Thoughts on my pool play on an Azimuth

[Woz]

So- last night I took the Azi I have on Appro for a wander round the pool. So here are my thoughts on the whole thing:

Setting it up
Bit of a faff but quite straight forward. Fill the scrubber, tap it down, fill it some more, repeat until bored. Set up the dosing valve to give me "ooooo that looks about right". +ve and -ve test, make sure the cyl is switched on and away we go. Had to do a bit of bodging as the cylinder fill adapter that came with the Azi was the wrong one. Anyway. 10 mins and I had a stage cyl of 50% plumbed into one of the LP ports on the reg via an AP inflator hose with a LP port fitting on each end, back pressurising the thing. Marvellous. Waist strap a little short to go round the WozGut so sorted that out with some webbing and while I was at it stuck a couple of 2lb blocks in there for good measure.

Diving the thing
Well it's different. I can see that buoyancy control is interesting and for the first 10 mins I was up and down like a whore's drawers. However once you've got the knack it's really rather nice to be able to swim anywhere you like and just "stay" in the water, not going up, not going down. I like that. More bubbles than I thought- both the Azi and the Draeger that the other "test diver" was using dribbled bubbles out of the OPV. Not exactly silent. WOB was interesting- had to suck a bit due to the back mounted lungs but exhalation was easy. Personally I would prefer it the other way round, I think, as it's easier to blow than suck. You need the leg straps too- if the unit rides up on your back (which it tends to) then the WOB goes up noticably. It needs to be set quite low which also makes the shoulder straps a bit long and loose.

The unit
It's certainly well screwed together. The DSV is really easy to use, the manual add on the waist is intuitive and the scrubber would make a brave man weep. However. It's f'in huge. And f'in heavy. If it was half the size then it would be a fantastic bit of kit but stand in next to a Draeger and it looks like a block of flats. The 2 cylinders on board is a nice touch but the odd cylinder threads are a complete PITA. If I was going to dive one regularly then I'd replace the shell and the cyls and reg wheels as the first move otherwise you can't take it on yer hols. And I'd add an ADV as there isn't one. And if I am going to do that, I may as well close the loop...

So- will I buy it?
I don't think so. SCR seems like a good idea but with all the faff of setting it up, the lack of "bubblelessness" and the things that make the unit a PITA all conspire against it. For 30m type diving, I reckon OC can't be beaten. Set it up, switch it on, do a check, jump in. That's it. However. If I was to to go down the RB route, going CCR would be really the only way to go. Which one? Dunno. I'll try a few and keep everyone updated with the progress.

Oh and I heard possibly the scariest sentence in the world: "Hello. I'm Jack Moon. I'll be your safety diver for the evening".

[Okeanos]

Originally Posted by Woz

For 30m type diving, I reckon OC can't be beaten. Set it up, switch it on, do a check, jump in. That's it.

Not so sure on that. I've only been using one for a while and, in the shallows i.e. 13-20 the amount of no-deco time is excessive, 20-40 it is excellent and the deco goes really quickly. If you like long dives, like me, you can't beat it.

The other day I dived to 36m spent an hour underwater (reef/wall) so I gradually made my way back up. I had a half hour SI then did another dive to 26m for an hour, which clocked up about 5 minutes deco.

All the OC bods on the boat were out of the water in a half hour on both dives.

[Woz]

Well at the moment I do long dives- twin 12's and an AL40 and I was doing 90 min run times earlier this year in Scapa with lots of hanging around. With SCR I'm just running a single nitrox mix so it's really no different than OC. If I want to cut down on the deco then CCR gives me the option of running a 1.3 setpoint which is where the cookie really starts to crumble, changing the mix to give the least nitrogen for the depth. So for long/deep dives, CCR is a better option and if I'm going to lash out a pile of wonga, then I'd rather lash out my wonga on something that will give me a big benefit, not just a "new toy".

[Sheff diver]

Originally Posted by Woz

.... then I'd rather lash out my wonga on something that will give me a big benefit, not just a "new toy".

Wot's wrong with toys (he says with the probably never-to-be-finished project)?

It was ......... entertaining! Need a deeper pool though. And more lead / less blubber. Would have kinda liked to stay for the swim session after...........

Cheers,

Marcus

[NotDeadYet]

SCR... all the disadvantages and risks of a CCR (and more) with none of the advantages. If you want to make OC diving more complicated then a SCR is the way forward.

I wouldn't waste money on a SCR unless you can get one very cheap.

[Woz]

Originally Posted by Sheff diver

It was ......... entertaining! Need a deeper pool though. And more lead / less blubber. Would have kinda liked to stay for the swim session after..........

Mmmmmmm bikinis...

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by NotDeadYet

SCR... all the disadvantages and risks of a CCR (and more) with none of the advantages. If you want to make OC diving more complicated then a SCR is the way forward.

I wouldn't waste money on a SCR unless you can get one very cheap.

What he said.

30m CCR diving is IMHO mad. The risk benifit ratio dosent add up unless you a photographer. People who dive CCR in the 30 zone have one for fun and no other reasion. Nothing wrong with that but dispite the fact I own one they scare me far to much to be fun on a shalow dive.

Mind you I do shalow dives on them just to keep skills up Kind of catch 22 in my case

ATB

Mark Chase

[Ivon]

Originally Posted by Okeanos

Not so sure on that. I've only been using one for a while and, in the shallows i.e. 13-20 the amount of no-deco time is excessive, 20-40 it is excellent and the deco goes really quickly. If you like long dives, like me, you can't beat it.

The other day I dived to 36m spent an hour underwater (reef/wall) so I gradually made my way back up. I had a half hour SI then did another dive to 26m for an hour, which clocked up about 5 minutes deco.

All the OC bods on the boat were out of the water in a half hour on both dives.

Not sure I agree with you there Mark, just look at this quote.

They can give substantially longer bottom time, with shorter surface intervals.

In my opinion this is why SOME of the livaboards are stopping us using them, we take up too much of there time as were underwater much longer than O/C and it messes with schedules.

[jamesp]

I had a paddle with the Azimuth a couple of years ago, it seemed very good, its only downside at the time was that it was only £1k less than an Inspo.
I could not grasp the point of SCR and went staright for CCR, but I was thinking mainly mix. When somebody actually sat me down and explained it all with little pictures and short words, SCR makes PERFECT sense for square profile dives down to 40m. ie most uk wreck dives.

[Woz]

Originally Posted by jamesp

I could not grasp the point of SCR and went staright for CCR, but I was thinking mainly mix. When somebody actually sat me down and explained it all with little pictures and short words, SCR makes PERFECT sense for square profile dives down to 40m. ie most uk wreck dives.

Over diving a twinset full of nitrox? I'd say about the same weight, a twinset is more streamlined and you don't do any less deco as it's constant % O2.