This, too, may sound stupid...

[miketsp]

I have used a dry suit in very warm water, with a shell over top of it and cold water pumped into the shell to keep me cool.

The dry suit was needed for protection as it was a contaminated water dive.

Was that where you got your nick?

 

[Paddles]

:11:

Was that where you got your nick?

 

[miketsp]

Pipedope, sorry I just couldn't resist the image that came of you in your dry suit at the bottom end of a pipe with cold water coming down - irresistible...

Must be my British sense of humour

But then I saw your explanation on another thread.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=595289&postcount=5

 

[pipedope]

That was on the job that inspired my nick.
Most of my working dives were in stormwater drain systems in central FL. Not contaminated water, not too hot, not too cold, just ordinary sand and silt, zero vis, work by feel.

There are some times and places where the problem is keeping the diver cool. I had heat trouble on a job putting in fabric-form concrete in a retention pond on the Toll road east of Orlando. The air temp was in the 90s, water temp was higher than the air, no shade and I was in a wet suit. I needed lots more water and ice packs than I had. NOT Fun!

Fortunately most sport diving only requires staying warm enough.

 

[Humba]

Question: He wants to know if one needs to have a special class or cert for dry diving...or does one just buy a suit and ???

My LDS in TX won't rent to someone that hasn't had a formal training class. I tried but was told firmly, NO.

 

[Burner]

You might be able to talk an instructor into giving a short intro pool session. Try Diver Dans there are usually quite a bit of instructors around there.

 

[voop]

Don't most shops include training (not necessarilly "certification", but training) in the price when you buy your drysuit? It seems to be common around here.

That said, diving dry really isn't hard. It's just different/