What Size Stage(s) Should Santa Bring?

[Phoenix]

It's great to be spoilt by choice, when I started needing stages in Thailand the only cylinders that were available were S80's and that is what I started with. Whilst they can appear rather ungainly on the surface they really aren't a problem in the water and you quickly get used to them. Whilst I realise you may not need the capacity now you may well do later and it might be wise to pick them up whilst Phill is feeling generous.

Ian

[Clare Gledhill]

Gary - like Steve says - the dive you give is 50 minutes of deco from 21 up - which would require an Ali 80 - or two 7s (Or an 80 and a 40)

But you say that you would not be comfortable with this amount of deco yet - so maybe picked the wrong example.

I use all three different sorts, and 80, a 40 and a 7 (old style). The 80 is huge - but for a one deco gas dive like the one you use as your example - it would be my choice. If I were to use 2 deco gases then I could use my 7 for 50 per cent and a 40 for O2. But then I'd probably rather limite the deco to 35 minutes and use my 7 on its own.

-edit- sorry I'm building in a reserve of gas which you may not wish to carry.

HTH

[And]

Originally Posted by warmwaterdiver

Remember I haven't done the course yet, but if I run a bottom time of say 40 minutes at 50m, END of say 30m (don't know what mix/deco that would give me?), would a single ALI40 be sufficient? (my SAC is 15 on a good day)

No, it isn't. Using one deco gas, 50%, at an SAC of 15 (less when you've done this a while) then you need 45-50 minutes at say an avg depth of 9 mtrs which equals 1300 ltrs or so, which means you need a 7 really.

If you use 2 deco gasses and you use 32/80 which seems the norm for the more traditional style of british diving then I think AL40's would still be marginal. 7's I would say, if you are adamant that 80's are too big.

Andy

[RichClark]

The real answer here is that there is no single perfect cylinder. It's all about the correct tool for the job, or at least the right tank for the deco. I have and use a pair of 7's, an Al80 and an Al40.

If I had to pick just one, it would probably start out with a Ali 7 as suspect that you will find this the most versatile when you first start out with accelerated deco.

Cheers

Rich

[Gary K]

Originally Posted by And

No, it isn't, which means you need a 7 really.

7's I would say, if you are adamant that 80's are too big.

Originally Posted by RichClark

If I had to pick just one, it would probably start out with a Ali 7 as suspect that you will find this the most versatile when you first start out with accelerated deco.

beginnning to think 7's are the best choice

[gobfish1]

Originally Posted by RichClark

The real answer here is that there is no single perfect cylinder. It's all about the correct tool for the job, or at least the right tank for the deco. I have and use a pair of 7's, an Al80 and an Al40.

If I had to pick just one, it would probably start out with a Ali 7 as suspect that you will find this the most versatile when you first start out with accelerated deco.

Cheers

Rich

[Gary K]

Originally Posted by warmwaterdiver

beginnning to think 7's are the best choice

just an update, thanks for the advice and thanks to Anke (aquaholic) I now have 2 ali 7's

I tried them today at Stoney and they are fine, better than I thought given the physical size compared with the steel 5

carrying one each side, it was definately noticable that one (full) was low in the water, compared with the other which only had 50 bar which tended to lift/rise at the bottom

I wait with eager anticipation to see one float up the shotline

anyone want a steel 5............

[solodiver2001]

Hi List,
Ally bottles are the way, for me any way.always take in what you can carry,the more redundancy the better don`t worry what others think.
7 ltr`s or the 11 ltr 207 bar`s.
a bit bulky on the surface but under the water,well you dont even notice them.
make sure you practice with them in the shallows when empty for your bouyancy and trim etc.
Nic NAK`s at Birmingham have them at not a bad price,but most other shops have them now.
hope this helps.
solodiver2001

[Nick Kay]

Diver Warehouse have a load of 9L 207s for sale - at a very reasonable price - you can see them on their web pages - found them when I was looking at drysuits!

[Dive_gimp]

Personally I use 2 7liter ali cylinders strapped to my left side. They have more than enough gas for dives down to about 80metres (depending on bottom time) are a great size, are neutral in the water and allow the right hand side to be completely free of obstruction.
If possible I would try a few diff stages out when u do your course

Lee