TDI Deco/Adv EANx Equipment

[mathauck0814]

Any TDI instructors out there have a list (or link to a list) of equipment required for the Decompression Procedures and/or Advanced Nitrox courses?

 

[Michael_Lambert]

Here is a link to the course standards, it says the required materials and gear.

 

[azchipka]

Heres what was required for my Deco / Advanced Nitrox / Recreational Trimix Course at Silent World in Key Largo FL.

Personal Equipment Requirements: (I will explain why in class)

- Primary reel or spool. These should be 'cave' style, i.e. no clutches or line entrapment areas and preferably made of delrin.
- Lift bag / surface marker buoy - must have either a good metal attachment point for line / clips or webbing strap. Closed Circuit w/Over Pressure Valve preferred
- Wetnotes / wrist slates.
- Primary Light - capable of attracting buddys attention at 20ft in daylight
- Backup light
- Knife / line cutter
- Backplate & Wing (I have these in rental)
- Primary and backup regulators with 7ft hose and brass spg. Backup reg on a necklace (I have these in rental)
- Exposure protection - at least 3mm wetsuit with a hood.
- Fins (no split fins)
- Decompression computer & 2 methods of tracking depth and time
- V-planner decompression planning software on a cellphone or laptop computer V-Planner VPM & VPM-B & VPMB & VPM-B/E dive decompression software ( or iDeco cell phone software)

 

[captndale]

This is the information on equipment requirements that I give my students:


Required Equipment for Technical Diving

• Double Cylinders, steel, at least 70 cf each (95 cf recommended) with isolator valve manifold. DIN valves are recommended.

• Primary Regulator with seven-foot low-pressure hose.

• Secondary Regulator with second stage on “necklace.”

• SPG attached to secondary regulator. No gauge consoles.

• Decompression/Stage Cylinders. At least two, with the same type of valve on each. Forty cubic foot aluminum cylinders recommended. Must be cleaned for oxygen service.

• Two regulators for deco cylinders equipped with SPG’s on 6” hoses. Must be cleaned for oxygen service.

• Harness and BC. Must be designed for supporting doubles. Metal backplate and “wings” recommended.

• Depth Gauge/Timer. Dive computer that can be set to “gauge mode” may be used.

• Back-up Depth Gauge/Timer.

• Slates. At least two. Underwater notebook may be substituted for one. Each slate must fit in pocket or strap on wrist.

• Compass.

• Dry Suit. Neoprene wetsuits or drysuits made out of compressible neoprene are strongly discouraged. Argon inflation systems must be used when diving trimix.

• Weight system (if needed). V-weight, weight belt or belt and suspenders. Integrated weight systems are strongly discouraged.

• Jon Line.

• Reels. At least two. One must have at least 240 ft of at least #32 braided nylon. Second should have at least 100 ft.

• Lift Bags/Diver Marker Buoys. Each diver must have two. It is recommended that the primary be orange and have a one-way opening to prevent accidental deflation at the surface. The primary should have at least 100 lb lift. The secondary must have at least 50 lb lift (100 lb preferred) and should be yellow or some color other than orange.

• Primary Light. Canister type with at least a 35W (or 10W HID) head.

• Back-up Lights. At least two small back-up flashlights.

• Cutting Tools. At least one knife and one pair of trauma shears or wire cutters.

• Spare straps, etc. (save-a-dive kit).

• Tool kit.

• Duct tape.

• “Sharpie” marking pen.

• Oxygen analyzer. One required per dive team. For tri-mix one helium analyzer required per team.

 

[captndale]

Here is some additional information:


Technical Diving Equipment Recommendations

​

Tanks:

Primary (back gas): Double, steel tanks with isolation valve manifolds and DIN connections of a size appropriate for the dives being done. Tanks must be at least 70 CF each. 95 CF low-pressure or 119 CF medium pressure tanks are usually ideal.

Not acceptable: Single tanks, independent doubles or doubles without isolation valve manifolds.

Not recommended: Aluminum tanks.

Deco tanks (stage bottles):

Recommended: Aluminum tanks of a size appropriate for the dives being done. All deco tank valves must be of the same style (i.e. either all K or all DIN). 40 CF tanks are usually ideal. Must be cleaned for oxygen service.

Not recommended: Steel tanks.

Regulators:

Primary and Secondary: Scubapro MK-18, Poseidon Odin or Apeks.
Primary should be fitted with DIN connection and 7-foot hose.
Secondary should be fitted with DIN connection and standard length hose.

Not acceptable: Any regulator not noted for good cold-water performance.

Deco bottle regulator: Deco bottle regulators must be absolutely reliable and stable (not prone to free-flow). Piston regulators such as Scubapro MK-2 or MK-25 with octopus length (about 39&#8221 hose and unbalanced second stages such as the Scubapro
R-190 are ideal. Must be cleaned for oxygen service.

Not acceptable: Regulators with components made of aluminum, magnesium or titanium.

Not recommended: High performance second stages or balanced second stages.

Harness/BC:

Recommended: Stainless steel back-plate with harness fashioned from a single piece of 2” webbing and one stainless-steel buckle. Single bladder wings with standard low-pressure inflator such as Dive Rite Classic. No plastic buckles.

Not recommended: Dive Rite Transpak II, or OMS IQ Pack. Double (redundant) bladders.

Not acceptable: Recreational-style jacket BC’s, “tech wannabee” BC’s such as the Dacor Rig, Scubapro Seahawk or Zeagle BC’s. Wings wrapped in bungee cords such as the standard OMS bladders. Combination regulator/inflator devices such as the Scubapro Air-2. Extra-high-flow low-pressure inflators.

Primary Lights:

Recommended: Canister light with at least a 35W head (10W if HID) and sufficient battery power for a minimum of 1hour operation.

Not recommended: Hand-held (non-canister) lanterns.

 

[mathauck0814]

Thanks guys - quite the shopping list, but very helpful

 

[Van Isle]

I've been shopping around for the same answers. What I've found is that most - if not all - technical instructors are very specific about what they want, although each may be "lenient" about other aspects of gear requirement.

Best advice: contact the specific instructor with whom you wish to train and get the "final" list from them.

VI

 

[Diver-Ed]

The first thing you will need is one or more plastic credit cards (Mastercard or Visa) with a large credit limit and don't let the spouse know what you are doing.

 

[SandyRobinson]

The first thing you will need is one or more plastic credit cards (Mastercard or Visa) with a large credit limit and don't let the spouse know what you are doing.

Best advice: contact the specific instructor with whom you wish to train and get the "final" list from them.

VI

Two good pieces of advice.

 

[CamG]

Greetings Mathauck0814 and you have received a good list of the gear requirements so far. What I would like to mention is not to offend you but have you experience diving doubles? I say this not to assume anything but just help. I found it very helpful to have experience carrying deco bottles, and stage bottles. I was not doing deco dives but dives to gain proficiency carrying, deploying, these. I tried to do my best to prepare and was glad for the dive time. We had also practiced holding stops by running mock schedules. I found the preparations to be helpful.
The best advice I could give you is to purchase your gear, gain familiarity with it , dive it, and know the buoyancy / trim characteristics. These issues will be of vital importance. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!