Spare Air

[Diver Dennis]

Thanks howarde, I thought it was you. As Thal said, it is great if you go down in a helicopter but I would not use one as a redundant air source.

 

[Thalassamania]

We used them in training for helicopter escape and they were great.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I have a SAC of .5. At 132 feet, that's 2.5 cf/min. In 1:12 that dude is dry. And .5 SAC is normal conditions, drifting around a dive....get excited and bumb that up to .9: You've now got 40 seconds. No thank you.

 

[redacted]

I don't advocate the use of a spare air. There are clearly better alternatives like a good dive buddy or some other reliable & sufficient redundant gas supply to terminate your dive in a normal fashion.

But when the fit hits the shan, a spare air is better than no air. In those cases where a couple more breathes make the difference between a trip to the ER or a trip to the morgue, a spare air may not be so bad. If a spare air mades you get stupid, take up golf.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

I don't advocate the use of a spare air. There are clearly better alternatives like a good dive buddy or some other reliable & sufficient redundant gas supply to terminate your dive in a normal fashion.

But when the fit hits the shan, a spare air is better than no air. In those cases where a couple more breathes make the difference between a trip to the ER or a trip to the morgue, a spare air may not be so bad. If a spare air mades you get stupid, take up golf.

A spare air may help you a bit. But let's look at the math (always like proving stuff with numbers...).

You can get a plane-jane 3cf Spare Air for $180. (40 seconds of air) What could you do with $180?

Sling bottle: $70 for a used AL40, $100 for a used reg, $10 for hardware, and you got 40 cf of backup air. (9 minutes at 132 feet)

A spare air may be better than no air, but if you add up the cost you can get a lot more for the same.

 

[redacted]

A spare air may help you a bit. But let's look at the math (always like proving stuff with numbers...).

You can get a plane-jane 3cf Spare Air for $180. (40 seconds of air) What could you do with $180?

Sling bottle: $70 for a used AL40, $100 for a used reg, $10 for hardware, and you got 40 cf of backup air. (9 minutes at 132 feet)

A spare air may be better than no air, but if you add up the cost you can get a lot more for the same.

Great if you are driving to the boat, but not so simple if you have to pack it for a plane ride. I much prefer a small slung pony over a spare air everywhere but in the suitcase. But if the choice is spare air or nothing (not even reliable buddy) the spare air aided CESA should get you to the surface (and maybe the ER) from any recreational depth.

A pony rig is a bit more expensive unless you DIY service that used reg but I agree that cost difference is not a good discrimating factor. The pony is clearly more versital.

 

[TheRedHead]

You can usually rent 40 cf bottles (sometimes called deco bottles), and even doubles, in most places You can get them filled with anything you're certified to dive.

 

[Thalassamania]

How about a little training instead. If you knew that you could hold your breath for a minute and a half on exhalation whouldn't that be better than depending on a spare-air?

 

[TheRedHead]

Thal, I don't see how you could advocate a CESA over an orderly ascent with appropriate stops. :huh:

 

[Thalassamania]

I'm not, all I'm suggesting is that a minute and a half would give you enough time to get your buddy's attention and begin an orderly, dependent, ascent. That's the same amount of time that a spare air would provide at 130. And I'd teach you for less that half of the $193.90 plus shipping that ScubaToys gets for the spare-air.<G>


Added on Edit: Now that I think about it, why not? For the sake of what we are discussing here (Spare-Air) it strikes me that a CESA is an equally viable alternative.