The great Spare Air / SpareAir topic

[Paul Evans]

To All,



It sounds like for a little extra money, I could go to "Doubles" and really have a really slick set up! But again... I'm not doing any technical diving that would require such an item.



Donnie

Hey Donnie, who said doubles are just for the techies!!

Think of it this way, you're going on a boat for a day diving, its a two tanker, all your mates are changing their tanks and you're sitting in the sun taking in the rays!

Just one good point for non technical divers to dive doubles.

There are loads more?

 

[Diver0001]

....snip....

The "Spare Air" thing seems like a pretty good idea to me... Or am I wrong?

....snip....

Well....

In principle the idea of an independant air-source for bailout isn't a bad idea. The problem with Spare Air is that they market it as such but it's too small to be of much use in most non-trivial situations.

That's one part.

The other part has to do with the thinking that it offers a solution to the wrong problem. If you run out of air then the "root" cause isn't that that you ran out of air....

The fear that I think a lot of experienced divers have is that someone who buys a spare-air for this reason may be putting themselves in more danger by solving the wrong problem (creating a false sense of security) with a solution that's too small to be useful.

R..

 

[Cabo]

I have to agree with Diver0001 that if you run out of air at 130' (or 60') there is a root problem that carrying a Spare Air won't solve. So if you are good about managing you gas, the only reason a Spare Air would come into the picture would be equipment failure.

My reasons for getting one were:
I don't take my own equipment on vacations, so I rent equipment in sometimes questionable places. I wanted something in case of equipment failure.

My wife doesn't dive so I'm occasionally paired up with people I don't know, but more often left to do my own thing.(my preferred way). I mainly just dive to take pictures so if I find something interesting, I may spend a few minutes laying on the sand or hovering above a section of the reef, waiting for something to come out. My buddy(if there is one) is not likely to be very close. I like it like this. I want to do my thing on the dive and I'll be responsible for myself.

So if I have equipment failure, I have 2 options once I grab the spare air. 1) Get to my buddy who is hopefully still in sight. 2) Make an ascent.

I have personally done test ascents from 60' and 80' without much problem. 80' was pushing what Spare Air would handle with a 1.5 minute stop around 15'. I agree that if I have equipment failure, my breathing would probably be a bit elevated so my personal tests aren't real-world.

For me, this is all I was looking for. My normal dives are 100' or so unless there is something specific deeper. Jado Trader in Guanaja was 110'. Occasionally at the Flower Gardens, we go over the edge to 130 but mostly it is around 90'-100'. Cozumel, Honduras, Flower Gardens are my most common destinations and there is plenty for me to take pictures of in this depth range.

Sorry for all of you who are going to label me an idiot;stupid;reckless...whatever. I'm prepared for the abuse. Thankfully I've never had any equipment failures or reasons to use the Spare Air and I've been diving since 1978. But if I rent some circa 1970 regulator in Panama or something and it blows at 80', I have a better chance with the puny little Spare Air than without it. I dive on vacations, I'm not hauling a real pony bottle. (The wife would kick my butt).

Besides, the Spare Air helps when I clean my pool!

My Picture folders:
http://www.photo.net/shared/community-member?user_id=400552

Well....

The other part has to do with the thinking that it offers a solution to the wrong problem. If you run out of air then the "root" cause isn't that that you ran out of air....

R..

 

[Allison Finch]

Bottom line is, Spare Air is better than no air. Not everybody can lug a pony around on dives (especially on flights or packaged tours) and a Spare Air may be the most practical alternative to having a pony and leaving it at home because it is too heavy or inconvienient to carry around


That's the problem. I travel around the world to dive and I don't often find pony bottles available. With the strict weight restrictions, I can barely get my bottom-line gear there. It's not a matter of paying overweight, anymore, the gear will NOT get on the plane!!
I like to do some solo diving and want redundant gear, as best as I can get. I would like to try out a 13 cu pony and see if I can carry it in my bag (weightwise). That, at least, might get me some middle depth diving in the wilds of PNG. I believe that if I pull the valve and plug it, I should get it on a plane.
Anyone with a 13 cu for sale?

 

[Web Monkey]

I like to do some solo diving and want redundant gear, as best as I can get. I would like to try out a 13 cu pony and see if I can carry it in my bag (weightwise). That, at least, might get me some middle depth diving in the wilds of PNG. I believe that if I pull the valve and plug it, I should get it on a plane.
Anyone with a 13 cu for sale?

As long as you can fit it into your carry-on bag and remove the valve, you can carry on a pony.

http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?content=090005198005fee0&print=yes

Terry

 

[Allison Finch]

As long as you can fit it into your carry-on bag and remove the valve, you can carry on a pony.

http://www.tsa.gov/public/display?content=090005198005fee0&print=yes

Terry

The problem is, many overseas air carriers weigh your carry-on as well as your checked bags. The added carry-on and checked weight make your overall weight. Just putting it in your carry-on is not an answer any more.

 

[derwoodwithasherwood]

Any thought on what the best way of using the 3 cuft would be. Again this is not intended to debate the pros and cons of spare air.

I've just laboured through all 24 pages of this oft-derailed and derided thread. And while I initially thought "gee, 3 cu. ft. of air -- how long could that possibly last?" when I first heard of "Spare Air", this debate has inspired one possible valid use of this device.

The lakes around here are turbid -- the colour of tea. Visibility is limited to 5 or 10 feet in most cases, perhaps a little better below the thermocline but then it's night dive conditions at noon on a cloudless day. The bottoms are very soft and easily disturbed. One errant kick near the bottom and a cloud erupts. Lights only make matters worse when that happens -- like turning on your highbeams while driving in heavy fog.

I keep a close eye on my buddy and he similarly tracks my progress, staying within sight of one another but let's face it -- watching each other every second gets pretty monotonous and precludes glancing at other incidentals like the console or compass. If one of us was to suffer from catastrophic equipment failure like a blown hose, seal, etc. I think it quite possible a large cloud could quickly hide each from the other. Even if the startled diver didn't crash to the bottom trying to sort things out, a flailing hose is bound to stir things up a bit.

While all but two people in the aforementioned debate seem fixated on reaching the surface alone, I suggest another tactic. In such a case, a few litres of air, carried on the person in such a manner as can be deployed whilst blinded, might be quite useful until the dust settled, so to speak, and buddies assembled for a safe ascent together.

While I have not yet advanced to penetration diving, I suspect a similar scenario may be possible. Would a Spare Air device not give buddies a chance to regroup for ascent and exit in a confined space?

Just my 2¢. Back to lurk mode...

 

[MikeFerrara]

While I have not yet advanced to penetration diving, I suspect a similar scenario may be possible. Would a Spare Air device not give buddies a chance to regroup for ascent and exit in a confined space?

..

No. In an overhead the rule of thirds is the most conservative gas plan used along with redundancy in the primary gas source.

 

[Blue-Diver]

Speaking of rules, (I generally try to follow them, especially while diving), Page 3 of my Spare Air Manual, (under the IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS title) says: "Max depth recommendation is 30 meters (99 ft) for model #300/300-N". Which happens to be the deepest listed of any model. Why would I intentionally dive deeper than that level counting on the Spare Air as a possible emergency air source? I wouldn't. If I were to plan a dive below that depth, I would use the computer God gave me and make other arrangements for that deeper dive while creating my dive plan. Having the mindset to dive deeper with the Spare Air might indicate a lot about the diver. I'm only a common-man diver, but, to me, when my buddy has disappeared, something's gone wrong, AND, I'm out of air at 90 feet, Spare Air beats NO Air everytime, at least in my book. How can extra air under water be a bad thing? When you dive beyond it's capabilities. I love the Pony bottles BTW. I only wish the Airlines did!