Spare Air to Shoot Fish

[KeithG]

sorry, but you got me all excited. I thought you where going to hook a spare air up to a spear gun and use the spare air to actually shoot the fish.

lunchbag letdown....

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I can free dive to 40' although I can't do much else once I'm down there. If I take the 3 cubic ft of air down with me, will it be enough to get me that fish?

When I am freediving and have trouble extracting a fish, I often use a small scuba tank to recover it. It is "cheating", but it is quicker and safer (for me) than trying to really push it while freediving. It is often faster than trying to do multiple drops to secure the shot fish.

However, I don't carry the tank with me when freediving. If a fish gets stuck, I go back to the boat, rig the tank and then jump in upstream of the fish. I don't use anything smaller than a 13 cu-ft tank for this. Trying to switch back and forth from the spare air to freediving sounds particularly dangerous because of the issue of lung over expansion injury. A 13 has more than enough air for doing a quick dive to 60 or 80 ft.

Ascending with 13 cu-ft Pony Bottle - YouTube

[video=youtube_share;r-L9extLDZQ]http://youtu.be/r-L9extLDZQ?list=UUCqEgLaeW7E51-PfqVSG9Sg[/video]

 

[Lorenzoid]

Side question that occurred to me in reading this thread: Spare-Air is sold pre-filled with compressed air, right? I checked Spare-Air's web site, and they do say that one must be a certified diver to use Spare-Air, but as far as I can determine the company doesn't ask customers to show a C-card before they will sell one on-line. Would a dive shop similarly not request to see a customer's C-card before selling a Spare-Air? If not, is this not a liability? A dive shop will not normally sell you compressed air unless you show some evidence that you have taken a course that teaches the issues of breathing compressed air at depth.

 

[BigRichP]

It's empty when you buy it.

 

[Bob DBF]

Side question that occurred to me in reading this thread: Spare-Air is sold pre-filled with compressed air, right? I checked Spare-Air's web site, and they do say that one must be a certified diver to use Spare-Air, but as far as I can determine the company doesn't ask customers to show a C-card before they will sell one on-line. Would a dive shop similarly not request to see a customer's C-card before selling a Spare-Air? If not, is this not a liability? A dive shop will not normally sell you compressed air unless you show some evidence that you have taken a course that teaches the issues of breathing compressed air at depth.

You can buy anything you want at a dive shop regardless of your certification status, you just have to show a c-card to get a fill. Why do you think I certified OW after diving for 17 years?

Oh yeah, you have to get a viz as well.



Bob
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The day I can't dive anymore, I will really need some other good reasons to stay alive. DarkAbyss

 

[Lorenzoid]

It's empty when you buy it.

The company's web site gives you a choice to have it shipped to you empty or pre-filled with air (by FedEx Ground only). This is why I asked.

 

[BigRichP]

I see.

So my thought was by using the spare air I might be able to jump in the water while fishing and shoot a fish if the opportunity was there. I sometimes like to swim in the afternoon after being on the boat all morning. Secondly while trying to find a previously marked lobster spot while the current is ripping and the visibility is bad, I thought the spare air would make the task more enjoyable (especially for those who aren't as good at it as others). Lastly, I work for a pool company and occasionally have to dive a pool. Rather then haul all the gear out, I figured the spare air might make that task more efficient.

I appreciate the insight into the dangers of free diving while trying to utilize an air tank... Especially the previous post about task load management.

I demo-ed the spare in the pool today. I had about 6 minutes worth of air each dive. I started with my regular tank at 3100 lbs. When I was done, my main tank was down to about 2300 lbs. I used about 120 lbs each time I filled the spare air. I thought that was pretty good.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Stoo]

Sure... But it's cheating.

And it probably won't get you back to the top.

Isn't the point of free-diving to, ummm, free-dive? This is a bit like taking an extension ladder rock-climbing.

 

[BigRichP]

I used it for the first time last week to check the lobster spots I have in about 15' of water. I almost returned it the next day. I wasn't at al comfortable using it then free diving even though I was being extremely careful ascending and descending. After a few days of thinking about, I decided if I was I going to use it, I would use it as soon as I hit the water and not Freedive after.

Yesterday I went to check a few more spots. Each time I went in, I used it. I did not free dive. I enjoyed diving our deeper 15-20' spots in the current greatly. In the past, these spots were always a hassle to get to. But this time it was a lot of fun.

Because I made the decision not to free dive and only to use the spare air, I was easily able to stay in the scuba diving frame of mind.

Although I haven't used it to try to shoot fish, I can say with absolute certainty that it made checking out lobster spots much more enjoyable.

The only question left in my mind is, should I upgrade to a pony tank and some type of sling.

 

[BigRichP]

The spare air broke. It started leaking air out of the indicator pin. I've returned it and am buying a 13 cf tank instead. I'm attaching the H20 odyssey 1st stage to it so I can refill it. I'm also buying another transmitter for my Suunto and attaching it to the H20. I'm buying a hose to go between the first and second stage. So far so good but...

I need a sling for the bottle. I've searched a bit online but can't find what I'm looking for. I'd like to find a strap that the bottle attaches to then I want the strap to go over my shoulder and around my waist so the bottle is on my back like it would with a BC. Anyone seen anything like that or have a better way?

I don't want a BC because the whole point of this thing is to have less gear and I feel even the smallest BCs are more cumbersome than what is needed for what I'm trying to do.