Recommended depths/times - Shutdowns!

[Mr_Brown]

I have been practicing shutdowns recently at the NDAC. Mostly doing them at 10-15m, after a 40 min dive in about 8 degrees, when your hands are starting to feel the cold, am now looking to increase the depth.

Is this advised when looking to do the TDI advanced Trimix... (what depth do they have you, do your shutdowns and within what timescales. 30 sec's 1 min? )

I suppose you should be compedent at doing them at any stage during the dive but just want to know what YOU all think.

[Mr_Brown]

okay.

[nigelH]

Originally Posted by Mr_Brown

I suppose you should be compedent at doing them at any stage during the dive but just want to know what YOU all think.

I'd be far more worried about stop holding than shutdowns.
Helium is nasty, unforgiving stuff when you get it wrong and that is every dive while you might never need a manifold shut down in your life.

[G man]

I did shut downs at 22m on a training table in Vobster and about 25 m in the Ndac for the advanced Nitrox and deco proc,
Never really timed it but i guess around 20 seconds.

Not something you want to practice for the first couple of times if your actually doing deco though.

I do practice regularly when doing training dives as it sort of builds muscle memory so you dont have to think if you have to do it for real.

Practice taking your mask off and swapping it with your spare in 8 deg that wakes you up a little.

G.

[GLOC]

My slant, do the practice in the shallows for a couple of reasons:

1. Bouyancy control is much harder and if you can manage it 6m, you can manage it at pretty much any depth. If that means doing them above a training platform until you can get that nailed, move off the platform so you are in free water with the reference, then do it with someone looking at the platform (as a depth reference) and you look out from the platform so all you see is your buddy for depth reference, then move into free water.

2. Having a f*ck up at the end of a dive because you lose bouyancy control as you are trying to do mid-water drills without the proper work-up, is not big or clever.

3. If you do the drills in 6m, the gas lasts much longer and you can practice for longer

Practice taking your mask off and swapping it with your spare in 8 deg that wakes you up a little.

Agreed.

HTH

[neilh]

Originally Posted by Mr_Brown

Is this advised when looking to do the TDI advanced Trimix... (what depth do they have you, do your shutdowns and within what timescales. 30 sec's 1 min? )

I can't say for TDI, but for GUE we were doing shutdowns at 6M on fundamentals and 3M for tech1. The shallower depth really challenges you on buoyancy control while doing the shutdown which you may find adds an extra dimension to it.

[GLOC]

Originally Posted by neilh

.... and 3M for tech1. The shallower depth really challenges you on buoyancy control while doing the shutdown which you may find adds an extra dimension to it.

Besides, when you cock it up, it is less distance to go before you get the bollocking on the surface and told to get your shit sorted before descending again

[Scubee]

Originally Posted by GLOC

Besides, when you cock it up, it is less distance to go before you get the bollocking on the surface and told to get your shit sorted before descending again

Is that when you slap Garf on the head, or does that happen underwater?

[GLOC]

Originally Posted by Scubee

Is that when you slap Garf on the head, or does that happen underwater?

Both

[neilh]

Originally Posted by GLOC

Besides, when you cock it up, it is less distance to go before you get the bollocking on the surface and told to get your shit sorted before descending again

That's always assuming that the rest of the team went in the same direction and the instructor didn't just sit at the same smegging depth being a smug git

(Ooops, ignore that last bit )