you go to doubles you will will want a 6# BP and a larger wing along with doubles bands. You won't need the 12 - 16 lb single BP.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

You could probably do the class with your current rig. Really the first thing to do is to understand how much gas you need. If you have not done so already do some practice dives to figure out what your respiratory minute volume (RMV) is and estimate how much gas you will need for your dive. Do a search on the board and do the rock bottom calc as well. Or get a copy of v-planner which will do the calcs for you if you know your RMV. I would guess that for the dive described double 120s are are too much gas.

Double 120's are really heavy out of the water so if you go that way you might want to rent to see of you are comfortable with them first. Also steel doubles like that will be very negatively buoyant so you should only dive them with a drysuit plus BC.

If you want a pony bottle that is OK, but a reliable buddy would provide more redundancy that any pony bottle could.

A BP/W is a pretty good idea just to keep the 120 from shifting around.

 

[daniel f aleman]

You need to rethink your rig choices - start with your instructor to-be, ask her/him what set-up for the class should be. Also, you should be able to determine, somewhat, your future equipment needs by asking other divers in your area (who already dive the type of diving that you want to do) what they use.

 

[riggillo]

just a quick ?.
i want to set up a hooka rig bit without the compressor, can that be done,, maybe 10-15 ft deep with a hose pulled over a snorkel? will i be able to get enuff air with that set up? if not how deep would be possible and still get amble air?

riggillo@yahoo.com

 

[Rick Inman]

just a quick ?.
i want to set up a hooka rig bit without the compressor, can that be done,,

No. You cannot even suck the air down 2'.

Welcome to ScubaBoard. In the future, you are welcome to start your own thread when you have a question that is different than the subject being discussed.

 

[in_cavediver]

just a quick ?.
i want to set up a hooka rig bit without the compressor, can that be done,, maybe 10-15 ft deep with a hose pulled over a snorkel? will i be able to get enuff air with that set up? if not how deep would be possible and still get amble air?

riggillo@yahoo.com

Off topic but hey, its an easy answer. The effective depth of a snorkel is about 1ft. (or the lenght of your average snorkel) Due to the increase in pressure with water depth, you would not be able to inhale air at depth. (actually, you would be sucked up). A compressor is required to overcome this water pressure.

 

[*Floater*]

OK, I need some advice.. I am thinking of getting my Deep Diver cert this summer.

IMO if it's the PADI deep diver specialty course, then don't bother unless you need it for access. If it's a TEC course, then that's probably a better idea.

After finishing my AOW and doing some fun dives I wanted to go deeper, below 100 ft, but the dive instructor told me I would need PADI's deep diver specialty to do that. At first I thought I would have to take it, but then after thinking it through a bit more I realized that diving to 130' was not a big deal to begin with so you don't need any special training for it beyond AOW, and second you can stay there only for 5 min if you follow stardard NDL tables, so you might as well take a tech course which certified you to go deep and stay there longer and do the required decompression on the appropriate gases - and most agencies don't require PADI's deep diver specialty for that. And most dive centers I've been to don't require you to have a specilty card to dive down to 130'. Just my $.02.

 

[OE2X]

You mean the scuba police don't hover at 130' at all your dive sites looking to pass out depth violations.

 

[Thalassamania]

This is a question best addressed to the instructor whom you trust enought to take the course from. If you do not trust the instructor enough to answer the question honestly, welll ... in that case I'd be looking for another instructor, not obsessing about the gear.

Remeber what Mike Hanna said: "A single pony bottle will give you enough time at 250 to say the Lord’s Prayer."