Scooter multiple stage gas management

[roguediver]

20 year old stripper!? Bring on the heart attack.

[rjack]

No I am scootering to as close as I can to where I am exploring in sidemount gear, and I believe Phillip is doing the same. Sometime scooters are for transport not just for the ride, and because of this require a different kind of gas management.

I wouldn't breathe the SM tanks on the way in on the scooter. I would still use down to 1/2+200 (1700psi) on the stages and then do the penetration swimming on backgas. If you are doing 1/3rds of backgas (which is really aggressive IMO) I would bring a safety bottle instead of breathing a little bit less out of multiple stages.

[PfcAJ]

rjack, thats what I've done on a few exploration dives where we scootered then swam (not to thirds, though). Diving over safeties gives you a lot more options.

[rjack]

rjack, thats what I've done on a few exploration dives where we scootered then swam (not to thirds, though). Diving over safeties gives you a lot more options.

Yes alot more options than diving 1/3rds of stages. That's only 300psi more per stage, 7.5cf or so more than using them down to 1700psi and then exhausting them (and discarding them if need be) on the exit. I'd rather have a full safety to compensate for all sorts of lost gas contingencies than having an extra 300psi scattered around in 10 different stages.

[RN]

Helium is the equalizer when it comes to stages. If they're heavy nitrox stages, they're miserable.

Helium is a lot cheaper with a rebreather, though. So if I'm breathing helium it's very likely through a loop.

[PfcAJ]

Cost isn't really a factor for me when it comes to planning exploration dives. If I can't afford it, I just wait a while. Nbd.