Recreational divers, have you ever put your computer into deco?

[Rhone Man]

Following on from this thread where the OP asked about putting his computer into deco without any formal decompression training, a bit of a disagreement formed as to how common this sort of thing was.

If you are a trained technical diver, please only answer the question on the basis of your diving career prior to receiving the relevant training.

You can only answer once, so pick the lowest answer applicable to you.

 

[gsk3]

Not answering the poll because there's no option for what best fits my situation:
To see what my computer would do, I once set it on the most conservative mode and planned to dive tables and just use the computer as a bottom timer. I was on 25% (what was left of a 32% fill topped off with air) and set the computer for 21%. Then I let the computer roll over by a few seconds and completed the "required" deco plus some. Tables gave me another few minutes of NDL time.

So did my computer think I was in deco? Yes. Was I actually "in deco"? Doubtful. I generally don't push NDLs at all, so this was more aggressive than my typical dive. But was it any riskier than diving just to the NDL according to the computer (a few seconds less)? Of course not. Was doing this once (the key being using tables as the primary and telling it a lower gas mix) riskier than riding the computer right to the NDL limits on every single dive? Absolutely not.

 

[BabyDuck]

i picked 'yes by accident' but that's not exactly what happened.

i was on a wreck, and had 1-2 min of ndl. so i was leaving, and my computer said i had a stop at 10ft. started up, and the stop cleared before i got halfway to the surface.

i've also had a couple of minutes on an intro cave dive that was third or fourth of the day, but basically as a 'hard' safety stop, so like 2-4 minutes.

i didn't have stops longer than that until i took the classes.

 

[Tortuga68]

RM, the question says have you ever put your computer into deco, but answer 4 refers to putting yourself into deco. Not sure if you meant it to be that way

Anyway, I answered #3 - twice I put my computer into deco on recreational dives, probably by <1 minute each time. The only reason I tried to avoid it is because it locked into gauge mode afterwards which was annoying for subsequent dives; otherwise I wouldn't have cared, since it's a Sunnto Vyper and they're pretty conservative

 

[Tortuga68]

i was on a wreck, and had 1-2 min of ndl. so i was leaving, and my computer said i had a stop at 10ft. started up, and the stop cleared before i got halfway to the surface.

i've also had a couple of minutes on an intro cave dive that was third or fourth of the day, but basically as a 'hard' safety stop, so like 2-4 minutes

Well if we're going to count that as well, then I've had ceilings and/or extended safety stops quite a few times - usually after diving Canyons in Puerto Galera, running close to (but not into) deco and having some up/down currents on the ascent from the 30m bottom

 

[lowviz]

If I remember correctly, my buddy and I both strayed across the line (by a minute or two) once or twice in our recreational days. Probably would have been more often but our dives were usually gas limited. Much worse than straying into deco, I once made a very ugly ascent just to avoid deco. Looking back, I think that this stupid decision is what set me on the path to tech. Before tech, I only knew that I was fine anywhere up to my NDL and dead meat a minute past...

 

[LanceLisenby]

As you guys know from 'that other thread' I have. Quick question...(imagine how many of these my instructor has heard)
How conservative are the algothythms of an Oceanic VEO 180NX?

 

[drbill]

Yes, I've gone into deco both unintentionally (1-2 times) and intentionally (many times) using just my dive computers and no prior planning. "Why did you do that, stupid? Don't you know you could kill yourself?"

I am a videographer. As such my dive profiles are determined by the subject matter I encounter on a given dive. I dive with plenty of gas (redundant supply as well), have nearly 50 years of diving experience and am sufficiently well versed to deal with reasonable deco times.

Given my "mature" age, I do try to double or even triple my indicated deco obligation to be on the conservative side. Easy to do when you're diving a sloping bottom that offers many opportunities for filming at different depths.

Your mileage will probably vary.

 

[Rhone Man]

Apologies if the poll questions aren't precisely phrased. In the fourth one, I agree it would have been more accurate to say 'your computer' instead of 'you'. I maybe also should have had something separate for 'Have gone into deco, but it cleared as I ascended.'

But invariably there are going to be some situations that fall between the cracks (particularly for those who don't use computers, or who use them in gauge mode). But hopefully we'll still get a useful snapshot of general diving practices.

 

[Rhone Man]

As you guys know from 'that other thread' I have. Quick question...(imagine how many of these my instructor has heard)
How conservative are the algothythms of an Oceanic VEO 180NX?

This thread contains a table which shows the relative conservatism of the most common dive computers based on a single dive profile. Unfortunately it does not show which are more conservative for repetitive diving.

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/co...zers/305374-so-you-want-buy-new-computer.html

Oceanics look to be amongst the most aggressive algorithms.