do you remember?

[pogiguy05]

Well howdy. I have returned and after a little BUG I brought back with me from the Philippines I am fine now. I have bought all gear except for tank(s) and weights. I am probably crazy but I bought a wetsuit and most of you I see have drysuits. I dove two dives off of Dauin in Negros Oriental and WOW!!! tropical waters are awsome However, it is time to get some dives in the great PNW area. DISCLAIMER: (I am new so ya gotta be patient and be ready to hear " this might be a stupid question but....) I usually have afternoons (12pm to 8pm) from wednesday-saturday and also mornings after 8am Sunday-Wednesday open. OH lets see I forgot to also mention I dont have a knife YETand does anyone use a snorkel???? see I told you dumb question right. OK time to post cause I know many will chime in on this one I hope

[pogiguy05]

UH just to make a note it was suppose to be Sunday-Tuesday after 8am

[Tom Nic]

Welcome back Pogi!

From what I've heard, there are NO "small" tropical bugs ...glad you've recovered!

No dumb questions! ...ever ...unless you really don't want an answer and are trying to make someone else look stupid!

A snorkel, like some other equipment, is a matter of personal preference. I used one until I went to a long hose and necklaced backup. I like them for longer surface swims when you want to swim face down and not use the air in your tank. As my air consumption has improved it's not as big a deal, and donating a long hose with a snorkel gets a bit "clunky". That being said, I know several divers with LOTS of dives that still use a snorkel... hmmmm.... as I think about it I don't know any divers who dive long hose that use a snorkel. But, this being the great place that it is, you'll always get lots of great advice and opinions!

Welcome to PNW diving! I'll be gone this week, but there are plenty of folks on the board to hook up with for a dive.

-Tom Nic

[LCF]

pogi,

I'm just getting home tonight from five days of diving my living-loving head off in SoCal, and I work this weekend, so I'll probably take a few diving days off this week. But from the weekend until the 10th or so of June, I'm off, and I'd love to get out and do an afternoon dive with you. Taking new divers out is a particular joy for me, because such wonderful people did it for me, and I'm paying it forward.

Let's get in touch after the weekend!

[pogiguy05]

Well, I can pretty much work around the schedule I posted unless something comes up unexpected. Wife and I own 2 adult family homes so sometimes things can change in an instant. The other thing for me is needing to get tanks and of course AIR!!!!! I have a new dive rite nitek duo dive computer so it and all my gear will be baptized on this first dive.Just say when and where as I have no clue about dive sites yet.


JEFF CASTOR

[gcbryan]

Excuse my ignorance but where is Edgewood?

[pogiguy05]

Well, if you blink when driving from Milton,wa. and Puyallup,wa. you will miss it.

[backwash]

hey, Edgewood huh? I am right down the road in Puyallup. If you want to dive tomorrow (tuesday morning) early at Redondo I am all over it. let me know sometime before 9:00pm tonight. I know it is short notice but I will be offline after that. When I say early I mean splashing around 7:00am
If this doesn't work I am sure we will hook up some other time.

andy

[backwash]

redondo is about 15 minutes from Edgewood.

[backwash]

ok, I just read the whole blog...I do things a little backwards. I see that you can't make it before 8:00am

give me a call if you still want to dive tomorrow, maybe I can squeeze some appointments around and get in the water in the afternoon

206) 718-3933

[cardiver]

Where have you been, Andy? Was trying to hook up for a dive with you Friday but you never replied. Let me know your schedule this week. I can dive Thursday after 3 or early Friday.

[backwash]

I moved to an apartment that does not have internet...yet...so I only have internet when I am at work or at school. I am driving over the hill to Chelan on WED. night. but my school schedule ends next week so I am free to dive just about anytime. I will hit you up when I get back to set up a dive.

Good to see that your ears checked out.

at

[pogiguy05]

Any advice on what kind of tanks to buy? Aluminum or Steel and is there a difference once you can dive with nitrox? This may sounds crazy but 3000PSI is the same the only difference I guess that I can see for now is bouyancy rates of tanks. I plan on taking the advance courses eventually and also in future to do doubles. Just wondering what others think about and have experience with in tanks.



Thanks JEFF Castor

[Smoke Diver]

Hey Jeff,

Tony here. I am available during those hours. I have an odd schedule so I have plenty of dive time open. I have recently hooked up with various dudes from here and have had some great dives. I live in Everett so prefer to dive up in Snohomish County but will go to Seattle or elsewhere from time to time. Drop a line dude & make it safe!

Tony
425-330-8950

[pogiguy05]

I could do Thursday after 3 if your interested Ron I would just need to know when and where. I also would need to rent tanks. Anyone got an extra knife something simple I could borrow or buy. I am itching all over to get my new gear baptized

[Tom Nic]

Any advice on what kind of tanks to buy? Aluminum or Steel and is there a difference once you can dive with nitrox? This may sounds crazy but 3000PSI is the same the only difference I guess that I can see for now is bouyancy rates of tanks. I plan on taking the advance courses eventually and also in future to do doubles. Just wondering what others think about and have experience with in tanks.

Thanks JEFF Castor

You'll get lots of different good advice and opinions on tanks... I'd suggest searching the gear forum.

My .02 PSI is:
*get steel. Their buoyancy characteristics make it a no brainer for cold water diving. YOu'll see a TON of aluminum 80's for sale online... there's a reason for that.
*You can get them nitrox cleaned when you purchase them. Talk to your LDS about what's necessary to KEEP them that way until you decide to do your Nitrox training
*get the largest tank you can comfortably carry. Your air consumption will improve, but unless you're really tiny and have incredible air consumption I would go with a 100 at the minimum. 100 HP's are great for doubling up... lots of folks dive double 100's around here.
*the other consideration is High Pressure or Low Pressure. If you're in a remote area with difficulty of getting access to a good shop with a good compressor go LP. You'll get better fills. I DON'T think that will be the case for you around here, so since you have access to one of the many good shops with quality (strong) compressors, I would go HP. I purchased two HP 100's as my first tanks. I loved / love them... but since diving 130's I love the extra gas, comfort margin, and bottom time they provide. I'm a big guy, so more gas is an issue. It may not be for you. (A Low Pressure 95 is about the same size and weight as High Pressure 130. For my money why carry the extra weight without getting the extra gas?!)
*If you can, try to rent or borrow before you buy to get an idea of what works for you. This is one of the few cases where procrastination will NOT be a bad thing in your life!
*Take Grateful Diver's Gas Management Class before you buy. IT is offered from time to time and will give you a fantastic "grid" through which to think about your gas consumption. It is NOT a side or minor issue! The class is usually free (though it would be worth your $$ if he charged) and one of the best 2 - 3 hour investments into your diving you'll ever make!

Good luck!

-Tom

[Nwbrewer]

Hey Popi!

I wouldn't spend a lof of money on a dive knife right now. You may eventually want a fancy one, but a serrated steak knife with the tip broken off works fine. A lot of folks also just carry paramedic shears, which I've been told work great for removing entanglements.

I have a fancy one, but after I kept having to sharpen it I threw it in my save a dive kit. I have a broken off ginsu knife I carry (one of the ones they sell at the fair that they cut through hammers with) Every once in a while just to make sure it's sharp I slice through some old weight belt webbing. Cuts right through. You can find them at value village or good will for around $1.00.

Dive safe.

Jake

[lamont]

*the other consideration is High Pressure or Low Pressure. If you're in a remote area with difficulty of getting access to a good shop with a good compressor go LP. You'll get better fills. I DON'T think that will be the case for you around here, so since you have access to one of the many good shops with quality (strong) compressors, I would go HP. I purchased two HP 100's as my first tanks. I loved / love them... but since diving 130's I love the extra gas, comfort margin, and bottom time they provide. I'm a big guy, so more gas is an issue. It may not be for you. (A Low Pressure 95 is about the same size and weight as High Pressure 130. For my money why carry the extra weight without getting the extra gas?!)

No, if money is no object and you don't believe in cave fills (or go to dive shops who don't believe in cave fills), you want HP tanks. For the same water volume, and the same amount of backstrain you get more gas when the high pressure fills are available. Why buy an LP104 to get a "good fill" when you can get an equally-sized/weight HP130 and have the same amount of gas on a "bad fill" and have an extra 25% when you do get good fills?

[Sounder]

High pressure steel tanks. I love my 130s... so does Tom. I also have HP100s and HP80s. My wife dives the HP80s without a problem but she's a smaller gal. If we are doing a profile requiring a bit more gas, she brings a 100. She doesn't need 100cu' of gas, but if I were to have a failure, I need that gas... so she needs to carry it. You'll learn all about that in Grateful Diver or BDub's gas management class. It should be a requirement for OW certification but alas, it isn't. Echoing what Tom said, it's the BEST 2-3 hours you'll invest in your diving, and it will teach you to be safe.

[lamont]

She doesn't need 100cu' of gas, but if I were to have a failure, I need that gas... so she needs to carry it.

This gets even more important in cave in trying to figure out turn pressures with mismatched tanks.

If you've got one diver in double-80s who hits thirds at 51 cu ft at the same time as team member #2 who hits thirds after consuming 86 cu ft they have a problem because between them they'll use 51 + 86 = 137 cu ft getting back, while the diver in the 80s only has 109 cu ft left. The extra 1/3rd in the double-80s is actually for the *other* diver, who is the hoover in this case.

[Sounder]

Well... if Mrs. Sounder could carry 130s. Yeah, it's a lot easier to calculate how much reserve each of us needs for the other when I'm only working with her and I. Basically, she only needs 40-60cu' of gas for most any dive she wants to do. Me on the other hand... :naka:

[pogiguy05]

OK I understand the importance of safety and having enough air left for both divers if anything happens. However, I really doubt I will be doing any cave diving. For me I am looking at diving the local area and being safe always. I am 5'10" 200lbs and being new I am sure consume more air than most. After reading some of the posts there is ALOT I dont know. I am assuming that those of you who dive with doubles can have longer bottom times but do to limits also have to make deco stops on the way back up right???

[lamont]

OK I understand the importance of safety and having enough air left for both divers if anything happens. However, I really doubt I will be doing any cave diving. For me I am looking at diving the local area and being safe always. I am 5'10" 200lbs and being new I am sure consume more air than most. After reading some of the posts there is ALOT I dont know. I am assuming that those of you who dive with doubles can have longer bottom times but do to limits also have to make deco stops on the way back up right???

you're almost exactly the same size that i am. i would recommend hp130s (e.g. worthington X8-130 tanks).

after you get 150+ dives and start being able to get SACs that are lower than 0.60 cuft / min you may find that they're a bit large. typical dives that are ~30 mins @ ~100 fsw on 32% with 60-70 minute total runtime i will generally burn around 2000 psi (74 cu ft), leaving 1500 psi leftover at the surface. but you're big enough that lugging around the extra gas shouldn't be a big deal... plus its nice to have 30 cu ft "too much" gas...

for me, getting a couple 130s really helped me in doing the 100 fsw max depth 60 minute runtime dives safely and having enough gas to build up a lot of comfort in the 100 fsw range, and that should take you through the next 1-2 years and 100-200 dives... and you may never grow out of them if you don't start technical diving...

[Sounder]

I agree with Lamont. X8-130s are what my recommendation is. I don't do any cave diving either, but there is a lot of great practices that come from the cave diving world... one of them is dive planning.

With a 130, I like to end my dive (back at the beach/boat) with 800-1000psi. I stay within no-decompression limits and having that large tank allows me to have all the bottom time I want, make plenty of non-obligatory (deco) "stops" to help my body off-gas (I feel better after the dive if I make a couple stops even though they're not required), and still surface with more than enough gas for buddy.

[lamont]

oh when it comes to steel tanks there's also choices over the finish and stuff to worry about...

the finish on the PST E8-130s and Worthington X8-130s with the hot galvanizing is the way to go to protect them against corrosion. the white paint like the fabers can chip and if it does you need to repair the chip or else corrosion can build up under the paint. the X8-130s also have the internal coating like the fabers do.

one thing about the worthingtons are that its better to buy two tanks at the same time from the same batch to get exactly the same size so that you have the option of doubling them up later. if you buy them from different batches they may have different sizes (or at least they have had different sizes, i don't know if worthington has gotten the kinks out and started making them more consistently yet or not...).