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HELM

A helm is mainly worn when cave or wreck diving, used to protect the head on impact and also ideal to use as a place to install several lights or lightheads.

Diving helmets are worn by divers who need to speak and hear underwater. A normal diving mask and diving regulator prevent the diver from effectively communicating. Diving helments are mostly used with surface supplied diving: the helmet acts as a firm anchor point on the diver for the umbilical supplying the breathing gas. Divers do heavy or dangerous work underwater also benefit from the head protection provided by the helmet.

There are several types of diving helmets :

  • the spherical copper helmets with brass and glass windows of the historical standard diving dress
  • the modern commercial helmet, such as, the Kirby Morgan (http://www.divingsystems.com/History/ourhistory.html) Superlite-17B helmet
  • light weight, recreational "transparent dome" type helmets

An alternative to the diving helmet that allows communication with the surface is the full face diving mask.

"Diving helmet" sometimes means a hard safety helmet like a workman's helmet that covers the top and back of the head but not the face and does not keep air in and water out.

During the First World War English Army used a very few number of diving helmets to prevent damages from the use of mustard gas because it can cause damages even only with skin contact.

MASK

There are plenty to chose from, but a low volume mask is always preferable.

A diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows the SCUBA diver to see underwater. The mask must be constructed so that the diver can exhale through the nose into the mask to prevent the "squeeze" caused by increasing pressure during the descent in water. The mask must have a durable glass plate in front of the eyes and a "skirt" of rubber or silicone to create a watertight seal with the diver's face. A strap keeps the mask in position.

There are several specialised types of diving headgear:

  • full face diving mask - often worn by working divers who need underwater verbal communication ability
  • diving helmet - often worn by divers using surface supplied diving equipment
  • hard hat - part of the old fashioned standard diving dress
HOOD

Hoods are there for isolation, a diver loses most heat thru the skin on his/her head. This can be up to 75% off the total heat loss. Therefore a good isolation off the head is important, specially on long decompression dives.  The isolation off the hood has to be adapted to the watertemperture. Remember that water unless it is over 36 degrees Celsius allows the body to lose heat.

SNORKEL

Tube through which a submarine or diver can draw air while underwater. When in use, the top of the snorkel tube extends above the water surface into the air. The first snorkels were probably devised in ancient times out of the hollow reeds that are common to many lakes and marsh areas. Since they are mentioned by Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist of the 1st cent. A.D., it is certain that such devices were in use during the early years of the Roman Empire. The first modern snorkel was devised by Leonardo da Vinci at the request of the Venetian senate. It consisted of a hollow breathing tube that was attached to a diver's helmet of leather. The present-day diver's snorkel is typically a J-shaped tube that is open at the top and has a mouthpiece at the other end. Usually no more than 2 ft (61 cm) long, the snorkel can only be used as a breathing device when a diver is swimming face down near the surface. At greater depths, the diver must hold his breath and keep his tongue over the mouthpiece to prevent water seepage. When the diver nears the surface, a strong exhalation will clear the tube of water so that breathing can begin again.

REGULATOR

A diving regulator is a gas pressure regulator which supplies SCUBA divers with breathing gas at ambient pressure from a diving cylinder.

Types of regulator

Two stage, single hose

Most modern scuba regulators are of this type.

The first stage is a pressure reducing valve that takes gas from the diving cylinder at pressures of 200 - 300 bar (3000 - 4700 psi) and reduces its pressure down to 10 bar (140 psi) higher than ambient pressure in the hose.

The second stage valve delivers the gas from the single hose to the place it is required. It can have one of the following activation mechanisms. It could be a "demand valve" operated by the diver's inhalation from the valve. It could be manually operated valve or a solenoid-operated valve.

Demand valve second stage

The demand valve, second stage or DV is the device connected to a low pressure hose from which the diver inhales. It detects when the diver starts inhaling and supplies the diver with a breath of gas at ambient pressure. It reduces the gas pressure in the hose from 10 bar (140 psi) above ambient pressure to ambient pressure. Most modern, open circuit scuba sets use this type of second stage.

It consists of a chamber, a valve at the end of the low-pressure hose and a mouthpiece, which the diver grips between his or her teeth. A diaphragm at the front of the chamber controls the valve on the low-pressure hose. The diaphragm operates when the "purge button" on the front of the demand valve is pressed or when the diver lowers the pressure inside the chamber by trying to inhale. In either case low pressure gas is released into the chamber removing any water in there, allowing the diver to inhale and pushing the diaphragm back so that the valve closes. When the diver exhales the exhalation diaphragm flexes and allow the gas to escape to the water outside the demand valve.

Some passive semi-closed circuit rebreathers use a form of demand valve, which senses the volume of the loop and injects more gas when the volume falls below a certain level.

Manually operated second stage

This type of second stage is used in buoyancy compensator inflation valves and in rebreather loop inflation valves. A simple button allows the valve to be opened.

Solenoid operated second stage

This type of second stage is used automated fully closed-circuit rebreathers to maintain the oxygen partial pressure of the loop.

Twin-hose

This type of regulator had two wide, corrugated, breathing tubes. The first and second stages of the regulator were in a large circular valve assembly mounted on top of the cylinder pack. One-stage and three-stage regulators were known. The second, return tube was not for rebreathing but to balance the regulator's second stage diaphragm to regulate the flow of gas. Raising the mouthpiece above the regulator increased the flow of gas and lowering the mouthpiece increase breathing resistance.

The relatively large volume of the hoses forced divers to carry more weight underwater to compensate. An advantage with this type of regulator is that the bubbles leave the regulator behind the divers head increasing visibility. They have been superseded by the single hose regulator and become obsolete in the 1980s.

The twin hose mouthpiece has reappeared in modern rebreathers but as part of the breathing loop, not as part of a regulator.

Constant flow

Constant flow regulators are the earliest type of diving regulator. They are also used in active semi-closed circuit rebreathers. With a constant flow regulator the diver is provided with breathing gas at a constant rate. The only control the diver has is to open or close the valve to the cylinder. Constant flow vales consume gas less economically than demand valve regulators because gas is provided even when it is not needed.

With active semi-closed circuit rebreathers, the diver installs one of a number of different sized orifices in the valve before the dive. For safety reasons these should be chosen to provide more gas than the diver needs, to avoid hypoxia.

There were attempts at designing and using constant flow regulator before 1939, for diving and for industrial use. Examples were "Ohgushi's Peerless Respirator" where the valve was operated by the diver's teeth, and Commandant le Prieur's breathing sets (see Timeline of underwater technology).

Parts of a modern single hose regulator

Main components of a diving regulator, which supply the diver with breathing gas are:

  • the first stage
  • one or more low pressure hoses
  • one or more demand valves or second stages

In order to monitor breathing gas pressure in the diving cylinder, a diving regulator is usually equipped with:

  • the high pressure hose
  • the contents gauge

In some cases, the diving regulator may be equipped with

  • a pressure relief valve

First stage valve

The first stage has either an A clamp or a DIN fitting to connect it to the pillar valve of the diving cylinder. It has a number of "ports", which allow low and high-pressure hoses to transport gas to other components.

The mechanism inside the first stage can be of the diaphragm-type or the piston-type. Diaphragm regulators are simpler than piston regulators, but need more careful maintenance so are less suitable for diving at locations with limited services. With piston-type regulators, the piston is rigid and acts directly on the seat of the valve. On diaphragm-type regulators, the diaphragm is flexible and lifts the rod opens and closes gap at the seat. Both types can be balanced or unbalanced. The performance of unbalanced regulators decreases as the cylinder pressure falls, so they are only suitable for divers who only do shallow diving or for training.

As gas leaves the cylinder it decreases in pressure in a regulator, becoming very cold. In conditions where the water temperature is less than 5 °C any moisture inside the regulator may freeze, preventing the valve closing, causing a free-flow that can empty a full cylinder within a minute or two. The modern trend of using more plastics, instead of metals, within the regulators encourages freezing because it insulates the inside of a cold regulator from the warmer surrounding water. Environmental sealing and teflon coatings are used to reduce the risk of freezing inside the regulator.

Low pressure hose

All breathing regulators have a hose that connects the first stage to the demand valves. Some low pressure hoses are known as direct feeds. They supply gas to the diving suit and the buoyancy compensator inflation valves.

The first stage delivers gas at about 10 bar above the ambient pressure to low pressure hoses. That is a between the high pressure in the cylinder and the ambient pressure, that's why they are sometimes called medium pressure hoses.

Demand valve

Sometimes a regulator has more than one DV. If it is simply a spare DV for use by the diver's buddy it is generally called an octopus. Another possibility is: it could be a hybrid DV and buoyancy compensator inflation valve. Both types are called alternate air sources and more confusingly a DV on a regulator connected to a separate, independent diving cylinder would also be given that name.

Pressure relief valve

A pressure relief valve is a safety device that must be used if no demand valves are present on the regulator. It allows gas to escape from the first stage in the event of a malfunction, without over-pressurising any other regulator components, such as diving suit or buoyancy compensator inflation valves.

Normally, if present, a demand valve will vent off safely the excess gas from the first stage malfunction. This is called a free flow and is designed as a fail safe feature so that the diver can continue to breathe for a few seconds or minutes until all the gas is rapidly exhausted. If there is neither a demand valve nor a pressure relief valve there is a danger the excess gas will free flow to the buoyancy compensator or diving suit resulting in a rapid increase in buoyancy causing a potentially lethal rapid ascent to the surface.

Performance of regulators

ANSTI (http://www.ansti.co.uk/) has developed a testing machine that measures the inhale and exhale effort in using a regulator. Publication of results of the performance of regulators in the ANSTI test machine has resulted in big performance improvements.

 

GAUGES

The  gauge is a pressure gauge measuring the gas pressure in the diving cylinder so the diver knows how much gas remains in the cylinder. It is also known as submersible pressure gauge or SPG.

There are several types of contents gauge:

  • The standard type is an analogue gauge that can be held in the palm of a hand and is connected to the first stage by a high pressure hose. Sometimes they are fixed in a console, a plastic or rubber case, that holds the air pressure gauge and one or more of a depth gauge, a dive computer and a compass.
  • Button gauges are coin-sized, analogue gauges that are connected directly to the first stage. They are often used on decompression cylinders. Due to their small size, it can be difficult to read the gauge to a resolution of less than 20 bar / 300 psi.
  • Air integrated computers. Some dive computers are designed to measure, display and monitor pressure in the diving cylinder . Although this can be very beneficial to the diver, it does mean that if the dive computer fails, the diver can no longer monitor his or her gas reserves. The computer is either connected to the first stage by a high pressure hose or has two parts, the pressure transducer on the first stage and the display at the wrist or console, which communicate by radio link.
  • In the past, some types of diving cylinder had a mechanical reserve release lever that provided a warning to the diver that the gas supply was nearly exhausted

High pressure hose

The high pressure hose takes gas, at cylinder pressure, direct from the high pressure inlet of the first stage to the contents gauge.

COMPUTERS

A dive computer or decompression meter is an electronic device used by a scuba diver to measure the dive profile and to display information needed for a safe dive, avoiding decompression sickness.

Early examples of recreational diving computers, from 1979, are the Hans Hass DecoBrain and Orca Edge.

Dive computers address the same problem as decompression tables, but perform a continuous calculation of the partial pressure of gases in the body based on the actual dive profile. As the dive computer automatically measures depth and time, it reduces the need for the diver to carry a separate watch and depth gauge and is able to warn of excessive ascent rates and missed decompression stops. Many dive computers also provide additional information to the diver, for example, the water temperature, or the pressure of the remaining breathing gas in the diving cylinder.

Display information

Dive computers display different dive information to the diver. Most dive computers display the following information on a LCD:

  • Current depth.
  • Maximum depth reached on this dive.
  • No stop time, the time remaining at the current depth without the need for decompression stops.
  • Dive time, often measured from the end of the last longer surface interval.

Many dive computers also display additional information:

  • Required decompression stop depth and time.
  • Water temperature.
  • Ascent rates.
  • Dive profile (often not displayed during the dive, but transmitted to a personal computer).

Some computers are designed to display information from a diving cylinder pressure sensor, such as:

  • Tank pressure .
  • Estimated remaining time based on available gas and rate of gas consumption.

Some information is only shown at the surface to avoid an information overload of the diver during the dive:

  • "Time to Fly" display showing when the diver can safely board an airplane.
  • A log of key information about previous dives.
  • Maximum non-decompression bottom times for subsequent dives based on the partial pressure of the gases in the tissue.

Audible information

Many dive computers have warning buzzers that warn the diver of events such as:

  • Excessive ascent rates.
  • Missed decompression stops.
  • Maximum operation depth exceeded.
  • Oxygen toxicity limits exceeded.

Operation

Dive computers are battery powered computers within a watertight case. These computers track the dive profile by measuring time and pressure. All dive computers measure the surrounding pressure to estimate the partial pressure of gases in the human tissue. More advanced dive computers also include additional information into the calculations, for example, the water temperature or the diving cylinder pressure.

The computer then uses the profile and a decompression algorithm to estimate the partial pressure of inert gases that has been dissolved in the diver's tissues. Based on these calculations, the computer estimates when a direct ascent is no longer possible, and what decompression stops would be needed.

Examples of decompression algorithms are Buhlmann's algorithm, the Multi-Tissue Model, the Varying Permeability Model, and the Reduced Gradient Bubble Model.

Special purpose dive computers

Some dive computers are able to calculate decompression schedules for breathing gases other than air, such as nitrox, pure oxygen, trimix or heliox. The more basic dive computers only support one or two gas mixes for each dive. Others support many different mixes.

Most dive computers calculate decompression for 'open circuit' SCUBA where the proportions of the breathing gases are constant: these are "constant fraction" dive computers. Other dive computers are designed to model the gases in rebreathers, which maintain constant partial pressures of gases by varying the proportions of gases in the mixture: these are "constant partial pressure" dive computers.

Cautions

The ease of use of dive computers, however, also exposes the diver to other dangers. They allow divers to perform complex dives with little planning. This may lead divers to exceed their competence and experience by relying too much on the computer rather than proper planning, discipline and monitoring.

Many dive computers have menus, various selectable options and various display modes, which are controlled by a small number of buttons on the front of the computer. The diver should become familiar with the control of the computer on a series of shallow and undemanding dives before relying on it for more challenging dives.

For safety reasons it is recommended that a dive plan should be established before the dive and the followed throughout the dive unless the dive is aborted. This dive plan should be within the limits of the decompression tables. This increases the margin of safety, and also provides a backup decompression schedule based on the dive tables in case the computer fails underwater.

Different brands and models of dive computers use different decompression algorithms and safety factors. Some produce conservative decompression schedules and others produce aggressive decompression schedules. The main problem in establishing dive computer algorithms is that the gas absorption and release under pressure in the human body is still not completely understood. Furthermore, the risk of decompression sickness also depends on the physiology, fitness, condition and health of the individual diver.

A diver wishing to reduce the risk of decompression sickness can take a number of precautionary measures such as:

  • Use dive computers with a conservative decompression model
  • Use safety factors with dive computers (e.g. using a high altitude dive mode for a dive at sea level)
  • Add additional deep safety stops during a deep dive
  • Make a slow ascent
  • Add additional shallow safety stops
  • Have a long surface interval between dives

Many computers go into a "lockout" mode for 24 hours if the diver violates the computer's safety limits, to discourage continued diving after an unsafe dive. While in lockout mode, these computers display warning signs telling the diver that the dive computer cannot be used.

TANKS

IATD advices the use off steel or composite tanks only. The tank size or set-up may change according to the planned dive. However tanks need to hold enough gas to supply the diver during the whole dive and remain a reserve off at least 30%.  Aluminium cylinders have a lower density than steel cylinders. This can be an advantage in technical diving because it reduces the extra buoyancy the diver needs to carry many cylinders. It can be a disadvantage to divers who carry few cylinders due to the extra weight needed on the diving weighting system to counteract this buoyancy.

BCD

On all technicaldives, IATD advices to use double bladder wings. On all IATD courses these are commendatory. Minimum lift capacity is 2 x 30 kilo's.  

Features

BCs can have the following features:

  • A low pressure direct feed that transports gas from diving cylinder and diving regulator to the BC.
  • An inflation valve that allows gas from the direct feed into the bladders of the BC.
  • A vent valve that allows gas to escape from the bladders of the BC.
  • An over pressurization valve that automatically vents the bladders if the diver over inflates the BC by ascending or by injecting too much gas.
  • A harness that the diver wears with straps around the torso and over the shoulders
  • A plastic or metal backplate to support diving cylinders
  • Pockets for carrying reels, buoys and decompression tables
  • D rings or other anchor points, for clipping on other equipment such as torches, strobes, reels, cameras and stage cylinders
  • Emergency inflation cylinders. This can either be a 0.5 litre air cylinder, filled from the diver main cylinder, or a small carbon dioxide cylinder. There is a risk that an emergency cylinder is accidentally opened during a dive causing a rapid ascent and barotrauma to the diver. Carbon dioxide, being poisonous, is a dangerous gas to have in the bag of a BC because that gas can be inhaled by the diver.

Types

There are three main types of BC:

  • Wings consist of inflatable bladders worn behind and to the side of the diver. They are a recent development and often used in technical diving. The diver is strapped to a back plate on to which the wings are attached. The spacious location of the bladders allows their volume and therefore their buoyancy to be high: 30 litre wings are not uncommon. Heavy equipment such as diving cylinders can be fixed to or slung from the back plate. A problem with wings is their tendency to float the diver facedown at the surface, which could be lethal in the event of the diver being incapacitated.
  • Stabiliser jacket, stab, waistcoat or vest BCs are inflatable vests worn by the diver around the upper torso. They typically provide up to 25 litres of buoyancy and are fairly comfortable to wear. They may float an unconscious casualty face-down.
  • Adjustable Buoyancy Life Jackets, ABLJs or horsecollar BCs: are worn around the neck with straps around the waist and between the legs. They are cheap, light and small, providing up to 15 litres of buoyancy. They float an unconscious casualty face-up. But they are old-fashioned, uncomfortable with a strap between the legs and provide less buoyancy than the other types. The diver must use a separate cylinder harness as a platform for the aqua-Lung.

Attitude in the water

The attitude of the submerged diver is influenced by the BC and by other buoyancy and weight components and contributed to by the diver's body, clothing and equipment. The diver typically wishes to be positioned face-down while under water, to be able to see and swim usefully, but face-up, to be able to breathe, when on the surface.

The attitude of a static and stable object in water, such as a diver, is determined by its centre of buoyancy and its centre of mass. At equilibrium, they will be lined up under gravity with the centre of buoyancy vertically above the centre of mass. The diver's overall buoyancy and centre of buoyancy can routinely be adjusted by altering the volume of the gas in the BC, lungs and diving suit. The diver's mass on a typical dive does not generally change, although it is possible if the weight belt is jettisoned or a heavy object is picked up.

Generally, the diver has no control of the position of the buoyancy in the BC, only its quantity. By inflating the BC at the surface the conscious diver can easily float face-up. By deflating the BC underwater, the diver can easily be positioned facedown. Traditionally, weight belts or weight systems are worn with the weights on or close to the waist and are arranged with a quick release mechanism to allow them to be jettisoned to provide extra buoyancy in an emergency.

It is possible to make an unconscious diver float face up on the surface by placing buoyancy and weights so that the buoyancy raises the top and front of the diver's body and the weights act on the lower and back of the body. An inflated ABLJ invariably provides this attitude. On the other hand, an inflated stab or wings BC generally floats the diver facedown because the centre of buoyancy is not close enough to the diver's head. Potential solutions to this problem are: fixed weights on the diver's cylinder or the use of large, high-density cylinders such as a 300 bar twinset. Both solutions move the centre of mass further behind the diver resulting a face-up attitude.

Many other factors, such as the number, position and density of diving cylinders, the type of diving suit, the position and size of stage cylinders, the size and shape of the diver's body and the wearing of ankle weights influence each individual diver's attitude in the water.

History

The ABLJ was developed by Maurice Fenzy in 1961. Early versions were inflated by mouth underwater. Later versions had their own air inflation cylinder. Some had carbon dioxide inflation cylinders, a development which was adandonned when valves that allowed diver's to breathe from the BC's inflation bag were introduced. Since 1969 most modern BCs have used inflation gas from one of the diver's main gas cylinders. In 1971, Scubapro developed the Stabilizer Jacket, the first jacket-style BC, and in 1972 Watergill developed the Atpac wing.

More recent innovations for jacket BCs include, weight pouches to adjust attitude underwater, integrating weights on the BC rather than a weightbelt, and inegrated diving regulators. Innovations for wings include, weight pouches to adjust attitude underwater and the stainless steel backplate.

BACKPLATE

A backplate is a component of a buoyancy compensator used in scuba diving to support diving cylinders on the diver's back. Heavy-duty, metal backplates are mainly used in technical diving where the diver typically carries two main cylinders on the back and two stage cylinders slung on each side of the body throughout the dive.

A backplate is generally constructed of stainless steel or aluminium, although there are variations made from plastic ABS, titanium and brass. The backplate has a raised ridge running down the centre, and one or more pairs of holes with 11 inch / 27.5 cm centre-to-centre spacing between the holes. These holes are used to mount either a set of doubled scuba tanks / twin diving cylinders, or an adapter for diving with a single tank. Backplates are generally paired with a wing - an enclosed air cell that allows the diver to add or remove gas to control buoyancy. A harness, with shoulder straps, a waist strap and possibly a crotch strap, is threaded through the backplate to link the backplate to the diver's back.

Backplate designs differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, however some incorporate slots for tank camstraps, as some wings allow camstraps to be threaded through them to hold a single tank.

WEIGHT

Divers wear weighting systems, weight belts or weights, generally made of lead, to counteract the buoyancy of other diving equipment, such as diving suits and aluminium diving cylinders.

The weights provide a useful rescue mechanism - they can be dropped in an emergency to provide instant buoyancy which may return the diver to the surface. The rapid ascent caused by dropping weights increases the risk of barotrauma and decompression sickness due to the rapid ascent to the surface. This risk can only be justified when the emergency is life threatening. Very often divers take great care to ensure the weights are not dropped accidentally, and many heavily-weighted divers arrange their weights so subsets of the total weight can be dropped individually, allowing for a somewhat more controlled emergency ascent.

The quantity of lead weight required is determined by the overall positive buoyancy of the diver. It normally is in the range of 2 kg  to 18 kg.

The weights are generally made of lead because of its high density and low cost. The lead can be cast in blocks, cast block with gaps for straps or shaped as pellets often named "shot".

There are several types of weight carrying and securing mechanisms:

  • Weight belt : a nylon belt 5 cm  wide that holds the weights around the diver's waist.
    • Shot belt : This is a hollow belt made of nylon webbing and filled with lead shot. Unlike shotgun ammunition, each pellet of this shot should have a protective coating to stop sea water from corroding it into powdery lead chloride.
  • BCD Integrated weights : are stored in pockets built-in to the buoyancy compensator. Often a velcro flap holds the weights in place. They have handles, which must be pulled to drop the weights in an emergency.
  • Weight harness : a belt around the waist with shoulder staps for extra support and security. Often a velcro flap holds the weights in place. They have handles, which must be pulled to drop the weights in an emergency.
  • Some rebreathers (e.g. the Siebe Gorman CDBA) have a backpack weight pouch full of lead balls each a bit over an inch diameter. The diver can release them by pulling a cord.
  • Non-ditchable weight : in addition to the weight that can be dropped ('ditched'), some divers add additional fixed weights to their gear, both to decrease the weight placed on the belt and to shift the diver's center of mass to minimize the tendency of the gear to hold the diver in one orientation.
    • Tank weights are attached to the diving cylinder to shift the center of mass backward and upward or downward, depending on placement.
    • Ankle weights are used to counteract the positive buoyancy of wet suit leggings and positively buoyant fins. Many divers prefer negatively buoyant fins.
    • Weighted backplates made of stainless steel move the center of mass upward and backward.
    • Steel dive cylinders are preferred by some divers over aluminum because of their more negative buoyancy, and shift mass upward and backward.

SUITS

Wetsuits are cheap simple diving suits that are typically used when diving in water between 10 and 30 ºC.

A modern wetsuit is mostly made from thin neoprene, which provides limited thermal protection, and lined with a nylon fabric to strengthen it and to make it easy to put on and take off. Some newer wetsuits, usually marketed as "superflex", contain spandex in addition to neoprene to allow the suit to stretch (the panels of a wetsuit of this type typically contain 15-20% spandex). This counteracts neoprene's tendency to shrink with age and also allows the wearer to grow slightly without making the suit uncomfortable.

A wetsuit allows a small amount of water into the suit, but traps this thin layer of water between the skin and the neoprene, and the body heat then warms it. The neoprene insulates the warm water layer against the surrounding cold water. The wetsuit must fit close to make the suit work efficiently, as too loose a fit will simply allow the warmed water to flush away and be replaced by cold water. The suit loses buoyancy and thermal protection as the neoprene is compressed at depth.

There is some controversy over who invented the wetsuit. Most say it was Jack O'Neill who started using neoprene, which he found lining the floor of an airliner, to make a simple vest. He went on to found the successful wetsuit manufacturer, O'Neill. But Bob and Bill Meistrell, two kids from Manhattan Beach, California, claim to have started experimenting with neoprene around 1953. Their company would later be named Body Glove.

Wetsuits come in different thicknesses depending on the conditions for which it is intended. The thicker the suit, the warmer it will keep the wearer. A thick suit is stiff, so mobility is restricted. A wetsuit is normally described in terms of its thickness. For instance, a wetsuit with a torso thickness of 5 mm and a limb thickness of 3 mm will be described as a "5/3".

Different shapes of wetsuit are available, from the "shorty" that covers the torso and has short arms and short legs, the jacket covering the torso and arms, the "long johns" that covers the torso and legs only and the "full suit" or "steamer" that covers the torso and the full length of the arms and legs. Some suits are arranged in two parts; the jacket and long johns can be worn separately in mild conditions or worn together to provide two layers of insulation around the torso in cold conditions.

Usually they have no feet or hood, and the diver must wear separate boots and hood made from wetsuit material.

Drysuits are used typically when diving in water temperatures between 0 and 15 ºC (32 to 60 ºF).

Seals at the wrists and neck prevent water entering the suit. Even so, the diver will be damp after a dive in a drysuit due to sweat and condensation. The seals are either made from latex rubber or neoprene. Latex seals survive for a maximum of two years but are supple. Neoprene seals last longer but let more water enter because, being stiffer, they do not make effective seals in the contours of the wrist and neck.

A modern drysuit has an air inflation valve, which lets the diver control the buoyancy of the suit by injecting gas from the diving regulator to avoid squeeze during descent. Some old-type frogman's drysuits had a small "jack cylinder" to be inflated from, or the frogman (who was using an oxygen rebreather and so limited to about 30 feet (10 m) depth) had to put up with the suit squeeze.

A drysuit is intended to be worn over an insulating undersuit such as a Thinsulate (http://www.dui-online.com/newsite/dw_thinsulate.htm) or Polar Bear (http://www.polarbears.co.uk/). Some divers wear a wetsuit under the drysuit instead.

A typical drysuit has an air vent valve , which lets the diver vent off higher pressure gas from the suit during the ascent. Vent valves can be automatic , operating as pressure relief valves, or manual , where the diver must raise the valve to vent. Automatic vents are generally located at the shoulder and manual vents are located at the wrist. Some drysuits have no vents, but the diver must pull one of the wrist or neck seals open to vent the drysuit.

Most drysuits have built-in boots, but some have ankle seals instead.

Modern drysuits have a zipper, for entry and exit, across the back of the shoulders, or diagonally across the front of the torso, or straight down the middle of the front. At least one make of old-type British frogman's drysuit was one-piece with a wide neck hole for entry; the bottom of the hood and the edge of the suit's neck hole were clamped together by a large circular steel clamp around his neck; there was a watertight seal in the bottom of the hood.

There are two types of drysuit:

  • Membrane dry suits are made from materials with low thermal insulation such as vulcanised rubber or a trilaminate of nylon, butyl rubber and nylon. So the diver must wear an insulating undersuit. Membrane drysuits are comfortable to put on, get off and wear. They can be unreliable because the suit’s buoyancy and insulation depends on the air trapped in the under suit: if the suits is punctured the buoyancy and insulation is lost. Some divers in warm water wear a membrane drysuit without an undersuit. Membrane drysuits may also be constructed with a waterproof and breathable membrane to enable comfortable wear for periods out of water.
  • Neoprene dry suits are constructed from neoprene, a buoyant and thermally insulating material. This built-in buoyancy and thermal protection makes them safer to wear than membrane dry suits when punctured because they keep some of those properties when flooded. Being made of a fairly rigid heavy material, they are difficult to get on and off, and their buoyancy and thermal protection decreases with depth as the neoprene is compressed. Neoprene also tends to shrink over the years. An alternative is crushed neoprene, which is less susceptible to volume changes when under pressure and shrinks less.

Semi-dry suits are used typically when diving in water temperatures between 10 and 20 ºC (50 to 70 ºF). They are effectively a thick wetsuit with better-than-usual seals at wrist, neck and ankles.

The seals limit the volume of water entering and leaving the suit. The diver gets wet in a semi-dry suit but the water that enters is soon warmed up and does not leave the suit readily, so the diver remains warm. The trapped layer of water does not add to the suit's insulating ability. Any residual water circulation past the seals still causes heat loss. But semi-dry suits are cheap and simple compared to dry suits. They are made from thick neoprene, which provides good thermal protection. They lose buoyancy and thermal protection as the trapped gas bubbles in the neoprene compress at depth. Semi-dry suits can come in various configurations including a single piece or two pieces, made of 'long johns' and a separate 'jacket'. Semi dry suits do not usually include boots, so a separate pair of insulating boots are worn.

GLOVES

Gloves either wet or dry are to be used with enough isolation the dive the planned dive in comfort.

BOOTS

Gloves either wet or dry are to be used with enough isolation the dive the planned dive in comfort.

FINS

Fins should be able to propel the diver with all equipment needed during the dive

REELS

All divers must carry at least 3 reels one for every smb and 0ne for the liftbag. During dives these reels may be used for other purposes such as cave or wreck penetrations. also called

distance line
A distance line is an item of diving equipment used by SCUBA divers as a means of returning to a safe starting point in conditions of low visibilty or where pilotage is difficult. They are often used in cave diving and wreck diving where the diver must return to open water after a penetration when it may be difficult to discern the return route.Distance lines are often wound on to a spool or a reel. Typically 50 metres / 165 feet of thin polypropylene line can be stored on a single reel, which has usually a locking mechanism and a winding handle. Lines are also used to deploy surface marker buoys and decompression buoys
SMB

All divers must carry 2 surface marker buoys, one must be red and to be used during normal ascents. The second must be yellow and only be used on ascents when problems evolved and assistance is needed. Both smb's must have a lift capacity off at least 25 kg and both must have there own reel. During dive where there are many divers it is advisable to have you're name on the top end off the smb.

A Surface Marker Buoy, SMB or simply a blob is an inflatable buoy used by SCUBA divers, with a line, to mark the diver's position to their surface, safety boat whilst the diver is underwater.

SMBs are inflated on the surface before diving to mark the diver's position in these circumstances:

  • during a drift dive or night dive so the dive boat can follow the divers
  • where there is boat traffic making diving more hazardous

Divers need to consider some configuration options and features when using SMBs:

  • A closed SMB, with a valve which you blow through, is likely to be more reliable, by remaining inflated, than an open ended buoy or a delayed buoy which seals itself as it inflates
  • To avoid losing the reel, the reel needs a lanyard to attach the diving reel to the diver: this can :
    • either clip to the buoyancy compensator or go around the wrist
    • or be long enough to float above the diver and stay out of the way. If the lanyard clips to the BC, take care to release if there are boats around (boats on the surface have been known to drag divers up by their SMB reels).
      The DIR diving philosophy generally considers unsafe any attachment to equipment or objects which end above the water surface, due to high risk associated with dragging the diver upwards in spite of their decompression obligation or maximum ascent speed limit.

A specialised form of SMB is the decompression buoy.

decompression buoy, deco buoy or delayed SMB is an item of diving equipment used by SCUBA divers to mark their position whilst underwater doing decompression stops. They are similar to Surface Marker Buoys but deco buoys are launched whilst the diver is submerged. Alternative solutions to marking one's position while doing decompression stops are diving shots and decompression trapezes.

Deco buoys are inflated underwater before or during the ascent phase of the dive. A reel and line connect the buoy on the surface to the diver beneath the surface. The buoy marks the diver's position underwater so the boat safety cover can locate the diver.

There are at least four methods of keeping the air in the inflated deco buoy. The buoy can be be:

  • open ended (preferably with small independent weight to keep the opening submerged)
  • open ended self sealing buoys (the air in the buoy expands as the buoy ascends closing a neck at the bottom of the buoy)
  • sealed, with an inflation valve and a pressure relief valve
  • sealed, with a built in air supply and a pressure relief valve

Divers of some training organisations carry two differently coloured deco buoys underwater so that they can signal to their surface support for help and still remain underwater decompressing. For example, a red buoy indicates normal decompression and a yellow buoy indicates a problem, such as shortage of gas, that the surface support should investigate and resolve. Some types of buoy provide an attachment for a strobe, cyalume stick or writing slate, which can convey signals to the surface support.

Several common problems are encountered when deploying deco buoys :

  1. The diving reel jambs after the buoy is inflated (dragging the diver up). To avoid this:
    • use a simpler system or a reel which cannot jamb (e.g. a weighted spool of line)
    • detach the lanyard connecting the diver to the reel before inflating the buoy (and ensure no equipment is trapped in the buoy or reel)
    • attach two reels to each other in series. If one fails the other is unlocked to reel out its line.
  2. Part of the diver's equipment gets trapped in the deco buoy (dragging the diver up). To avoid this tie the lanyard of the reel to something solid on the sea bed before inflating the buoy (so you have time to sort the problem out)
  3. The diver removes the primary demand valve from his or her mouth to inflate the buoy, and is therefore at a disadvantage in dealing with any other problems that might arise as the deco buoy goes off. There are a number of ways to avoid this:
    • Use a deco buoy with its own air supply
    • Use a secondary demand valve, such as an octopus, to inflate the buoy
    • Use a sealed buoy with an inflation valve, which is filled by blowing directly into the valve inlet or by attaching a medium-pressure inflation hose from the buoyancy compensator or dry suit. The valve does not retain the hose connector, like the BCD or suit inflator valve, and the hose can be easily pulled off the valve when the buoy is sufficiently filled.
    • Hold an open ended buoy above the primary demand valve and direct several exhalations up into the open end of the buoy. This technique is also useful in cold conditions to prevent freeflows caused by pressing purge buttons.
LIFTBAG

A red liftbag must be carried with a liftcapacity off at least 65kg.

KNIFE

 

LIGHTS

Main   back-up

SCOOTER
 

A Diver Propulsion Vehicle or a DPV is an item of diving equipment used by scuba divers to increase their range while underwater where their endurance is restricted due to limited availability of breathing gas and need to avoid decompression sickness.

A DPV generally consists of a battery-powered electric motor which drives a propeller. The machine should be is designed to avoid some predictable operating problems. It should be neutrally buoyant in the water. The diver should not be able to accidentally start the motor. The propeller should be shielded so that it does not damage the diver, the diver's equipment or marine life.

DPVs are useful for long journeys at constant depth where navigation is easy. Some divers engaged in cave diving and technical diving use DPVs. The machine helps move the bulky equipment the divers carry. It also allows them to make better use of their short underwater time because they have greater decompression requirements due to deep diving.

For many recreational divers DPVs are not useful. Buoyancy control is vital for diver safety: the DPV has the potential to make buoyancy control difficult and cause barotrauma if the diver ascends or descents under power. Navigation in visibility of less than 5 metres using a DPV could be difficult. Also, many forms of smaller marine life are very well camouflaged or hide well and are only seen by divers who move very slowly and are very vigilant.

Diver-tugs, tow-behind, scooters

The most common sort of DPV is where a diver is towed behind it holding onto one of its two handles on its stern and/or tow leash. The diver could wear an harness and backplate or BC with a front crotch-strap D-ring where the scooter is clipped by means of special safety spring-clip and tow leash with proper length. These types of scooters are efficient because the divers rides in the slip stream of the scooter body as opposed to a "ride-on- top" which must be ridden and increases drag, which effects scooter battery burn time.

Miscellaneous

There are DPV's where the diver holds on in some other way. One example is the Protei-5 Russian diver-rider where the diver is clamped on top of it.

Wet-subs

As DPV's get bigger, they gradually merge into submarines. A wet-sub can be classed as a small submarine where the pilot's seat is naturally flooded and he must wear diving gear. Covert military operations use (SDV) swimmer delivery vehicles to deliver and retrieve operators into harbors and near-shore undetected.

REBREATHER

Inspiration closed circuit diving rebreatherInspiration closed circuit diving rebreather

Description

A rebreather is a type of breathing equipment that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycles exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather a lightweight and compact breathing set for long durations in environments where humans cannot safely breathe from the atmosphere.

Rebreather technology is used in many environments:

  • underwater - where it is sometimes known as "closed circuit scuba" as opposed to Aqua-Lung-type equipment, which is known as "open circuit scuba".
  • mine rescue and in industry - where poisonous gases may be present or oxygen may be absent.
  • space suits - the outer space is a vacuum where there is no oxygen to support life.
  • hospital anesthesia breathing systems - to supply controlled proportions of gases to patients without altering the atmosphere the staff breathe.
  • submarines and hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers - where the gas in the habitat must remain safe. Here the rebreather is big and is connected to the air in the habitat.

As a person breathes, the body consumes oxygen and makes carbon dioxide. A person with an open-circuit breathing set typically only uses about a quarter of the oxygen in the air that is breathed in. The rest is breathed out along with the nitrogen.

With a rebreather, the exhaled gas is not discharged to waste. The rebreather recovers the exhaled oxygen for re-use. It absorbs the carbon dioxide, which otherwise would accumulate and become poisonous. It adds oxygen to replace what was consumed. Thus, the gas in the rebreather's circuit remains breathable and supports life processes. Nearly always, the oxygen comes from a cylinder, and the carbon dioxide is absorbed in a canister full of some absorbent chemical such as soda lime.

History of rebreathers

Around 1620 in England, Cornelius Drebbel made an early oar-powered submarine. Records show that, to re-oxygenate the air inside it, he likely generated oxygen by heating saltpeter (sodium or potassium nitrate) in a metal pan to make it emit oxygen. That would turn the saltpeter into sodium or potassium oxide or hydroxide, which would tend to absorb carbon dioxide from the air around. That may explain how Cornelius Drebbel's men were not affected by carbon dioxide build-up as much as would be expected. If so, he accidentally made a crude rebreather nearly three centuries before Fluess and Davis: see this link (http://www.dutchsubmarines.com/specials/special_drebbel.htm).

The first certainly known closed circuit breathing device using stored oxygen and absorption of carbon dioxide by an absorbent (here caustic soda), was invented by Henry Fluess in 1879 to rescue mineworkers who were trapped by water.

The Davis Escape Set was the first rebreather which was practical for use and produced in quantity. It was designed about 1900 in Britain for escape from sunken submarines. Various industrial oxygen rebreathers (e.g. the Siebe Gorman Salvus and the Siebe Gorman Proto (http://www.therebreathersite.nl/Zuurstofrebreathers/English/photos_proto.htm)) were descended from it. The Proto (distinguish from "Proton") was much used by firefighters.

The first known systematic use of rebreathers for diving was by Italian sport spearfishers in the 1930s. This practice came to the attention of the Italian Navy, which developed its frogman unit which had a big effect in World War II.

Advantages of rebreather diving

The main advantage of the rebreather over other breathing equipment is the rebreather's economical use of gas. With the "open circuit" Aqua-Lung, which is another form of scuba, the entire breath is expelled into the surrounding water when the diver exhales. So, long or deep dives using open circuit equipment need much more gas than when using a rebreather. This open circuit gas must be carried by the diver in heavy and bulky diving cylinders.

The economy of gas consumption is also useful when the gas being breathed is expensive, such as the helium in trimix or heliox gas mixes used in technical diving. Also, rebreathers produce many fewer bubbles than Aqua-Lungs, making military divers much less visible. Marine biology and underwater photography also become easier with no bubbles to alarm the fish being studied.

Parts of a rebreather

Back of an Inspiration Diving Rebreather, with its casing opened Back of an Inspiration Diving Rebreather, with its casing opened

There are several design variations of diving rebreather. All types have a gas-tight loop that the diver inhales from and exhales into. The loop consists of components sealed together. The diver breathes through a mouthpiece or a fullface mask (or with industrial breathing sets, sometimes a mouth-and-nose mask) connected to one or more tubes bringing inhaled gas to or exhaled gas from the diver, a counterlung or breathing bag to hold gas when it is not in the diver's lungs, and a scrubber containing carbon dioxide absorbent to remove the carbon dioxide from the loop. Attached to the loop there will be at least one valve letting gases, such as oxygen and perhaps a diluting gas, be injected into the loop. There may be valves letting gas be vented manually or automatically from the loop.

Most modern rebreathers have a twin hose mouthpiece where the direction of flow of gas through the loop is controlled by one-way valves. Some have a single pendulum hose, where the inhaled and exhaled gas passes through the same tube in opposite directions. The mouthpiece often has a valve letting the diver take the mouthpiece from the mouth while underwater or floating on the surface without water being allowed to enter the loop. Many rebreathers have "water traps" in the counter lungs, which prevent large volumes of water entering the loop if the diver removes the mouthpiece underwater without closing the valve, or if the diver's lips get slack letting water leak in.

The active ingredient of the scrubber is often soda lime. All gas moving through the loop must pass through the absorbent so its carbon dioxide component is removed.

At present, there is no effective technology for detecting the end of the life of the scrubber or a dangerous increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide causing carbon dioxide poisoning. The diver must monitor the exposure of the scrubber and replace it when necessary. Carbon dioxide gas sensors exist, but they are not sensitive enough to be used in a rebreather - the scrubber "break through" occurs quite suddenly and the diver shows symptoms before the sensor indicates a dangerous build-up of carbon dioxide. A rebreather absorbent called "Protosorb" supplied by Siebe Gorman had a red dye, which was said to go white when the absorbent was exhausted. Even if a sensitive carbon dioxide sensor is developed, it may not be useful as the primary tool for monitoring scrubber life when underwater, because mixed gas rebreathers allow very long dives where long decompression stops may be needed: knowing that the rebreather will begin to deliver a poisonous breathing gas in five minutes may not be useful to a diver needing to carry out an hour or more of decompression stops.

A hazard with diving with early rebreathers was "caustic cocktail" caused by water entering the loop and dissolving absorbent; but many modern diving rebreather absorbents are designed not to produce "cocktail" if they get wet.

A basic need with a rebreather is to keep the amount of oxygen in the mix, or more technically known as the partial pressure of oxygen or ppO2, from getting too low (causing anoxia or hypoxia) or too high (causing oxygen toxicity).

In some early rebreathers the diver had to manually open and close the valve to the oxygen cylinder to refill the counter-lung each time. In others the oxygen flow is kept constant by a pressure-reducing flow valve like the valves on blowtorch cylinders; the set also has a manual on/off valve called a bypass. In some modern rebreathers, the pressure in the breathing bag controls the oxygen flow like the demand valve in open-circuit scuba. Most modern closed-circuit rebreathers have electro-galvanic fuel cell sensors and onboard electronics, which monitor the ppO2, injecting more oxygen if necessary or issuing an audible warning to the diver if the ppO2 reaches dangerously high or low levels.

With humans, the urge to breathe is caused by a build-up of carbon dioxide rather than lack of oxygen. When using a rebreather, carbon dioxide is removed from the breathing gas by the scrubber, suppressing the body's natural warning. The result of serious hypoxia is sudden blackout with little or no warning. This makes hypoxia a deadly problem for rebreather divers.

In many rebreathers the diver can control the gas mix and volume in the loop manually by injecting each of the different available gases to the loop and by venting the loop. The loop often has a pressure relief valve preventing the "hamster cheek" effect on the diver caused by over-pressure of the loop.

The position of the breathing bag, on the chest, over the shoulders, or on the back, has an effect on the ease of breathing. The design of the rebreather also affects the swimming diver's streamlining and thus ease of swimming.

Some rebreather sets include a bailout, a second (usually open-circuit) supply of air or other breathing gas to help the diver to reach safety if his main breathing set fails.

Main rebreather design variants

Oxygen rebreather

This is the oldest type of rebreather and was commonly used by navies from the early twentieth century. The only gas that it supplies is oxygen. As pure oxygen is toxic when inhaled at pressure, oxygen rebreathers are limited to a depth of 6 meters (20 feet); some say 9 meters (30 feet). Oxygen rebreathers are also sometimes used when decompressing from a deep open-circuit dive, as breathing pure oxygen makes the nitrogen diffuse out of the blood quicker.

Semi-closed circuit rebreather

Military and recreational divers use these because they provide good underwater duration with fairly simple and cheap equipment. Semi-closed circuit equipment generally supplies one breathing gas such as air, nitrox or trimix. The gas is injected at a constant rate. Excess gas is constantly vented from the loop in small volumes.

The diver must fill the cylinders with gas mix that has a maximum operating depth that is safe for the depth of the dive being planned. As the amount of oxygen required by the diver increases with work rate, the oxygen injection rate must be carefully chosen and controlled to prevent either oxygen toxicity or unconsciousness in the diver due to hypoxia.

Fully closed circuit rebreather

Military and photographic and recreational divers use these because they allow long dives and produce no bubbles. Closed circuit rebreathers generally supply two breathing gases to the loop: one is pure oxygen and the other is a diluent or diluting gas such as air, nitrox or trimix.

The major task of the fully closed circuit rebreather is to control the oxygen concentration, known as the oxygen partial pressure, in the loop and to warn the diver if it is becoming dangerously low or high. The concentration of oxygen in the loop depends on two factors: depth and the proportion of oxygen in the mix. Too low a concentration of oxygen results in hypoxia leading to sudden unconsciousness and ultimately death when the oxygen is exhausted. Too high a concentration of oxygen results in oxygen toxicity, a condition causing convulsions, which when they occur underwater can lead to drowning.

In fully automatic closed-circuit systems, a mechanism injects oxygen into the loop when it detects that the partial pressure of oxygen in the loop has fallen below the required level. Often this mechanism is electrical and relies on oxygen sensitive electro-galvanic fuel cells called ppO2 meters to measure the concentration of oxygen in the loop.

The diver may be able to manually control the mixture by adding diluent gas or oxygen. Adding diluent can prevent the loop's gas mixture becoming too oxygen rich. Manually adding oxygen is risky as additional small volumes of oxygen in the loop can easily raise the partial pressure of oxygen to dangerous levels.

Rebreathers whose absorbent releases oxygen

There have been a few rebreather designs (e.g. the Oxylite) which had an absorbent canister filled with potassium superoxide, which gives off oxygen as it absorbs carbon dioxide: 4KO2 + 2CO2 = 2K2CO3 + 3O2; it had a very small oxygen cylinder to fill the loop at the start of the dive. This system is dangerous because of the explosively hot reaction that happens if water gets on the potassium superoxide. The Russian IDA71 military and naval rebreather was designed to be run in this mode or as an ordinary rebreather.

Other designs

In the Siebe Gorman Proto (see above) the absorbent was loose in the bottom of the breathing bag and not in a canister.

Risks and precautions with rebreather diving

Many diver training organizations teach the "diluent flush" technique as a safe way to restore the mix in the loop to a level of oxygen that is neither too high nor too low. It only works when partial pressure of oxygen in the diluent alone would not cause hypoxia or hyperoxia, such as when using a normoxic diluent and observing the diluent's maximum operating depth. The technique involves simultaneously venting the loop and injecting diluent. This flushes out the old mix and replaces it with a known proportion of oxygen from the diluent.

Rebreather divers are advised to flush the system when they start the dive, to get surplus nitrogen out of the system.

In addition to the other diving disorders suffered by divers, rebreather divers are also more susceptible to:

  • Sudden blackout due to hypoxia caused by too low a partial pressure of oxygen in the loop.
  • Seizures due to oxygen toxicity caused by too high a partial pressure of oxygen in the loop.
  • Disorientation, panic, headache, and hyperventilation due to hypercapnia (= excess of carbon dioxide) caused by failure of the scrubber: this is sometimes called shallow-water blackout. This can also happen if the diver is producing carbon dioxide faster than the absorbent can handle(e.g. during hard work or fast swimming). The solution is to slow down and let the absorbent catch up.
  • The rebreather diver must keep breathing in and out all the time, to keep the gas flowing over the absorbent, so the absorbent can work all the time. Divers need to lose any "air-saving" habits that may have been developed while diving with open-circuit scuba.
  • "Caustic cocktail" in the loop if water comes into contact with the soda lime used in the carbon dioxide scrubber. The diver is normally alerted to this by a chalky taste in the mouth. A safe response is to bail out to "open circuit" and rinse the mouth out.

When compared with Aqua-Lungs, rebreathers have some disadvantages including expense, difficulty of operation, unreliability, and complexity of maintenance.

External links

Diving rebreather manufacturers

Other information sources

  • The Rebreather Site (http://www.therebreathersite.nl) Long list of types of rebreathers (including nitrox) at "database on oxygen rebreathers".
BREATHING GAS

 

Air is the most common and only natural breathing gas. Other artificial gases, either pure gases or mixtures of gases, are used in enclosed breathing environments such as SCUBA equipment, recompression chambers, submarines and space suits.

A safe breathing gas has three essential features:

  • it must contain sufficient oxygen to support the life, consciousness and work rate of the breather.
  • it must not contain harmful gases. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are common poisons in breathing gases. There are many others.
  • it must not become toxic when being breathed at high pressure such as when underwater. Oxygen and nitrogen are examples of gases that become toxic under pressure.

Most breathing gases are a mixture of oxygen and one or more inert gases. The techniques used to fill diving cylinders with gases other than air are called gas blending.

Common diving breathing gases

Common diving breathing gases are:

  • Air is a mixture of 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen. It is the most common diving gas, being cheap and simple to use. As its nitrogen component causes nitrogen narcosis it has a safe depth limit of 40 metres (130 feet) for most divers.
  • Pure oxygen is mainly used during the shallow decompression stops at the end of a technical dive for accelerated decompression stops. It used to be much used in frogmen's rebreathers.
  • Nitrox is a mixture of oxygen and air. It is mainly used instead of air to accelerate decompression or to decrease the risk of Decompression sickness.
  • Trimix is a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and helium and is often used during the deep phase of a technical dive.
  • Heliox is a mixture of oxygen and helium and is often used in the deep phase of a commercial deep dive.
  • Heliair is a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen and helium. It is suitable for in the deep phase of a technical dive. It is easily blended from helium and air and so always has a 21:79 ratio of oxygen and nitrogen and the rest is helium.
  • Neox is a mixture of oxygen and neon that is rarely used due to its cost.

Individual component gases

Oxygen

Oxygen (O2) must be present in every breathing gas. This is because it is essential to the human body's metabolic process, which sustains life. The human body cannot store oxygen for later use as it does with food. If the body is deprived of oxygen for more than a few minutes, unconsciousness results. The tissues and organs within the body (notably the heart and brain) are damaged if deprived of oxygen for much longer than four minutes.

The proportion of oxygen in a breathing gas determines the depth at which the mixture gas can safely be used:

  • hypoxic mixes have lower proportion of oxygen than air, 21%, or more strictly less than 16% oxygen and are designed only to be breathed at depth as a "bottom gas". Trimix, Heliox and Heliair are used to create typical hypoxic mixes and are used in technical diving as deep breathing gases.
  • normoxic mixes have the same proportion of oxygen as air, 21%