THE TOTAL DIVING SYSTEM (EQUIPMENT)

 

 

1950 is consider to be the genesis age of the sport

 

Today, the equipment need :

 

1. simplicity
2. consistency
3. adaptability
4. reliability
5. redundancy

 

CYLINDERS:

 

2 METAL: STEEL  3aa MARKING AND ALUMINUM 3al MARKING

 

Steel:

• have tinner walls
• can hold more pressure if made for it
• have less impact on buoyancy
• but they rust in humid condition
• AA+ mean that it can be overfill by 10%

 

Aluminum:

• have ticker walls
• have more impact on buoyancy
• don’t rust

 

 

Valves:

• DIN (deutsche industry norm) regulator screw into the valve, can hold more pressure, for warm or cold water diving
• INT or YORK are use in warm water, simple on of valve
• J , was used when no pressure gauges existed , still in use today, to fill up , the valve need to be in down position

 

Inside the valve is the BURST DISK, if the cylinder is accidentally overfilled, the burst disk break a 160% of the cylinder working pressure. It needs to be changed annually during visual inspection due to metal fatigue

 

• Never empty completely the cylinder to be sure that no contaminants can enter it

 

 

TYPICAL MARKING:

 

VISUAL INSPECTION:

• Every year
• Check for outside for cracks
• Check the inside for contaminants
• Do valve service
• Change the burst disk

 

HDROSTATIC TEST

• EVERY 3 YEARS IN INDONESIA DIFFERENT IN EVERY COUNTRY CHECK THE LAW
• The cylinder is measured and place in water, filled with water and fill up to 5/3 of it’s working pressure (207/3*5)
• The pressure is release and the cylinder is measured again. If there is any difference, the cylinder cannot be use.

 

NITROX CYLNDERS

 

• The cylinder with nitrox content need to be clearly marked, to be sure that no other divers than the user will use them
• The cylinder need to be O2 clean to not explode when filled with pure O2 or O2 more than 40%
• They need to have MOD maximum operating depth
• They need to have the O2 clean service sticker
• They need to have the name of the diver
• They need to have the % from the Gas blender and the analyze from the diver

 

1^ST STAGE REGULATOR

 

4 DIFFERENT KINDS:

1.     PISTON, UNBALANCED

2.     PISTON , BALANCED

3.     DIAPHRAGM, UNBALANCED

4.     DIAPHRAGM, BALANCED

 

·       The piston reduce maintenance

·       Simpler mechanism with less part moving

 

·       The diaphragm is for environmental sealing(ice or dirty water diving)

 

·       Unbalanced means that it is more difficult to get air from the cylinder when low air, 2 divers breath on the same cylinder or deeper depth. Etc…

 

·       Balanced regulator give the same air flow even if low air , if 2 divers breath on the same cylinder or if deeper depth

 

DOWNSTEAM VALVES :

• The air flow within the same opening direction of the valve (going down river) with the river flow
• We find downstream valve in the 1^st and 2^nd stage to be sure that if something break, the air doesn’t stop ( FAIL SAFE SYSTEM)

 

UPSTREAM VALVES:

 

• The air flow against the opening of the valve (going up river) against the flow.
• We find upstream valves in BCD inflator, so if the valve break the air cannot continue to inflate

 

The job of the 1^st stage is to reduce from high pressure (cylinder) to intermediate constant pressure (around 10 bar) for the 2^nd stage who delivers air at ambient pressure.

 

DEPTH GAUGES:

 

• The capillary gauge is the most simple. It is a tube filled with air who compress when depth increases. It works with boyle’s law and it gives you the theoretical depth when diving in altitude. A B C

 

• The bourbon tube works with tube that bent in a coil which uncoiled when depth increases. This gauge is very accurate but need to be adjusted when diving in altitude. The gauge is filled with oil for longer durability

 

• The diaphragm gauge works the same way as the bourbon gauge, but the pressure change is transfer to the needle by the bent of the diaphragm. Be careful to not puncture the back of the diaphragm when opening

 

• The sealed is the most accurate depth gauge

 

COMPUTERS

 

• DIFFERENT ALGORITHM  (SPENCER WASHOUT, EE WASHOUT, BUHLMAN EE WASHOUT.)
• THEY MUST HAVE NITROX COMPABILITY OR JUST NITROX WHO CAN BE SET TO 21% NITROX WHO IS AIRJ
• CAN BE MULTI GAS DIVING FOR TECH DIVERS
• FREEDIVING MODE FOR FREEDIVER
• GAUGE MODE FOR CANCELING NITROGEN ABSORBTION
• HOSELESS CONNECTION TO ATTACHED TO YOU 1^ST STAGE

 

 

WET AND DRY SUITS

 

• WET SUIT CAN BE USE FOR WATER MORE THAN 16C
• Wetsuits works by letting water entering in the  suit an warm the water who cannot escape from the suit keeping the diver warm

 

• Dry suit are use for less than 16C
• Dry suit works by inflating the inside with ARGON who have double or twice the isolation than air. The body warm the argon and keep the diver warm.

 

KNIFES

 

• You must have a knife when you dive.
• Good for cutting fishing lines
• Good for hitting the cylinder to attract other attentions

 

 

SMB Surface marker buoy

 

• This is the cheapest item to buy and take with you. It can save your live if you are lost.

 

SLATES

• Slates are very helpful for complicate underwater communications
• Write on it with pencil and clear it with toothpaste.

 

REPAIR LIMITATION

• The best repair philosophy is prevention
• Never repair a 1^st or 2^nd stage is you are not authorize technician

 

 

SAVE-A-DIVE-KIT

• As a professional, you need to take with you some spare part when you go diving and need:
• Allen keys
• Dust cap
• Silicon
• Fin and mask strap
• Needle to open o rings
• O rind with various sizes
• A full regulator 1^st and 2^nd stage
• More weight
• More weight belt
• Screw driver
• Mask
• Fins