No steel tanks with wetsuits?

[MaxPower]

I was just checking out the website for the Woodsville Karst Plains Project (WKPP), and they mention in the equiptment section that steel tanks should only be used when diving dry, WTF?! I know there are small differences in the boyancy characteristics between steel and aluminum, but that seems odd to me.

 

[Geoff_H]

It is more relevant when diving doubles.

I dive single steel tanks in preference to aluminium and I am always in a wetsuit or board shorts. If my wing should fail I could swim up or use my DSMB for redundancy.

However I am not exploring caves... different rules for different games.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I was just checking out the website for the Woodsville Karst Plains Project (WKPP), and they mention in the equiptment section that steel tanks should only be used when diving dry, WTF?! I know there are small differences in the boyancy characteristics between steel and aluminum, but that seems odd to me.

Drink deep the Koolaid and follow the light...

 

[SparticleBrane]

Ever tried to tread water at the surface with a full steel tank and a totally empty BC? (in a wetsuit) It can be a real challenge. Just something to think about...

 

[Geoff_H]

Ever tried to tread water at the surface with a full steel tank and a totally empty BC? (in a wetsuit) It can be a real challenge. Just something to think about...

Worst case - take the tank off and drop it... or give it to your buddy with a working wing.

 

[contender]

Steel tanks require more effort to swim up to the surface, with a wing failure. Some people would not be able to swim it to the surface. The theory behind this, and I am no expert on this, is that you can swim Al. tanks to the surface because of their positive buoyancy characteristics during use. With steels, especially doubles you need some kind of redundancy lift, such as a drysuit. Hence steels with drysuit, and Al's with a wetsuit.

 

[SparticleBrane]

Ever tried to drop a tank or get out of your gear,while treading water at the surface and trying to breathe while being pulled down by negative gear? Who says your buddy is around, or even that you're diving with a buddy? Remember that most people dive very overweighted.

While working on a few things at a scuba leadership workshop last weekend I saw several people attempting to tread water for 5 minutes with a totally deflated BC, full 130s, ss backplate, and a weightbelt. Doing it that way was part of the standards for that particular drill.
Personally I was having an issue with a full lp72, ss backplate, and 2lbs weight belt. Managed to do the 5 minutes but I was exhausted.

For those in the 130s it wasn't happening, nor would they have had time to get out of the gear. It was quite the eye-opener on how equipment dependent people are. Granted, doing it with the weight belt wasn't the most realistic scenario ever but it was part of the drill. If those two people I mentioned earlier had been doing a blue-water dive and had a complete wing/BC failure, they'd have been screwed. They could barely stay at the surface for any length of time.

 

[FIXXERVI6]

I was just checking out the website for the Woodsville Karst Plains Project (WKPP), and they mention in the equiptment section that steel tanks should only be used when diving dry, WTF?! I know there are small differences in the boyancy characteristics between steel and aluminum, but that seems odd to me.

I do it frequently, SS plate, double 108's and 7/5 suit, lately the waters around here are so warm you'd sweat to death in a drysuit (texas lake @ 170' was high 70's low 80's not too long ago)

I dive a double bladder wing and carry a lift bag

I would not dive double steel in a wetsuit without a double bladder wing

I've heard people say they'd pop a bag and climb out - I'd sure like to see that as even if you can "climb" a #24 nylon string good luck getting your head out of the water and keeping it there

I've also heard other cave divers justify it by stating they would "walk" out of the cave, this I woudl also like to see as 1. you would totally exhaust your gas supply LONG before you got to the exit 2. that silt is deeper than it looks

 

[Geoff_H]

Ever tried to drop a tank or get out of your gear,while treading water at the surface and trying to breathe while being pulled down by negative gear? Who says your buddy is around, or even that you're diving with a buddy? Remember that most people dive very overweighted.

Yes, I have. Even if I couldn't I would use my DSMB for redundancy, or my buddy.

The chances of me having a torn wing, losing my buddy, losing my DSMB and being unable to get out of my rig on the surface is not something I'll worry too much about.

If those two people I mentioned earlier had been doing a blue-water dive and had a complete wing/BC failure, they'd have been screwed.

They would also have been complete idiots. I can't think how unlikely it is to find two divers in steel doubles with torn single bladder wings, undroppable weight belts, no redundant bouyancy and no assistance anywhere around.

 

[texdiveguy]

I know longer as a rule use any Al. cylinders as back gas....thus my persl. gear configuration is as such-- single steel cylinder either wet or dry wing only,,,,,double steel cylinders while wet I wear a redundant wing---double steel cylinders while dry wing/dry suit. I always carry a min. of one lift bag (usually two) as a fall back redundancy devise wet or dry.