Open Water Scuba Diver

With the regulator attached to the cylinder and the cylinder valve turned on, air is released to the regulator’s first stage, where the pressure is reduced to about 130 psi (5 bars). This intermediate pressure air is present in the hoses leading from the first stage to at least three locations. Commonly there is a […]

The food you eat should always be clean and free from contamination. The air you breathe as a diver must also be clean. When having your cylinder serviced and refilled, be sure the dive center routinely tests the air to be sure it is safe. There should be no smell or taste to the air

In the United States, the Department of Transportation (DOT) requires that all high-pressure cylinders including scuba tanks be hydrostatically tested at least every five years. During this test your cylinder is filled with water and placed in a water jacket where the tank is pressurized to 5/3 the rated pressure. Thus, a cylinder rated at

Scuba cylinders, often referred to simply as tanks, contain the breathing gas, most often air, which is used by the diver at depth. All of these high-pressure cylinders are under strict government regulation. In the United Sates, the controlling agency is the Department of Transportation (DOT). Letters and numbers are stamped into the metal near

With the cylinder attached to the BC and the regulator first stage mounted to the valve on top of the cylinder, air comes to the diver through a hose over the right shoulder to the second stage “Primary Regulator”. As the diver submerges, air is automatically provided as the diver breathes. This is called a

The purpose of scuba gear is to provide air to breathe for divers while they are spending time below the surface of the water. The basic equipment needed, in addition to mask, snorkel and fins, includes a high-pressure cylinder (SCUBA Tank) containing the air to breathe. To hold a SCUBA Tank, we use a buoyancy

Jumping off a boat into 6-foot (2-meter) seas may seem easy enough, but the diver may not realize that getting back on that moving/bouncing boat is a really big challenge. Each year divers die attempting dives that are beyond their training, experience, or using equipment that is not matched to the conditions. Other potentially hazardous

We all know of people who have such a desire to impress others that they will allow safety to go by the wayside. These divers often will put themselves in harm’s way just to impress a buddy, a family member, or even a stranger. Perhaps going deeper, or into overhead environments for which they are

If you’re BC or wetsuit doesn’t fit right, your mask leaks, you can’t see to make adjustments because of your mask, your tank is too high or too low, your feet hurt because the fins are not the correct size, you might experience equipment-related stresses. Some divers may find the weight of a full scuba

As mentioned above, a portion of normal vision is the one remaining sense that is available to a diver, and when the water clarity is poor, that sense can be greatly diminished because we are visual creatures, relying most heavily on our sense of sight, can certainly raise stress levels.