"Spare Air" - Experience in its use

[halocline]

I didn't make anything up. I stated my opinion. You said it's a lie.

What you made up was that I called you a liar. I did not. However, I apologize for any misunderstanding. The lie (in my opinion) is that divers are safer with the small amount of gas in a spare air than not having any spare cylinder. I know you said you feel that you're safer, so I would say you're buying the lie, not actually lying. I believe that you do feel safer, I'm just saying that IMO, a reasonable analysis of the issue says that you're not.

 

[WD8CDH]

Again I state.." something's better than nuttin' "

But for the same money, you could get a lot better "something" to save you than 3CF of air.

 

[DevonDiver]

A pony cylinder makes you safer.

A Spare Air makes you feel safer.

Spot the subtle, but oh so important, difference?

 

[halocline]

20 something?? breaths of air is better than none.......

Well, that's just not true when you look at the whole picture. Divers that believe a spare air can help them in an OOA scenario, and therefore carry one as a bailout bottle, are diving with an assumption that they have a solution to an OOA situation when in fact they do not. However, if the same divers did not carry the spare air, they would have a different attitude about getting into an OOA scenario in the first place, because they no longer believe that they have the solution hanging on their belt. They might be motivated to dive more conservatively, keep better track of their buddies, or at least more carefully monitor their air supply. (After all these years as a musician, it's tough for me to even write the words "air supply") They might even be tempted to learn something about gas management. All this because they are no longer deluding themselves with a false sense of security.

Your statement, which was something to the effect of "stuff happens" is a perfect example of the problematic thinking that I'm talking about. If you really believed that your life is threatened by OOA situations, you'd never tolerate diving with the thought that "something (unknown) might happen, and I'll run out of air." You'd make sure you had a contingency plan in case something did happen. This, in fact, is the entire foundation for safety in OW, buddy system diving.

It differs from pony use because a pony really does have enough gas to reasonably get someone to the surface from recreational depths, without ascending too fast. So, while pony use can similarly encourage poor safety habits by divers, at least it is capable of doing what it's intended to do; get a diver to the surface from recreational depths.

 

[DevonDiver]

I was once on a dive boat in Thailand and happened to chat with a professional videographer who was working there.

The person concerned was doing daily dives on sites between 25-40m deep and spending the majority of their dive at the maximum bottom depth.

They dived solo.

When I enquired about the 'Spare Air' strapped to their BCD, they replied that "they often lost track of their air consumption whilst filming and carried the emergency bottle because they did not believe they could manage a CESA from 40m".

Somebody please try and convince me that owning a 'Spare Air' bottle made this diver safer?

Because, for sure, if they did not have the 'Spare Air' then they would take far greater concern over their dive/gas planning, their in-water awareness and the emergency planning.

As it was, they felt the 'Spare Air' was their own personal 'Get Out Of Death FREE' card.

 

[TheScubaBOB]

Again I state.." something's better than nuttin' "

Unless all that something does is give you a false sense of security and embolden you to do something you otherwise wouldn't because you now believe you're carrying an extra layer of backup.

The whole spiel they give for Spare-Air reminds me of the "Guarantee Fairy" from the movie Tommy Boy...

Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why do they put a guarantee on a box? Hmm, very interesting.
Ted: I'm listening.
Tommy: Here's how I see it. A guy puts a guarantee on the box 'cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside.
Ted: Yeah, makes a man feel good.
Tommy: 'Course it does. Ya think if you leave that box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter.
Ted: What's your point?
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the Guarantee Fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy, but we're not buying it. Next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up, I seen it a hundred times.
Ted: But why do they put a guarantee on the box then?
Tommy: Because they know all they solda ya was a guaranteed piece of ****. That's all it is. Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for right now, for your sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality item from me.

How many instances of a diver actually being saved by a Spare-Air from 100ft can you point to?

I also wonder how many divers are diving to 100ft with a Spare-Air thinking they are safe because of it...

 

[OldNSalty]

I have an opinion on the Spare-AIr but other people have already voiced it. I'm just posting now for no good reason-but then again, the thread could have probably stopped after the first page and we would still be in the same boat

 

[SteveAD]

Is a pillow taped your steering wheel a reasonable substitute for an air bag?

Is a cotton T shirt a reasonable substitute for a bullet proof vest?

Is a "spare air" tm a reasonable substitute for a redundant air supply?

 

[DevonDiver]

So...just the sake of brevity....we all agree that we love the safety benefits offered by Spare Air then? Yeah?

 

[OldNSalty]

I was once on a dive boat in Thailand and happened to chat with a professional videographer who was working there.

The person concerned was doing daily dives on sites between 25-40m deep and spending the majority of their dive at the maximum bottom depth.

They dived solo.

When I enquired about the 'Spare Air' strapped to their BCD, they replied that "they often lost track of their air consumption whilst filming and carried the emergency bottle because they did not believe they could manage a CESA from 40m".

Somebody please try and convince me that owning a 'Spare Air' bottle made this diver safer?

Because, for sure, if they did not have the 'Spare Air' then they would take far greater concern over their dive/gas planning, their in-water awareness and the emergency planning.

As it was, they felt the 'Spare Air' was their own personal 'Get Out Of Death FREE' card.

Does anyone recall those old safety valves on the tanks before SPG-supposedly you pulled or pushed the lever and had 500 psi in reserve? I have one on an old steel 72 (that I need to disable). That might be more useful for your videographer friend.