New GUE standard gas mixes?

[Uncle Pug]

metridium once bubbled...
As a prospective Tech 1 student, I can only say that I'd be much more inclined to take the class if it were 190' MOD, if that can be done safely.

The Tech 1 class isn't about depth... it is about skills under task loading and knowledge of deco proceedures as taught by GUE.

The limiting factor for Tech 1 is the use of only one deco gas on a dive (O2 or EAN50.) Tech 2 adds bottles.

I suppose there are agencies that focus on depth.

 

[metridium]

Uncle Pug wrote...

The Tech 1 class isn't about depth... it is about skills under task loading and knowledge of deco proceedures as taught by GUE.

The limiting factor for Tech 1 is the use of only one deco gas on a dive (O2 or EAN50.) Tech 2 adds bottles.

Should I infer that the extra 40' is enough to require the second deco gas?

 

[Uncle Pug]

metridium once bubbled...
Should I infer that the extra 40' is enough to require the second deco gas?

That would depend upon the size of the deco bottle, your SAC and the bottom time (hence deco time required.)

Again it isn't about the depth as much as the skills and proceedures.

That said, a bottom time of 20 minutes at 190' would probably require more than an AL40 of EAN50. Run a dive with your planning software and see what you get.

 

[MechDiver]

metridium once bubbled...
Should I infer that the extra 40' is enough to require the second deco gas?

Aside from what Pug already pointed out, two deco gases also give you more options to fine tune your deco and for lost gas bailouts; both of which are nice the deeper you go.

MD

 

[Uncle Pug]

....beside what MD said....

Here in the PNW OW there is definitely a limit to the time you want to spend in the water... especially just hanging out in deco.

You did some dives here Metridium... little chilly even at the 60 minute mark. :brrrrrrrr:

 

[metridium]

Uncle Pug wrote...
That said, a bottom time of 20 minutes at 190' would probably require more than an AL40 of EAN50. Run a dive with your planning software and see what you get.

Vplanner shows a requirement of 26.6 cuft of 50%. Even if it were more than that, is it that much more difficult to use an AL80 instead of an AL40?

I'd assumed prior to this that the Tech 1 depth limit had been intended to correspond with the 21/35 MOD.

 

[MikeFerrara]

As far as the amount of gas that dive is more than doable on one decompression gas in a 40. All mine are 80's though.

Other agencies also progress from dives using two gasses to those that use three. They all have some depth cut-off but I wouldn't say Ive ever heard of any that "focus on depth". Everyone (students) gets too hung up on depth because they want a card that says they can go to X depth.

But back to the gasses I don't guess I would adopt their new gasses. The old ones were kind of nice though. Could you imagine my gas bill if I used 18/35 for all my shallow teaching dives.

I could see it now...Sign up for classes here $150/hour. LOL

I get teased all the time for diving mix above 200. If I was using it like above 50 people would be laughing so hard they would hurt theselves.

 

[metridium]

MechDiver wrote...
Aside from what Pug already pointed out, two deco gases also give you more options to fine tune your deco and for lost gas bailouts; both of which are nice the deeper you go.

I don't know anything about fine-tuning deco at this point, but I get your point about the lost gas.

On the other hand, Vplanner indicates backgas needed in a lost 50% situation would be 170 cuft, which is less than 2/3s of a cave-filled set of 104s. What's the likelihood of both divers losing their deco bottles?

 

[metridium]

Uncle Pug wrote
....beside what MD said....

Here in the PNW OW there is definitely a limit to the time you want to spend in the water... especially just hanging out in deco.

You did some dives here Metridium... little chilly even at the 60 minute mark. :brrrrrrrr:

That's the truth, UP.

I've heard nice things about those deep reefs and wrecks in the Caribbean too, though.

 

[cadet diver]

I would say depth is important though. The point for going to a deeper depth is to see cooler stuff. As far as wreck diving goes, there is a lot to see between 150-200 that I would like to see. You wouldnt be able to do those dives if 150 was your limit.