the sweet spot

[hedonist222]

Hello everyone

some preface before the topic:

I attained my OW/AOW/rescue diver/nitrox in 2006

Since then I have 498 dives
I stopped diving for a decade because of traffic (long story and some remorse) but in the past two years I've dived about 200 dives and attained my solo certificate

I want to to know the sweet spot of going beyond AOW but without having to spend an hour of deco

I currently dive 4 to 5 times a day

I want to expand to deeper dives but without having to spend more than fifteen minutes of deco

I cannot bear decompressing for than fifteen minutes

What is the depth/time/mix to dive the sweet spot?

There are dive sites here down to 50+ which I imagine will exert a toll of long deco stops

But theres also a site or two at 45 m

I'd like to dive deeper and train to do so without extended deco stops.

Any and all input is appreciated.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Go get a planner like iDeco Pro for the iPhone -- Run a bunch of dives and see what works.

This website talks about iDEco Pro

 

[hedonist222]

Go get a planner like iDeco Pro for the iPhone -- Run a bunch of dives and see what works.

This website talks about iDEco Pro

thank you
I did download a few android and windows but found myself a little confused

 

[OTF]

The next step would be Advanced Nitrox+Deco Procedures+lite trimix + doubles (or sidemount), which can usually be done as one course "AN/DP". Depending on the agency this would certify you to 150'-ish and something like up to 30 minutes of accelerated deco.

20-45 minute decos really aren't that bad. If you start fussing with gear, practicing a skill, reviewing pictures on the camera, etc. it goes by quite fast. At sites where you can deco up a wall or slope while looking for critters it's hardly noticeable at all. But a lot of dives will end up being like 15 minutes of deco depending on how you and your buddies plan it.

 

[hedonist222]

my qualm with deco dives is the time spent decompressing is sometimes 50% of bottom time

if I dive for 45 minutes
I cannot fathom spending 30 mins at deco

its just not for me

 

[OTF]

If you factor in all the time you spend getting fills, driving to the site, loading/riding the boat, setting up gear, fixing gear, washing gear, fighting with people on scubaboard etc. then a few minutes of deco really doesn't hurt the effort-to-bottomtime ratio that badly. And again if you choose to do deco dives at sites with walls or reefs you can do your deco while enjoying more diving slowly moving up the wall.

 

[Lorenzoid]

As others mentioned, first take a course, such as TDI's Deco Procedures. Taking the course doesn't mean your dives MUST then be so long and/or deep as to incur lots of deco. Rather, taking the course may help you understand what the deco planning software is telling you, so you can then decide what kind of dives are for you.

 

[hedonist222]

If you factor in all the time you spend getting fills, driving to the site, loading/riding the boat, setting up gear, fixing gear, washing gear, fighting with people on scubaboard etc. then a few minutes of deco really doesn't hurt the effort-to-bottomtime ratio that badly. And again if you choose to do deco dives at sites with walls or reefs you can do your deco while enjoying more diving slowly moving up the wall.

thats a good point and alas, I doubt we have any sort of deep wall dives here

the majority of 40+ are out in the ocean

 

[elgoog]

I currently dive 4 to 5 times a day

4-5 dives per day in the 45-50m range? That's quite a lot. Can't comment on deco implications for these many but your gas logistics may be a challenge.

my qualm with deco dives is the time spent decompressing is sometimes 50% of bottom time
if I dive for 45 minutes
I cannot fathom spending 30 mins at deco
its just not for me

I ran some profiles for 45m dives and even with best(ish) mix bottom gas for dive ppO2 of 1.4 (25% oxygen) and both 50% and 100% deco bottles, you're looking at practically 1:1 of bottom time to ascent time for any dives in the 20min to 35min range. If you carry only one of the above deco bottles, add an extra 6-7min on the ascent.
For 50m dives, it's even more ascent time for that bottom time.

EDIT: Not recommending bottom ppO2 of 1.4 but I used it for illustrative purposes. Anything less than that will result in more deco and ascent time.
2nd EDIT: As everyone above mentioned, take a class for sure.

 

[hedonist222]

4-5 dives per day in the 45-50m range? That's quite a lot. Can't comment on deco implications for these many but your gas logistics may be a challenge.


I ran some profiles for 45m dives and even with best(ish) mix bottom gas for dive ppO2 of 1.4 (25% oxygen) and both 50% and 100% deco bottles, you're looking at practically 1:1 of bottom time to ascent time for any dives in the 20min to 35min range. If you carry only one of the above deco bottles, add an extra 6-7min on the ascent.
For 50m dives, it's even more ascent time for that bottom time.

I should have clarified that the 4-5 dives are recreation non-decompression.
I mention this because it feels like being able to do three a dives a day versus one single decompression dive is better, for me.

Thank you for running those profiles - its similar to my understanding as well.
Spend 25 minutes at 45 meters, then another 25 minutes decompressing at various depths of the water column.

Unappealing to me as we don't have walls here to enjoy the 25 minutes of deco.