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Post by jamiep3 on Mar 3, 2004 11:24:21 GMT -8
I took the plunge and bought an Aquamaster. I'v aquired a steel 72 with a j valve and I have a Hard pack.
Let me say that when I first started diving in the 70's my typical set up was a steel 72, Calypso J, Hard pack, and a Dacor vest with a CO2 inflator for emergencies.
What I'd like to know is how do most of you configure your geat today? For shallow lake diving I'd be comfortable with no pressure gage, or octopus. What is considered the standard in the community?
I'd appreciate all input. Can't wait to try my new reg.
James
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Post by Captain on Mar 3, 2004 12:30:34 GMT -8
I don't believe there is a standard, use what ever makes you happy. I may use a BC when I use a wet suit. I never did dive with an octo even on a single hose and don't plan on starting. I'm comfortable using just a J valve although I do have a banjo adapter to rig an SPG.
Tom
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Post by ScoobieDoo on Mar 3, 2004 15:16:30 GMT -8
Tom,
So how do you configure your BC?
Vest or jacket BC? Oral or power inflation? Inflated by what O2?
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Post by Bryan on Mar 3, 2004 17:17:52 GMT -8
DA Navy or Mistral.......I may take one of the Royals I have to Florida with me so I can use the banjo adaptor and pressure gauge I acquired......I use a regular ole Navy horsecollar BC with a manual inflator. I have never been diving with anyone who was using a double hose that had a octopus or bc power inflator hooked up to it. I'm all for the idea if it makes the user more comfortable!
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Post by ScoobieDoo on Mar 3, 2004 17:56:44 GMT -8
Actually, I'm curious - just WHY was the BC invented anyway? What real advantage did it offer divers? Cousteau never used them.  |
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Post by Captain on Mar 3, 2004 19:54:53 GMT -8
I believe mainly to compensate for wet suit compression and loss of bouyancy. And maybe to have some pockets to put junk in.
Tom
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Post by ScoobieDoo on Mar 3, 2004 21:34:46 GMT -8
Ahh, ok!
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 3, 2004 22:58:34 GMT -8
I was pretty active in developing the BC in the 1970's, and showed one of Bill Herder's jacket BCs that he made out of wet suit foam neoprene to the Sixth International Conference on Underwater Education. Bill owned Deep Sea Bill's in Newport, Oregon, and actually was the first to incorporate a functioning BC into a jacket design. He first put an inverted "U" onto the back of one of his custom wet suits, with an oral inflator. I got that one in about 1972. He then made the whole back section of the wet suit into a sandwitch, so the whole back of the wet suit was a BC, with an oral/power inflation mechanism. These were some of the earliest, and best (streamlined) BCs made. They came out at about the same time as the AtPak. Scubapro came out with their BC jacket about a year after I demoed Bill's jacket in San Diego.
The whole idea of a BC is to compensate for the compression of a wet suit, and its loss of buoyancy. A BC really is not needed in tropical water, which is where Cousteau mostly dove. They used very thin wet suits which did not loose buoyancy as they compressed, as they were already very thin. While in the US Air Force in Okinawa, Bermuda and Florida, I dove a 1/8" wet suit shorty, and had no compression problems. We never dove a BC; instead we used what the USAF called LPUs (Underarm Life Preservers), which had a shoulder harness and fit into a snug pack under each arm. We never felt the need for a BC.
I experimented with different compensation systems, and in the 1980s come up with my own vest-style BC based on a parachute harness. I got a patent on it, and still dive them today. These are without a doubt the most expensive BCs ever bought (I have about $2500 into the two of them). I was never able to interest anyone in manufacturing them.
One of my experiments was to simply dive to about 30 feet in Clear Lake, Oregon, and take off my weight belt. I hung it on the anchor line of a boat we had brought, and swam around without the belt. My wet suit was neutral buoyant in fresh water at 30 feet, and it was a very streamlined, liberating feeling to be able to do this. When I decided to surface, I went over and got my weight belt, and put it back on. I wrote about these experiments in NAUI News in the 1970s, but I would not recommend someone try them now, unless you are very, very confident of your abilities and very experienced in the water.
John
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Post by SeaRat on Mar 3, 2004 23:12:47 GMT -8
I forgot to mention that, in the 1970s I was about 20 pounds lighter than I am now, and that would affect my buoyancy too;D
Concerning the gear that I use, I have two rigs I use most often with vintage regulators. I have a set of twin AL 50s, and a set of twin steel 42s. Both have a modified military harness which I use with my own BC harness. I like the twin 42s as this rig has a Sherwood twin post valve. I can use any two hose regulator, and put a second regulator on the valve that has my power inflator, SPG, and safe second regulator. With the twin 50s I usually use the Trieste II regulator, which again is set up with an octopus second stage, SPG and power inflator.
I have dived shallow on a single 72 with a double hose regulator (less than 30 feet depth), and consider it safe with a "J" valve in Oregon rivers. I did a lot of noon-time diving in the North Umpqua river near Roseburg with all three of these configurations.
John
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Post by jamiep3 on Mar 4, 2004 11:11:26 GMT -8
Back in the 70's I used what today would probably considered a snorkel vest. It had a CO2 for emergencies and the old style "push in the tube and blow" Oral inflator. Really only ever used it on the surface. At that time tried to weight myself neutral for about 20' and kick my way down. Now that I'm used to a BC, probably will try to find a horsecollar style.
Looking at some vintage ones with CO2 backup.
Can't wait to get my kit together. Going to try neighbors pool first and then probably some lake diving.
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Post by Sam on May 4, 2004 20:42:40 GMT -8
To SeaRat, I've done one better. I dove in a shell suit at Clear Lake and in all the excitement I forgot to put on my wooly buggers. It took just fifteen minuters to get cold but by the end of the ten minute safety stop I thought I was going to die. But in the mist of seeing my life flash before my eyes I saw a dandy troling rig. I was to frozen to rescue it for my collection. When I barely made it back to shore I thought I'd never feel warm again. It took me a full forty five minutes to warm up even though it was eighty five degrees outside. This story will help seperate the men from the boys.  |
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Post by SeaRat on May 4, 2004 22:59:46 GMT -8
For those of you who don't know, Clear Lake in the Oregon Cascade Mountains is the headwaters for the McKenzie River. It comes right out of the ground in some of the clearest springs in the world, sometimes having 200 foot visibility. It also comes out cold, at 38 degrees F. That has to be a very, very cold dive, Sam.
I had a Staff Sargaent in the US Air Force that tried to prove that a survival suit worn over an Air Force issue, summer flight suit would be the equivalent of a 1/4 inch wet suit. He had the same experience you did when he jumped out of a helicopter into a reservoir near Kunsan, Korea in February ;D
That proved that dry suits need something to maintain that air space...
John
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Post by JES on May 5, 2004 5:10:45 GMT -8
"I have never been diving with anyone who was using a double hose that had a octopus or bc power inflator hooked up to it. I'm all for the idea if it makes the user more comfortable!"Bryan, How soon we forget! My Voit Trieste II (with LP & HP ports) has an octo, BC inflator & SPG. I even dove it that way with you and the others at Blue Springs. I am glad that I do not need to feel any personal shame for having them attached to my regulator. 
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Post by Bryan on May 5, 2004 5:42:51 GMT -8
JES, check the date on my post......03-03-04.....If memory serves me correct, I didn't meet up with you until 03-20-04 at Blue Springs...... I learn new stuff all the time!!
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Post by JES on May 5, 2004 5:52:03 GMT -8
My bad... and you are correct about the dates. Serves me right for not reading the post dates. I originally thought this was a new thread. A thousand pardons, becuase like you I'm also learning new stuff all the time. Especially from reading this board. 
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