HOW DEEP WOULD YOU GO ON AIR while SOLO DIVING IN A CAVE?

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Originally Posted by Boru

I have conducted several narc experiments... in clear water.. 185 no problem... silt out in way less than 100... dopey giddy and disoriented... so in a cave situation...Idon't play... in 100% viz I'm good...but who can garuntee that 100% viz will ever last??

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I'm haven't been diving nearly as long as some, but it used to be considered that on a first dive you couldn't hurt yourself with a single steel 72, that is you can go as deep as you like, you don't have enough air to get into deco, so as a young dumb kid, I went pretty deep, basically bounce dives with only a couple of minutes bottom time. I have never been Narced, not so as I have noticed and that's what scares me because I know I was affected, just somehow or another I guess I can get stupid drunk before I notice?
I've considered trying a "light" tri-mix in one tank in JB for instance just to see if I could tell any difference between the two, anybody done that?
Maybe part of what I like about diving is a little narcosis? Seriously now, no kidding, but maybe a little narcosis is partly why some enjoy it and some don't? Not everybody is a happy drunk?

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Originally Posted by ffdiver5597

Not taking solo diving into account, isn't deep dives on air in caves one of the big no no in the 5 rules?

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Rule #4, END of 130'.

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Originally Posted by Slüdge

Rule #4, END of 130'.

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I knew I wasnt crazy or narc'ed when I remembered that.

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Originally Posted by Superlyte27

What's this "air" you speak of?

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I love this. LOL.

How deep would I go on air?

First, define, what is on the bottom that I am going to recover? Gold?

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Originally Posted by Curt Bowen

Yes the old days of Deep Nest downstream dives through the 302' pit restriction on air were crazy. I remember once only concentrating on "follow the line stupid" kick "follow the line" kick "o-right the line" kick "I could take a nap right here" kick "line? o its in my hand" kick

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Ha! Very good description of narced Curt!

Never did any 'cave' past 110' on air since i have been certified....
In the 80's and 90's did plenty of deep air ocean and wreck dives, a few down to 250'. I did a lot of OW 'deep' & wreck classes in cold poopy water and I got to see dozens of folks get narc'ed.
Also in the late 80's did about 170- 200 (have to check logs) through a sulfide layer in a bule hole in bahamas that was pretty much overhead at that point.

Yes, some people can acclimate better then others. Water temp and visibility could have a significant effect on narcosis. The other biggie is WORK, which is not a good thing. In my personal experience a sudden or even gradual increase in effort could send you way over the top instantly, again environmental conditions matter.
That is bad. Just when you need to react to something or have an increased breathing rate from a stressful inicdent or work you lose the functionality of your best tool - your brain.

Personally I would not recommend anything past 100', less if work or silt involved.

Do you have your breather tanks? What is in them? Anything you can use to PP fill an OC tank to reduce your END?

And if you can bring those tanks, why don't you just fill them with what you need for PP fills?

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Originally Posted by Superlyte27

What's this "air" you speak of?

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It's a colorless, odorless gas also known as EANx21 or Normoxic Nitrox. :)

The deepest I've been on air in a cave was 150 feet in Hendley's Castle, but I wasn't solo. I remember feeling warm and fuzzy and comfortable and happy and stupid, as if my IQ had dropped a couple of dozen points. Won't do that again.

I hear people saying air is not a breathable scuba gas anymore. So you say nitrox/ trimix only, don't think a 22% or 23% nitrox helps much on a deep dive, just getting to close to a1.4- 1.6 on deep dives.
On a another note, do people stay with max 1.4 Po2 or how much do you allow on a short dip to the deepest point of the dive? Obviously some deep air dives mentioned go past 1.4.

I don't really like to dive solo :P