PADI Deep Diver course- gas management

[boulderjohn]

It is Parr of the discussion: exactly how it is discussed is up to the instructor.

This is consistent with how PADI does many things. When there are choices, it leaves the choices up to the instructor. For example, the language in the OW course dealing with alternate air sources is intentionally vague enough to allow any of the methods and equipment choices that are commonly used.

When I taught the course, I taught the different ways to plan their reserves, and we discussed the pros and cons of each. One of the choices I taught was Rock Bottom.

 

[tursiops]

Dive one max depth = 60 feet

Typo. Dive 1 max depth is 100 ft.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Typo. Dive 1 max depth is 100 ft.

Yes...I edited it just now to show 100 feet. Thank you.

 

[boulderjohn]

I don't know why the course is 4 dives, except that it is far too much to do on 2 or maybe 3 dives, and four nicely fits a 2/day schedule for 2 days, plus classroom time (if done in a classroom).

My guess to the reason can be exemplified by an experience I had doing the AOW deep dive with two friends. We did the dive off of a boat in South Florida, asking on a reef dive to be dropped off on the deep end, and we reached about 88 feet. My two friends were a little apprehensive before the dive, but within about 10 minutes of the dive, that was all gone. We later did the whole deep diver course, and they were comfortable as could be on the last dives.

 

[Leatherboot69]

This is consistent with how PADI does many things. When there are choices, it leaves the choices up to the instructor. For example, the language in the OW course dealing with alternate air sources is intentionally vague enough to allow any of the methods and equipment choices that are commonly used.

When I taught the course, I taught the different ways to plan their reserves, and we discussed the pros and cons of each. One of the choices I taught was Rock Bottom.

And of course these are training standards, rather than a manual. I recognise the general format of course and lesson planning from teaching, military training and other outdoor qualifications. Instructors are meant to use their own professional judgement to put together a lesson, right? It’s kind of normal in any structured training.

 

[jborg]

How/where are the instructors intended to learn the various gas planning methods they are supposed to teach? Do they need to take one of the Tec courses to learn about the gas planning to teach in Deep, if it's not included in the material for Deep itself?

 

[Leatherboot69]

Deep Diver specialty instructor course (10 logged dives plus training from a Course Director) or equivalent experience (25 logged dives)

The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving, which contains all of this information and is required reference material for all PADI professionals.

Deep Diver e-learning, and their own Deep Diver course if they’ve attended it.

Recreational diving is a safe, relatively simple activity; 10 year olds can do it. Conditions (such as deep diving) add layers of risk and complexity but let’s be clear that this isn’t the Apollo moon landings. Gas planning for a rec dive to 40m requires understanding and applying some basic concepts (eg rule of thirds) and/or four or five calculations at a junior high school level of mathematics. This isn’t a course for divers applying advanced levels of skill, making particularly complex dives or for tec divers-it’s for doing simple rec dives in deeper and slightly more complex conditions.

 

[Kris Reynolds]

So what are the PADI parameters to "determine if you have enough gas for the dive"?

That was my initial question.

This is referenced in the Note to Instructor in the Deep Diver Instructor Guide in section 2 part 2, that the instructor should review air consumption calculation with the students, and work through a number of example dive plans so they can apply their gas consumption rate to different dives.

The student material in the "Deep Diving Techniques - Air Supply Control" section has an entire section on how to calculate gas consumption rate, and it is followed by another section that specifically references the difference in appropriate gas reserve from the "500 psi back on the boat" idea. It suggests several additional variables that will require more reserve gas, and suggests using rule of thirds for gas management on deeper dives.

Hope this answers your question.