well this bites...

[pescador775]

JahJah, good for you. In my day, ingenuity and enterprising self help were the norm among divers. Various groups and clubs were formed to concentrate and leverage individual talent. We didn't have the long green which folks flash so readily nowadays; so, we made stuff. However, you are in a tight spot with the old aluminum tank. Eventually, you will have to make an unpleasant decision.

 

[DennisW]

Send the tank to me. I can get it hydro'd and I can get it filled if it passes hydro and eddy current testing. If it passes both, there is nothing wrong with the tank.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

how much? When are you in Sebastion, and where exactly in florida is it?

eddy current testing... gonna google it.

 

[TheRedHead]

I'm hoping to do most of my diving with two other buddies, and like I said I'm going to try to get an octo on there within a dive or two. I also don't think it'd be stupid of me and my buddy to practice buddy breathing. Perhaps this is a lost art? Today's divers have less training....that's pathetic you have got to admit. Why are we dumbing it down? I view this is a chance to practice a type of diving just a tad different than your standard PADI

Buddy breathing is not nearly as safe as sharing air. Why do you think we dive with long hoses? And we didn't learn it from PADI. A regulator has to deliver air for 2 divers at depth. That is a piece of gear where you never cut corners. I have a pair of Scubapro Jetfins that I paid $20 for on Ebay, and they are perfectly good fins and possibly 20 years old, but my regulator is an Apeks ATX200, the best regulator I could afford. You can die from a rapid ascent caused by a stuck inflator hose and you can die from a CESA at 60 feet. I would suggest limiting your depth to no more than 30 feet at this point.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

I doubt i will be getting any deeper than 45...that's about the depth of a good spring near here that I've been in once or twice. I'm going with a friend to 80 feet sometime, lobstering, but I will definetly get a reg to use for that, and possibly a BC. I hope to have a few dives on this one in that spring I'm talkig about by then, if the BC acts up at all during those then I'm taking it to a shop

spring is Manatee Springs/catfish hotel

 

[superstar]

There is probably nothing wrong with your cylinder, the problem is your dive shop. Take the cylinder to the local welding supply buisness for the hydro. It should cost about $15. Then find a dive shop that will VIP it and fill it.

 

[spectrum]

JahJahwarrior

Good find on the $20 cylinder, it was worth a chance. Try other places, just make sure you have somebody that will do the VIP and fills first.

I take it you have a first stage with only 2 low pressure ports? I have seen " Tees" used on some vintage gear, just make sure it's something that dive shop sources and installs. When you get it in the water make sure to practice some air shares. Do one at moderate depth to make sure the first stage has the flow to supply 2 divers breathing simultaneously.

Traditional buddy breathing is a nice novelty skill. I have done it with my wife. The problem is that few divers know the skill and since an air share situation is already stressfull the potential for a mishap soars. This is especially true since there are very few divers (buddies for you) who are really competent at it.

There is nothing wrong with getting some used gear to begin with. Be sure to continue having it profesionally checked and serviced. Don't make do-it-yourself repairs. Where your rig differs from the norm be sure to give your buddy a good briefing. Do get an alternate second stage on there ASAP.

Dive training has been watered down tremendously for the entry level diver. A buddy of mine is a life long diver. What he described for training makes a lot of todays dive master programs look like the basics. Keep reading, learning and practicing. As funds allow extend you formal training.

Dive often, I envy the early start you are getting. Stay safe.

Pete

 

[JahJahwarrior]

Alot of places I've read about people dissing certain octo setups, saying that it's "not normal, so your buddy won't know how to use it." When I got my certification, they told us to always go over your buddy's gear before you dive, make sure you know how their octo is hung, ask if they want you to take the octo or your main, see how their power iflate/deflate works, so you could add or dump for them in an emergency, etc. Before I dive, I make sure my buddy knows my setup (which before changed sometimes, becuase it was all rental gear) and that I know his, if there were a problem, we both know where to reach for what. I also love to fool around underwater and manuall inflate the BC, at the surface when others are using their regs, I switch between reg and snorkel just for practice. I drive stickshift alot, and if I'm tired or bored, I'll shift in between a few gears and see if I can get the RPM's just right by ear for near seamless shifting. Buddy breathing is more difficult I'm sure than manually inflating your BC, but I have some practice at breathing, removing, waiting, (in this case, inflating BC somewhat), putting reg back in mouth, purge or exhale depending on how my lungs are doing, and breathe.

And when it comes to air, I don't modify things myself. I was willing to mess around with the power inflator, but not the air that goes into my lungs! I could go to home depot and screw around with stuff until I got a homemade T built, but I wouldn't do that. I;d b ewilling to pay for a proper fitting made to be used underwater.

 

[jbd]

So far, I'm out $20.

DOT-SP6498-3000

JahJahwarrior,

Your tank was made under special permit 6498. It is of the 6351 alloy which has had a history involving SLC or sustained load cracking. In your case you need to take teh tank directly to a hydro facility---not a dive shop and ask them to hydro the tank. If it passes the hydro, the visual and the eddy current exam the hydro facility can over stamp the SP6498 with 3AL and your tank will be usable. If it fails any of those then it would best to turn the tank into a wind chime, planter or sell it a PSI instructor looking for samples of tanks with SLC.

See the thread about DOT final ruling in this forum.

 

[Web Monkey]

not an idiot There is no octo on the reg I use now. In my circumstances, I don't consider it necessarily stupid, remember, divers dove for years without safety seconds.

It's not for you, it's for the poor soul who runs OOA and comes to you expecting to find something to breathe. Unfortunately, you don't have anything for them unless you plan on donating your primary, which you probably won't get back without a fight.

Back when there were no Alternate Air Sources, people were trained to surface when they ran out of air, or share air on a single reg with another diver.

Now they're taught to go find their buddy, or whoever else is nearby and get an extra reg to breathe from.

So what happens when someone runs OOA and comes to you?

Terry